Donald Trump’s “Zero Tolerance” policy is based on a lie. A race based fabrication designed to stoke fear. An ill conceived edict that has resulted in the incarceration of three month old infants.
Since the day Donald Trump announced his candidacy he has boldly claimed that there is an immigration crisis on our southern border. He has been relentless in his assertions that the illegals “infesting” our country are violent gang members that are bringing drugs and crime into our communities. He has told us that these criminals are stealing our jobs and costing our country billions. And he has claimed that this surge of illegal border crossings is worse than it has ever been before.
These assertions are all lies. Statements that can be easily proven false by examining the statistics produced by Trump’s own administration.
In 2017 the US border patrol apprehended 303,000 illegals crossing our border. Only 228 of these illegals had gang affiliations or a criminal record. That’s 0.07%. The remaining 99.93% were law abiding individuals and families fleeing the gang violence in their own countries.
Contrary to Trump’s false narrative…the number of immigrants crossing our borders is not “surging.” Quite the opposite. According to the Trump administration’s own statistics; the number of immigrants crossing our borders has steadily declined ove the past 20 years. In fact, in the past fours years the number of immigrants leaving our country has surpassed the number coming in.
As for the violence; while there are pockets of extreme violence in many Mexican border towns like Tijuana, there is zero evidence that that violence has spilled over our borders into towns like El Paso and Brownsville.
Finally, Trump’s claim that immigrants are draining our coffers is at odds with the Department of Health and Human Services study which shows that while immigration costs our country $131 billion, the economic revenue generated by immigrants exceeds $194 billion; a $63 billion dollar surplus.
Trump is lying. The facts on the ground simply do not support Trump’s histrionics. Yet Trump is doubling down on his campaign of fear; even to the extent of subverting due process and incarcerating babies in black sites. If that sounds hyperbolic, then explain why the press, the Red Cross nor members of congress have been permitted to enter these facilities to view the children’s living conditions. What are they hiding?
There can only be one reason for Trump to pursue such an unconscionable campaign. Racism. The promotion of race based fear that resonates with Trump’s political base. Twenty to thirty years from now white people will no longer be the majority race in this country. People are scared to death about that and Trump is playing on those fears.
In Trump world…there are brown people entering our country. People that don’t look like us are bringing drugs and crime into our communities. They’re stealing our jobs, robbing our coffers and changing the identity of our country. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
This is overt racism.
Once you know the truth behind the lie there can be no other conclusion.
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