No doubt you recall President Trump talking tough about stopping anyone from that migrant caravan from ever setting foot on US soil. He even made a show of ordering the military to reinforce border guards, telegraphing his intent to keep them out by any means necessary:
Our military is being mobilized at the Southern Border. Many more troops coming. We will NOT let these Caravans, which are also made up of some very bad thugs and gang members, into the U.S. Our Border is sacred, must come in legally. TURN AROUND!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018
Well, like so many of his presidential initiatives, this one makes about as much sense as thinking a clenched fist can stop quicksilver from trickling out. Which explains this:
A steady trickle of Central American migrants have been finding ways to climb over, tunnel under or slip through the U.S. border wall to plant their feet on U.S. soil and ask for asylum.
In twos or threes — occasionally by the dozen — they arrive at the border wall and manage to get over. Often within minutes, border officers quickly arrive to escort them to detention centers and begin “credible fear” interviews.
(The Associated Press, December 10, 2018)
And, once in, even Trump knows most of them will be able to prove “credible fear” — even using his words to do so. After all, nobody has spoken more apocalyptically about the gang and narco violence that plagues most of Central America. Frankly, for these migrants, it would seem like a sanctuary to settle in the worst parts of America’s most violent cities.
Meanwhile, there was a red elephant in the Oval Office yesterday, during an Apprentice-style meeting between Trump, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
That dumbo was the failure of any of them to mention Trump’s most notorious campaign promise to not just build a wall to keep migrants out but get Mexico to pay for it. This, despite their 17-minute bickering over funding for his wall, which Trump ensured was televised for all the world to see.
For the record, The Washington Post reports that, as of yesterday, he had reiterated this promise over 190 times since launching his presidential campaign.
Of course, it’s understandable that Trump never mentioned this. After all, he’s all about the bait and switch. In this case, despite that promise, he’s now trying to get US taxpayers to pay. And he’s so accustomed to getting his way, he is even threatening to shut down the US government to extort payment.
What is not understandable is that neither Pelosi nor Schumer bothered to remind Trump that he promised millions of baying supporters that Mexico would pay; that they all believed him with religious conviction; and that he’s now breaking his promise.
But kudos to the new Mexican government for picking up their slack. Because it seized this farcical meeting to reiterate its now-famous insistence that “Mexico will NEVER pay” for any wall.
In any event, here’s what I warned in “DACA: Ain’t No Wall High Enough to Keep ‘Them’ from Getting to US,” September 16, 2017:
Ain’t no wall high enough
Ain’t no desert dry enough
Ain’t no river wide enough
To keep them from getting to US.
Bienvenidos compadres!
Related commentaries:
Caravan…
bait and switch…
DACA…
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