President Trump’s plan to bus immigration/asylum applicants to major U.S. cities as political retribution, which he is still considering, is premised on dubious assumptions. As Philip Bump points out in the Washington Post, our major metropolitan areas are accustomed to new immigrants of both the legal and illegal variety, and they don’t generally see them as threatening.
Obviously the sudden injection of tens of thousands of people in nearly any city might tax city resources, though it’s not clear what the scale under consideration is in the White House’s aborted plan. But the entire point of sanctuary cities is to make immigrants feel as though they’re an important part of the community. The idea that San Francisco or Los Angeles or New York City would be baffled or outraged at the arrival of new immigrants sort of misses the fact that those cities have been welcoming new immigrants for decades — to the extent that they go out of their way to pass laws offering some protection.
Naturally, when people from foreign countries arrive here, they gravitate to communities that have preexisting populations of people who speak their language, practice their religion, and can offer support in housing and employment. The people who are granted asylum will mostly wind up in sanctuary cities even without being given a free bus ride there by the federal government.
It’s true that Trump could deliberately overwhelm the resources of a city by unloading bus after bus of new arrivals. But that would then be the primary problem, rather than any natural spike in crime. Most of these people are arriving with their children in tow. They’re not coming here to join criminal gangs or commit rapes and assaults. They’re coming here to escape gangs and crime.
It’s really only because the president and his inner circle seem to believe their own racist rhetoric about “caravans” that they think that Democratic politicians will face a giant backlash from their own constituents in response to a crime wave. If there is a backlash, it’s more likely to be related to budget fights that are caused by the federal government creating an expensive problem.
To the extent that any increase in crime actually results, the federal government would be liable for that, since it would be the result of their deliberate plan. If they try to get someone stabbed, raped or killed, and they actually succeed, then they’re clearly to blame for that.
Take their racist assumptions to another level, however: they think they would be unleashing criminals and murderers into the streets against their political opponents. This is the same kind of thinking behind Assad when he released criminals and terrorists from prison for the express purpose of harming his opposition, and forcing citizens to choose “them or me”. It’s the planning of a fascist.
Sure but the thing that saved Assad was Putin and Russian military. Otherwise Isis and his opposition would have hung him.
North San Diego County here. Ground Zero.
which came first…..the racism or the stupid? Do stupid people have a tendency to become racist….or are racists inherently stupid?
This policy is so incredibly revealing……they obviously believe the asylum seekers are criminals that will immediately start robbing, raping, and murdering, and that will lead to local demands that it be `cleaned up’ (which itself is racism framing). Or they plan on the local wingers to pretend all that is happening, and the media to report it that way (not an unrealistic result). They also think that the immigrants will `stick’ where they are put, maybe become homeless and a burden.
Sure, that will happen somewhat, but I would bet most of those immigrants have phone numbers tucked away. What many of them (probably most) will do as soon as dropped off and allowed to, is make phone calls to friends, relatives, or fellow countrymen (who are VERY aware of why they fled their homeland), then get on Greyhound buses and go where they intended to go when they fled home.
Let’s say you took a thousand Guatemalans and dropped them in Escondido, CA, which already has a large Guatemalan population. Three hundred would disappear into that community with hours, three hundred would be in Los Angeles in a couple hours. And another two hundred be back east in a couple days.
These people come here with a PLAN. They plan to connect up with fellow countrymen…almost always relatives from the same towns they were born……and then get a job, any job, at any pay, no matter how menial. Then make a better life for their kids.
Just like the Irish and the Italians did. In fact……IT’S THE SAME DAMN PLAN. Believe it or not, North San Diego County has a large Italian community, many of whom I’ve worked with. Trust me, as soon as they could arrange it, they invited family and friends from the town they, or their parents, were born.
Which came first..the stupid or the racism?
.
Just an addendum….
A list of the north country coastal cities, going south from the Orange County Border;
Oceanside
Carlsbad
Encinitas
Del Mar
Serrento Valley
La Jolla
San Diego
Going east
Vista
San Marcos
Escondido
Rancho Bernardo
Ranch Penaquitos
Mira Mesa
Miramar
San Diego
Notice a pattern? We are being led by the terminally stupid.
