In the run-up to the midterm elections, President Trump talked up the approaching caravan of migrants. At rallies he played on fear, he mobilized thousands of troops to the border, and his campaign aired an anti-immigration ad that networks, including Fox News, refused to air or stopped airing over racism and falsehoods.
With midterm votes (mostly) in, Trump has largely dropped talk of the caravan, but immigration is clearly still on his mind.
Just after the election, he moved to change asylum laws, making it more difficult for those arriving at the border to claim the protections guaranteed under law. The proclamation, issued Friday, implements a 90-day entry ban on anyone who shows up at a place other than a port of entry seeking asylum. He justified such measures saying there is a “crisis” at the border.
Now, Trump is reportedly looking to oust Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. With a planned trip to the border together canceled and presidential grumbling about her, the position at the helm of the $60 billion agency will likely soon be open.
According to officials who spoke with the Washington Post, the president is angling to replace Nielsen after just under a year on the job because she didn’t live up to the president’s vision of immigration enforcement.
Yes, apparently the woman who went to bat for Trump over his abhorrent policy of using family separations at the border to deter migrants wasn’t enough for him.
Apparently, Trump is looking for someone who won’t raise pesky objections to his economically disastrous plans like closing the border with Mexico entirely. Instead, he wants a DHS run by someone without the habit of explaining laws and regulations and with a clearer sense of loyalty.
To be sure, Nielsen isn’t out yet, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is a strong advocate for keeping her on. As for his changes to asylum, those have already been challenged in court.
But the president’s gripes with his DHS chief and his order on asylum are strong signals of where his thoughts on immigration are. For those who had hoped that post-election Trump might drop some of the worst of his xenophobic rhetoric, that looks to have been wishful thinking.
Instead, the White House seems intent on keeping the issue in the forefront of voters’ minds with plenty of policy and personnel moves to back up Trump’s words.
For the GOP, that likely spells trouble for 2020. Fiery anti-immigration talk from the president likely cost Republicans seats in the House in key suburban districts last Tuesday, and Trump’s latest moves indicate he won’t be toning it down any time soon.
