Donald Trump wants to deploy military forces on American soil, purportedly to secure our southern border:
Trump ordered the deployment because “we are at a crisis point” with illegal immigration, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the Department of Homeland Security said.
“We’d like to stop it before the numbers get even bigger,” she said [“Troops Await Orders for Trump Border Security Deployment,” AP via KELO-TV, 2018.04.05].
If there’s a crisis, it’s of Trump’s making. The White House claims illegal border crossings surged in March, but there is no evidence yet that those numbers represent a new trend reversing a long-standing historical decline. Illegal border crossing arrests dropped from 1.7 million at the end of the Clinton Administration to a Bush 2-era peak of 1.2 million to under 500,000 in every year but the first of the Obama Administration. Arrests dropped again in 2017, to 310,000.
Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama deployed the National Guard to the border, but those deployments responded to increased drug violence:
There have been uniformed military troops on the border for more than the past dozen years. President George W. Bush called up 6,000 guard in 2006. At the time, the country was afraid of drug violence from the Mexican cartels spilling over into U.S. border communities. Then in 2010, President Obama deployed 1,200 National Guard troops under Operation Phalanx to continue the mission [John Burnett, “Trump Readies National Guard to Monitor U.S.–Mexico Border,” NPR: Morning Edition, 2018.04.05].
The March surge Trump is claiming is still far below the levels seen when Bush and Obama called in the Guards:
In March 2018, the last month for which statistics are available, Border Patrol agents caught 37,393 immigrants attempting to cross the US-Mexico border.
The month before President Obama mobilized the National Guard, 55,237 immigrants — one and a half times as many — had been apprehended. And the month before Bush did it, Border Patrol apprehended 126,538 immigrants. In other words, the threat was over three times worse [Dara Lind, “Trump Is Mobilizing the National Guard to the US–Mexico Border for Literally No Good Reason,” Vox, 2018.04.04].
Combine historically low illegal border crossings with important restrictions on military action on domestic soil, and Trump may be sending a bunch of soldiers to stand around doing nothing:
If Trump imagined armed troops greeting would-be border crossers, the reality may look more like troops building roads and watching video feeds.
A post-Civil War law explicitly prohibits the use of military troops for law enforcement, and a host of laws and Defense Department regulations have extended that law to further clarify that troops cannot be used to participate in activities like making arrests and conducting searches, according to a Congressional Research Service analysis [Tal Kopan, “Reality Check on Trump’s Border War,” CNN via WZVN, 2018.04.06].
Taking moms and dads away from their families and jobs to do important work like rebuilding Puerto Rico is o.k. But Trump is using our Guards as his personal color guard to keep his xenophobic base’s allegiance:
Of course, we all know what the real reason is, and we all know the specifics involved have nothing whatsoever to do with it. As one Trump adviser told The Post, Trump’s decision came amid his concerns that his base might be alienated by his failure to secure money for his wall in the omnibus spending bill, something that was stoked by his careful monitoring of Fox News. This is all about Trump telling himself he’s following through on his vow to be tough and strong [Greg Sargent, “Why It’s Time to Really Worry About Trump, in Two Charts,” Washington Post: Plum Line, 2018.04.05].
The Republican governors of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona support Trump’s border surge, but this deployment is political theater, not policy. Trump is squandering military resources (and probably sticking states with the bill) to bolster his shaky image. That’s like EPA chief Scott Pruitt asking to use his security detail’s siren to beat traffic and get to a meeting on time, only far, far worse.
Send an unknown number of troops to an unknown destination for an unknown amount of time for an unknown purpose at an unknown cost. Sounds about right for a Trump plan. I’m sure our congressional delegation will get behind this one!
Immigration is at a 43 year low.
Anyone think this is going to happen? They’ll dress up a few sex dolls in military uniforms, have FOX News come down and photograph the sex dolls turning away some “tough hombres” driving Barbie cars. Then Fox and Friends will sing praises. That will satisfy The Donald. All he needs is a “show” of force.
Maybe Trump wants to deploy the military because he is concerned that all the Central American immigrant rape victims he describes seeking shelter in the US might just get a little too close for his comfort.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/05/politics/trump-west-virginia-immigration-comments/index.html
A story on FOX Entertainment helped spark Trump’s irrational response to a border crisis.
FOX intentional misrepresented the annual Holy Week “caravan” made to the border crossing as an attempt by 1,000’s of Mexicans to enter to U.S. so they could take advantage of DACA.
Trump responded to FOX Entertainment fake news by taking it as fact that hordes of Mexicans would cross the border at Easter. The story was quickly debunked by responsible journalist, but that didn’t deter Trump.
