In addition to moral toll on America, center-right American Action Forum study find mass deportation would inflict massive economic costs;
No room for equivocation: GOP elected officials and candidates must follow lead of Sen. Ben Sasse and others and reject Trump
We have never believed that Donald Trump would try to, or would be capable of, changing his nativist, anti-immigrant stripes as he heads into a general election matchup. Sure enough, the presumptive Republican nominee last night reiterated his mass deportation vision during an interview with Lester Holt of NBC News. After reaffirming his support for a ban on Muslims, Trump said regarding undocumented immigrants:
“Yes, they’re going to be deported. Look, we either have a country, or we don’t. We have many illegals in the country. And we have to get them out, and go through a process, go through a system…”
As we outlined yesterday, Trump is attempting to mainstream a vision of America that is ripped directly from the fringes of the white nationalist and anti-immigrant movements. He seeks to implement his mass deportation plan through a Deportation Force, which would seek to remove every undocumented immigrant and millions of American citizen children within the first two years of his administration. This dystopic vision would result in: immigration agents roaming Latino neighborhoods; a massive increase in the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants; U.S citizen kids having their citizenship and passports revoked; weeping families being ripped apart; immigrant workers being pushed out of jobs and into a burgeoning informal sector of exploited labor; a massive wave of resistance and conflict throughout America; and allies around the world denouncing America for human rights abuses.
In addition to the profound moral consequences of implementing mass deportation, the center-right American Action Forum yesterday released a study outlining the staggering economic consequences of Trump’s mass deportation vision:
“[Implementing mass deportation would] reduce real private sector output by 2.9 percent to 4.7 percent or $381.5 billion to $623.2 billion. The negative consequences of removing all undocumented workers from the private sector would be particularly harmful to the industries that employ these workers, such as agriculture, construction, and leisure and hospitality.”
The staggering moral and economic consequences of mass deportation underscore why this is a moment of truth for Republicans, whether they are #withTrump or not. There is no room for equivocation or middle ground on this matter, as country should always come before party. Unless Republicans follow the lead of Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, Reps. Bob Dold and Adam Kinzingerof Illinois, Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Rep. Scott Rigell of Virginia, Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos Curbeloof Florida, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and others like them and disavow Trump’s vision and announce that they will not vote for him, they are providing cover and support for Trump and his dangerous vision for America.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, “This is no ordinary election. Republicans who know in their heart that Donald Trump is antithetical to who we are as a country and the values we hold dear, and then decide to support him, will be marked for the rest of their lives as moral cowards. Those who take a principled stand and put country over party will not only be forever remembered for their courage, but also will be the very Republicans with the standing to build a Republican Party that sheds its coddling of nativism and adapts to the changing American electorate. This is a moment of truth. All of America is watching and taking note. Do you abhor bigotry and authoritarianism and embrace our belief in E Pluribus Unum, or do you stand with a nominee whose policies and views are immersed in racism?
