The following is a statement from Douglas Rivlin, Communications Director of America’s Voice, regarding the Trump administration’s plan to transport and release immigrant detainees into so-called “sanctuary cities,” as reported by the Washington Post:
Trump is failing and flailing on immigration, his signature issue and the heart of his 2020 reelection strategy. So, these are desperate times at the White House. They are enlisting the Department of Homeland Security as an arm of the Trump 2020 campaign; they are cleaning house to put in their own operatives; and they want to shift blame for Trump’s border fiascos to Democrats. Trump and his co-President Stephen Miller are not interested in addressing the humanitarian crisis for Central American refugees or modernizing our overall immigration system. Instead, they are solely interested in weaponizing the immigration issue for the campaign.
The entire strategy – relocating scared children and parents who are fleeing violence as a political stunt – speaks to Stephen Miller and Donald Trump’s larger world view: immigrants are pawns and democracy is bloodsport fit for a Roman Coliseum.
We reject their premise. Many American cities, like most Americans, embrace immigrants and welcome them into the fabric of their communities, particularly those women and children fleeing violence, poverty and corruption. Immigrants make our communities stronger and our neighborhoods more vibrant and those seeking safety, who should not be met with incarceration and summary deportation in the first place, deserve our help, not to be bussed around as part of a Trump-Miller political game.
The stark reality is this: Trump and his acolytes are engaged in an abuse of power and the abuse of the people’s government for their own political gain. Trump’s banality knows no end. We know our President is easily manipulated by those who stroke his ego and tell him what he wants to hear, but Stephen Miller’s behavior is that of a bully who is playing politics with the lives of actual human beings. Both the puppet-master and the President should be held accountable for toying with children and families for their own personal or political gain.
