Donald Trump is no fan of illegal immigrants.
In fact, he seems wholly prepared to shoot at them from now on, which is why he’s ordered the deployment of more than 5,000 U.S. troops to the southern border, where the President expects a clash with a caravan of Central American migrants.
Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he’s using the caravan story as a political gambit aimed at rallying the base ahead of the midterms. If he can convince everybody that the U.S. is being “invaded” by drug dealers and gang members, well then maybe he can help the GOP retain the House. I doubt it, but I suppose it’s worth a shot – figuratively and literally, because if that caravan ever does reach the border, it is highly likely that the ensuing chaos would lead to U.S. troops discharging their weapons.
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‘They Are Deploying With Weapons’: Pentagon Sends 5,200 Troops To Confront Migrant Caravan
The “best” case scenario is that the migrants end up in living in tent cities. Just ask Trump, who told Fox the following in an interview that aired on Monday evening:
Nothing could wrong with that plan, right?
In any event, Trump cranked up the aggressive anti-immigrant rhetoric even further on Tuesday when, in an interview with Axios, the President said he’s all set to sign an actual executive order ending birthright citizenship.
“It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don’t,” Trump bluntly declared. When pressed on whether he’s serious, he told Axios that “it’s in the process”. “It’ll happen”, he added, “with an executive order.” Here’s the clip:
Who knows whether this is actually “in the process” or not and needless to say, this would set in motion an extremely contentious legal fight, but if he goes this route, it will represent an extraordinary escalation in the administration’s immigration policy, which is already seen as cruel at best and inhumane at worst.
The fourteenth amendment seems to be pretty clear on this point. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.“
Imagine how conservatives would have reacted if Obama had declared that he was working on a plan to repeal part of the second amendment with an executive order.
I’m looking forward to the mental gymnastics that are about to be on display from the talking heads on the right. This move forces them to choose between supporting Trump or supporting the constitution. It also forces conservatives to decide whether their declared love of the constitution is more important to them than their animus for immigrants.
The right-wing is going to support Trump. Lindsay Graham is already drafting enabling legislation, even though Congress doesn’t have the authority either. If the United States cared about the Constitution, the first, fourth, sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth, and fourteenth Amendments wouldn’t have been evicerated. Hell, West Virginia wouldn’t be a state. And the Republicans get to discriminate against brown foreigners?! How fast can they sign up.