(04-08-2021 10:50 AM)Danforth Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 10:43 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Democrats see a steady stream of illegals as a steady supply of future democrat votes. They don't want to do anything that will stem that side.

I thought Trump's preoccupation with a wall was a tactical error. A wall makes sense along land borders in CA, AZ, and NM. But along the Rio Grande, there are just too many issues. I was actually hoping that the "Art of the Deal" would be trading the wall for a coherent, rational immigration policy. Regan had a deal with Tip O'Neill to put such a policy in place back in the 1980s, trading amnesty for illegals already here to get it. But Tip and the democrats reneged on their side of the bargain, and there has been bad blood on both sides ever since. The problem for republicans is how do you negotiate with someone that you fundamentally distrust.

My understanding was that the policy long ago was to enforce the border at the cities in order to force immigrants to risk crossing in the desert. This did two things.

1. It kept them out of sight
2. It made it less likely that they would try it or if they did, be successful doing it.


Trump's border wall, while popular with many, actually creates a different problem because it forces the immigrants to attempt entry back into the cities where they are more likely to be captured and thus, seek asylum.