They're Hooked On A Feeling

Our border control agents should be pleased to learn that Donald Trump has as much regard for them as for anyone else not named Donald Trump. The real estate mogul yesterday stated immigrants are

coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably -- probably -- from the Middle East. But we don't know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don't know what's happening. And it's got to stop and it's got to stop fast.

Or at least we think Trump was talking about immigrants. (He uttered "immigrant" or any variant thereof only once, between nuclear weapons and the Second Amendment.) He claimed also

Thank you. It's true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

He's not saying they are- just assuming they are, as he now assumes Barack Obama was born in the U.S.A. Further, the notion that crime rates soar as an area increases a glut of immigrants is a myth, as noted by this Think Progress blogger who recalls also

Trump’s claim that undocumented immigrants are rapists stem from a nativist argument often peddled by anti-immigrant activists and politicians. For example, Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who’s introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at restricting immigration, has dedicated an entire webpage to undocumented immigrants who have killed American citizens.

But at least Steve King was obsessed about illegal immigrants. Trump made no distinction between legal and illegal immigration, ignoring the understanding among Repub politicians that they must at all times pretend they are targeting only illegal immigration.

In so doing, Trump represents  the Republican id, as he did when making a remark largely unnoticed and seemingly at odds with the nativism.  Part of his solution is to undo President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  But also: "I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. "

Amazing. "It's coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably -- probably -- from the Middle East," Trump warns as he irresponsibly raises the specter of terrorists overrunning Texas.  Yet, he found it necessary to assure his audience he would "build them (walls) very inexpensively"- then to add "And I will have Mexico pay for that wall."   (He must be the kind of builder Tom Paxton was singing about, below.)

An audience member, not noticing that Trump evidently cares so much about stopping immigration he won't commit a cent to doing it, yelled out "yeah!"  Fitting that was, because with a lot of conservatives, it's less about immigration than about sticking it to Mexico and Mexicans. America- yeah! USA! USA!










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