I am an immigrant and erstwhile Democrat who finds herself thinking that the Trump administration officials are increasingly the adults in the room on immigration policies.
As we've all noticed, the immigration debate changed vastly in the last five, ten, and 20 years. Once upon a time, back in 2014,
Hillary Clinton could say, "We have to send a clear message: Just because your child gets across the border doesn't mean your child gets to stay," and not get booted off the stage and out of the Democratic Party.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said in 2009 that "Illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple." President Obama in his 2013 State of the Union message declared that "real (immigration) reform" means strong border security, learning English, and "going to the back of the line behind folks trying to come here legally."
So, not too long ago, Democratic leaders talked in rational, truthful ways about immigration.
But now many Democratic Party leaders and elected officials espouse open borders, uncontrolled immigration, sanctuary cities, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and dismiss any proposed immigration restriction as racist, nativist, and xenophobic. What happened? How did the immigration debate change so much, so fast?
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