Bear
I’m struggling to understand what Trump meant by his claim that “Mexican women are being raped at all levels”.
Roger, “rape” is a term that invokes a lizard brain response and Trump uses it to create fear of immigrants. Invoking that part of the human helps undercut rational thinking.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/where-addiction-meets-your-brain/201404/your-lizard-brain
Unfortunately, Republicans seem unwilling to suggest to Trump that perhaps our Country could help whatever rape victims there are.
I recently saw a news program on illegal immigrants. It showed how they put fifty people in an eighteen wheeler and they travel in fear in the dark. Then they showed to border crossing where the trucks cross. The border guard told that they just wave most trucks by without checking them to improve commerce so the truckers can operate more efficiently. Let the trucks full of people cruise, but build a wall that they drive around. Trump is making deals with both sides.
Bear
Trump intentionally uses “rape of Mexican of women” in his campaign rhetoric when in fact he doesn’t give two hoots if women and Mexican women are raped.
Among the 15 or so women that have claimed Trump sexually assaulted them, several of the cases include an accusation of rape.
It was the “rape at all ‘levels’ that I question. What levels?
Roger E.
There have been several reports over the years that ‘smugglers’ will cram as many people as possible into a semi-trailer to cross the border only to have those people either starve to death, die of dehydration, or die due to a lack oxygen.
I say instead of flying to Mar lar Go to Golf, AirForce 1 should head on down to Texas and pick them up and drop them off at a Trump Hotel in NY or DC. That way he can get up close to a very persecuted race of human beings.
Did CNN bother to tell you that the Posse Comitatus Act was amended in 2006 which virtually nullifies it……….. Not that it hasn’t been violated by Presidents and Governors in the past anyway.
More lies by the Liar-in-Chief.
Now there is the one title he has actually earned.
Roger,
You need to stop believing everything you see on TV- You can’t get a empty flatbed through border security without stopping and showing them you are an American or at least a legal Mexican. Pretty sure that first hand experience beats a for profit scare monger.
There are however places that do not have border security that you can drive through . Like literally you can cross 10 miles down the road from Border security and not get stopped.
So are all or most Democrats in favor of people breaking the law and entering the USA?
So, Jason is scared to death of having to debate Cory on the Lalley program.
In just one example: Last summer after a bad hail storm out of state roofing companies went door to door through the neighborhoods scheduling repairs. When the crews showed up they didn’t speak english, were not Native American, from Murdo or even Sioux Falls. They were illegals hired to take the jobs away from the people most in need of work.
The support you all show for allowing illegals to take our people’s jobs shows your love for leftist ideology over the help our people need. You are not Americans. You are corporatist placing your wallets before the people.
OS, you do understand that labeling a human being “illegal” is premised upon the fact that the human being so labeled either committed a misdemeanor, such as crossing the border without papers, or violated an administrative rule, such as overstaying a Visa, right?
I was born in the USA and I have committed more than one misdemeanor, such as speeding or going through a red light. I guess that make me an “illegal.” I wonder how many of our friends, family and neighbors have committed a crime, such as a misdemeanor, or violated an administrative rule?
I try not to do so frequently, but I have also violated administrative rules by jaywalking and parking in a spot longer than allowed. Virtually all the adults in my family, all born in the USA, have either violated an administrative rule or committed a misdemeanor, while some family members have even committed a felony, so, hence they are all also “illegals.”
Are you also an “illegal” OS or are you one the “pure” people who have never once crossed the line? If you are, congrats, as you are indeed a rare breed and are entitled to call the rest of us “illegals.” If not, you are a hypocrite.
OldSarg makes a good point about Spanish-speaking immigrants doing a lot of roofing work. I’m not sure how he knows they were not here legally. That’s probably his assumption, based on prejudice, because he doesn’t indicate he actually knows this.
I know when my grandparents and their parents came over from Germany, they were babbling away in German. I expect Old Sarg’s ancesteors, if they weren’t from an Indian tribe, spoke some language foreign to this country. Remember, English was a foreign language at one point. And, really, since much of the Western US was occupied by the Spanish both before and after 1776, there is an argument to be made that Espanol has a claim to being a native tongue here in America.
Now as far as these folks doing roofing, I find it to be like anything else. If they do a good job, follow good business and construction practices and the roof lasts twenty years without falling off, they have every right to compete in the free market. For myself, I would prefer to hire local folks who have good local references, pay decent wages to local members of the community and will be available to fix any problems that arise.
They were illegals hired to take the jobs away from the people most in need of work.
And you know this how?
