Immigration policy in this country is mess, but it has been that way for a long time.
You’d get a very different impression from listening now to certain lawmakers and members of the press.
The way they tell it, U.S. immigration has become uniquely terrible in just the last 14 months. Never mind that many of the same policies that these people are decrying today are holdovers from the Obama administration — back when the same critics were mysteriously silent and apparently lacked such concerns.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is a good example of this curious sort of selective outrage.
“This is an administration policy that is separating these families; a Trump administration policy!” the senator said Monday during an appearance on “The View.” “If Donald Trump wants to change it, and let families stay together, he can change it.”
Warren added in reference to current policy of immigration officials breaking up illegal immigrant families (at least temporarily) after their apprehension, “But the fact that those families are being separated at the border, the fact that children are being torn out of the arms of their mothers, is on Donald Trump’s head and nobody else’s.”
The audience loved it. Only … it isn’t true.
View co-host Meghan McCain noted the obvious: “Even though it is a policy in place under [former President Barack Obama]?”
Whoa, Nellie!
So abruptly did the senator’s tough talk shift, that you could practically hear tires screeching. Once St. Obama’s name had been invoked, she turned on a dime from harshly blaming Trump to insisting that the blame game is counterproductive!
“The administration is the one that decides, day by day by day, where are we on these kinds of rules. There’s some things, as you know, have to go through Congress takes forever. There’s some things that are often administrative agencies,” Warren said.
She kept the word salad going: “This one is one the president makes the decision. And now what are we all doing? We’re all talking about something else. … We’re talking about what could’ve been done two years ago or four years ago or 10 years ago. Let’s face it: We need comprehensive immigration reform. We need real change.”
View co-host Joy Behar asked, “So you’re saying instead of blaming Democrats … why not just fix it now?”
“Let’s not go backwards and the blame game,” said Warren. “If you think it’s wrong, change it. And if you don’t think it’s wrong, if you’re not willing to change it, then own it.”
That’s some impressive turnaround time. From “it’s on Trump’s head” and “no one else’s” to “let’s not play the blame game.” All in less than a minute!
Far be it from me to dissuade members of Congress from involving themselves in how government officials treat illegal immigrants. But pardon me for being a bit suspicious of the all-too-cute timing of some of their protestations.
A cynical person would suspect that Warren’s concerns in this area don’t extend beyond political self-interest. But I’m not that cynical — as least not as cynical as Warren appears to be.