Why would he do this? He wants to hurt people, not help them to a what is very likely a better life. So it’s all about politics and attempting frightening folks and those nasty democrats. How is he even President? Who are the knuckle draggers who voted for this jerk?
What’s almost equally discouraging is that this is his plan for re-election, so we are probably going to be hearing this nonsense continuously as he rolls out his hate and fear campaign. It is just the standard demagogue playbook, straight from you know who. Claim you are under attack by the others and accuse your opponents of not defending the country. Unfortunately, it is way more effective than you would expect this day in age, but doubly so because he has a propaganda outlet devoted to this crap.
Democrats and the “sane” media are going to have to respond to these constant attacks with more than just statistics. They need to humanize those that are seeking asylum and respond with stories of all the successful immigrants and children of immigrants that we have in our country instead of just the the standard “Democrats are for effective border security” line. Julian Castro is in a good position to do this, but the other candidates need to step up as well.
This strategy could be Putin whispering in Trump’s ear. I am reminded of Angela Merkel. She was severely weakened when Syrian refugees whom she championed to bring into Germany, were then connected to assaults against women. Public opinion and support for further admittance of refugees cratered. I’m sure Putin was thrilled by the turn of events. Maybe Trump is hoping for the American remake of this movie.
I am completely flummoxed by this trial balloon. I say this as one of the more moderate-conservative visitors to this space, and as someone who supports reasonable limits on immigration. If Stephen Miller is whispering this in Trump’s ear, what could possibly be the perceived benefit to the administration?
This is a golden opportunity for Democrats, and for all people of good will in this country. My recommendation would be to say “our party does not support open borders, there needs to be a new approach to this mass migration. HOWEVER, as long as the Trump regime is busing mass numbers into our cities, this must be treated first as a humanitarian issue, and we have a duty as a civilized nation.”
I’m sorry to be so tactically minded in the face of suffering, but the Democratic leadership must be careful. For every photo-op of helping refugees, there should be at least another photo-op of free clinics or soup kitchens for folks in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. “Suffering is suffering, and we Democrats want practical solutions to help all of the forgotten folks in our country.”
This could be the finest hour for lots of state and local leaders, and for civic groups and churches. It could be a moment to demonstrate our best instincts as a nation. I hope I’m not underestimating my countrymen, but my experience is that we often pass the homeless person on the corner, but a busload jars us into action.
It’s a good if diabolical idea on Millers part. A few things will happen.
First a fair amount of “socially liberal fiscally conservative” liberals in these areas will get all NIMBY about this. Cheap labor is good, and the cheaper the better for these people, but they don’t like homeless people or shelters by them. It will show how hypocritical they are.
Second urban Democrats don’t do shit for places like Appalachia except mock it and laugh at it. They are good as a punch line, good for pointing out that white people are the real problem, but nobody is going to do shit to help them. They are a national item of shame and the real issue is just hoping they die quietly. They know they are hated, and they will see parts of the woke left helping immigrants in a way they never would for them.
Third this opens the chance for all crime in that area to be blamed on immigrants and also opens the potential for false flags and hostilities.
It’s a master stroke, an evil one but it’s good.
Also we are in a civil war, so everything is fair play now. Laws don’t matter, rules don’t matter, what matters is crushing the other side and then enacting a change which cripples them electorally and makes their views and ideas illegal, and then strip mining them for resources.
So Trump’s genius plan is to give the refugees a ride to the places they were going to go anyway, and where they’re generally welcomed?
Okee Dokee.
Don’t we as good tolerant human beings (show of hands, who’s with me?) welcome their policy and just ask them to let us know where the buses are scheduled to stop? I welcome their enmity,
We don’t have to tell them not to use trains, do we? Just asking’…
The WH is full if thinkers whose ideology limits the what they see as the result of their ideas. The current WH occupants probably believed the Iraqis were going to greet our troops with candy and flowers.