Did George Soros hire these “illegals”? That seems to be the rumour du jour for wingnut conspiracy buffs.
In just examples too numerous to count, crops are rotting in fields, meat processing plants are cutting back, construction crews can’t meet needs, dairies can’t expand because white male American workers aren’t available or won’t do the work. That’s all over the country.
“based on prejudice” that would be based upon them telling me they were from Honduras, came across the border and were released to friends. No visa, no green cards just doing the jobs that don’t pay a livable wage because our country allows illegals in to suppress the wages in support of lobbying by the chamber of commerce which only hurts those Americans who need the jobs the most. You guys can all whore yourselves out to the left, corporations and big brother and remain oblivious to the truth. It doesn’t hurt you. It only hurts others so its not important to you.
If you really want to make a point Debbo, I suggest that you mention the crappy wages and no benefits that those who have employee shortages have- Decent employers don’t need immigrants.
Just an FYI SD is going to expand it’s immigrant workers because the state is killing the wages and benefits of all the Non Profit healthcare providers. They are down to making less than 1980 when you factor in Inflation and many years of wage freezes.
But hey don’t let facts get in the way of a good lazy white person story.
As I pointed out OS, my family and I are mostly “illegals” but we have never suppressed wages. You didn’t indicate whether you are an “illegal” or not. Do you have a Visa? Have you ever failed to comply with an administrative rule, say for example, fail to file and pay SD use tax on an internet purchase? Have you ever broken the law? If so, you are an “illegal” just like the rest of us and your comments suggests that you, as an “illegal” desire to
And you do realize that “America” is not a country, but two continents, right? That means people from Honduras are just as much “Americans” as people from Mexico, the USA, or Canada, etc.
You’ve all fallen into a strawman fallacy. The real problem is not illegal immigrants — the real problem is an American visa system that is broken.
Most of the “illegal” immigrants would be here legally if our work visa system wasn’t a mess. They’re only here illegally because the American government has failed to fix a system that would allow for legal migrant workers.
If you want to blame someone for illegal immigration, blame the U.S. government for not reforming the system to accommodate the nation’s need for immigrant workers.
OS- Cali-Farmers and fruit growers raised their hourly pay rates substantially and still couldn’t get lazy whites to take the jobs.
Drumpf can’t get Americans to work his golf courses because he pays lousy and is a bearcat to work for, so the stories go.
mike, just get a job. Stop sitting at home doing nothing. You are are than the position you have accepted for yourself.
barecreek, if you are an illegal get out. You’re not welcome here and I mean that. You are taking from those who wish to be a part of this country. We don’t need or want you here.
Debbie, I’ll say think for visa overstayers given a choice between the two; over the border sneaks or visa overstays I’d kick the visa overstayers out 2nd. At least they were screened before coming in.
Old Sarg,
Pretty sure we are all illegals- We offered to buy Mexico and they refused. Yeah so then we just took it.
Mexicans literally went to bed one night , and the next day were illegals in the same home they had been living legally in for decades.
We promised them legal citizenship in 1848. They are still waiting.
Debbie nails it! The problem is not the people. If our Visa process worked rationally, our illegal immigration issues would shrink to a miniscule problem. Thanks, Debbie, for cutting to the chase – that is the conversation we should being having rather than walls and military intervention.
Adding to the mix a little compassion for refugees and asylum seekers would confirm the values of we Americans that are lucky enough to live in the USA, and constitute our commitment to provide our encouragement, compassion and support to all Americans, regardless of which particular American State or American Country in which they happen to have been born.
Except maybe Rhode Island. They are pretty much defenseless and small enough for a wall. Plus, Rhode Island law enables “illegals,” like myself to form corporations that theoretically could suppress wages to labor. And worse yet, hire the most qualified person rather than another American needing the job. Build that wall!
OS, as explained above, I am definitely an “illegal” human being. That says nothing, however, about where I was born or raised. Where do you want me to go to? Minnesota? Wyoming? My native language is English, as I was born in South Dakota and raised in a mixed family – Minnesota and South Dakota, but I am trying to learn Spanish – take my word, trying to become fluent in a second language is no easy task.
Where would you like authorities to exile me after my arrest as an “illegal?” I hope my “illegal” American (US origin) born family members won’t exiled. I think they might be the right kind of “Americans” as they haven’t indicated an interest in learning a second language.
No argument with you Debbie. I never mentioned “lazy Americans,” and you’re right, “Decent employers don’t need immigrants.” If Americans could afford to work for dirt wages, they probably would. I think you’re reading into my comment words that aren’t there.
The problem isn’t American workers v. immigrant workers. It’s American corporations only too eager to use up labor in any way they can to pad their bottom line. Undocumented immigration suits them. To hell with the rest of us.
This problem is exactly why we continue to need labor unions. There have certainly been excesses within some unions, but labor is simply fresh meat for the corporate mill sans unions. The West Virginia teachers were able to get a 5% raise because they have a union.
There is a sound reason that GOP clones like Wisconsin governor Snot Wanker go after unions first. They are the biggest threat to corporate greed and middle class well-being.
Debbie, have you ever been to Mexico? I don’t mean the vaca spots but into the heart of Mexico? They are a great people. Their love of God and family is something we could all aspire to be more like. The government, on the other hand, is a bribe ridden cess pool of sexual predators, drug runners and tyrants who have driven their most violent criminals into our land. They would do well if we were to actually invade and drive out their present government. They are soon to turn even worse. Watch their election. Read about their front runner. We are soon to have a declared enemy on our southern border. A wall today would be cheaper than one tomorrow.
Texas was its own country before the United States even came into play in the area. The Texans declared independence in 1835 after the Mexicans took their state legislatures away tried to disarm the state militias, and abolished the Constitution of 1824. The United States did not take Mexico when the Mexicans turned down an offer of money. It was after Texas asked for annexation into the United States that there was an offer to Mexico. It was much later after Mexico tried to take Texas back from the Texas Republic that the United States stepped in and drove the Mexican military, that killed more Native Americans in Mexico than ever lived in the United States, out of Texas and the areas west.
But your silly “history” was fun to read. . .
Bare…, Hawaii has a program you might be interested in.
“The government on the other hand, is a bribe ridden cesspool of sexual predators and drug runners and tyrants …….”. Sounds very much like the Trump administration.
Apologies Debbo , I really mean it.
Here is a 6 part series on workers, immigrants . Plan to watch it in chunks because they are each about 1 1/2 hours long .
I highly recommend it for everyone but especially OldSarg. Absolutely 100% based on fact from U.S. documents . No conspiracy theories, no partisan bs . Something that should in fact be taught in schools.
https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/plutocracy-political-repression-usa/
Roger ,
President Rutherford B. Hayes did not respect either party . Here is a quote from his diary in 1881 . Over a hundred years later and it’s still spot on.
The real difficulty is with the vast wealth and power in the hands of the few and the unscrupulous who represent or control capital. Hundreds of laws of Congress and the state legislatures are in the interest of these men and against the interests of workingmen. These need to be exposed and repealed. All laws on corporations, on taxation, on trusts, wills, descent, and the like, need examination and extensive change. This is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people no longer. It is a government of corporations, by corporations, and for corporations. — How is this?
Diary (11 March 1888])
Apology accepted Debbie. And your Hayes quote is perfect.
Debbie
Thanks for the quote, it is perfect.
I say we cut Texas loose again, and pick up Baja instead.
Make Mexico a state, Make Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands and American Samoa states. Oh, odd number..then add Canada. Problem solved and we get Baja to satisfy Mr. grudznick to make it even better!
Old Corporal, you missed something in history class. We already “took” Mexico. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, parts of Wyoming and Utah and Nevada and California were Mexico. The 1846 Mexican War was as an illegal, unjustified, war as Ulysses S. Grant ever saw and it drove him to resign from the Army. Read his memoir. It is one of the great pieces of American literature.
Meanwhile, back on this ranch, note that Barron’s determines that tariffs are far more economically damaging than are regulations. https://www.barrons.com/articles/tariffs-more-damaging-than-regulations-1523066558 subscription may be required
Old Corporal, who has the most to lose in the trade war? Short term – the US. Long term China. But the problem for the US is that the US lives in the short term with re-elections and a short term mindset. China has a leader for life. So your trumpster is not going to win his picked fight, because he cannot sustain a republicant congress or senate or his reelection.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/05/china-has-more-to-lose-in-a-trade-war-but-trump-has-a-key-weakness/?utm_term=.ded487ef2220
Game, set, match. To say nothing of dumping US bonds. https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2018-04-06/china-has-the-cards-to-call-trump-s-high-stakes-trade-bet
This is a fool lacking the foresight to put sprinklers in a high-rise. Does anyone think for a New York minute that wind-blown, 6 bankruptcies don thought this through?
Crash the farm economy – give them what they voted for.
John,
Why do assume the Chinese farmers won’t pay the extra money?
Do you think they will hurt their own people?
Your link to a reporter is priceless. Reporters aren’t intelligent.
Thanks for pointing out you believe any news reporters. I usually don’t get my facts from them.