Washington, DC — In The New Republic, Greg Sargent writes “Suddenly, Trump’s Ugliest Threats Are Facing Surprise GOP Resistance,” capturing the tension, implications and worry among some Republicans and their state and local business interests over Trump’s coming immigration crackdown and his antipathy towards the expanding green energy economy. American jobs and well-being will suffer if Trump’s disinvestment in renewable energy jobs occurs and if his mass deportation threats materialize. This agenda would hit rural areas and red states among the hardest and the Republicans who live there are rightly concerned. Two additional new stories about the economic impact of Trump’s deportation plans – Forbes: Trump’s Plans To Deport Immigrants Likely To Harm U.S. Workers by Stuart Anderson and NPR: Lessons learned from when the Obama administration deported millions of people by Jasmine Garsd – reinforce the negative impact on jobs for native born Americans that would come from Trump’s deportation scheme.
Douglas Rivlin, Senior Communication Director for America’s Voice, said:
“Divisions are emerging among leading components of the GOP coalition as business interests and entire economic sectors vital to our economy are at ground zero when it comes to bearing the brunt of Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Buyer’s remorse will continue to build when Americans feel the pinch of higher prices in their wallets, and when neighborhoods and congregations are touched by Trump’s deportation plans. Key leaders inside the Republican coalition in business, faith, government and law enforcement sectors should not just quietly try to tamp down the impact on themselves directly or petition for special treatment, but speak out against the larger impending damage throughout the country and recognize we need reform and not restrictionism.”
Below, read key excerpts from Greg Sargent’s “Suddenly, Trump’s Ugliest Threats Are Facing Surprise GOP Resistance,“
“There are still nearly two months to go before Donald Trump assumes the presidency again, but Republicans or GOP-adjacent industries have already begun to admit out loud that some of his most important policy promises could prove disastrous in their parts of the country. These folks don’t say this too directly, out of fear of offending the MAGA God King. Instead, they suggest gingerly that a slight rethink might be in order. But unpack what they’re saying, and you’ll see that they’re in effect acknowledging that some of Trump’s biggest campaign promises were basically scams.
…Something similar is also already happening with Trump’s threat to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Reuters reports that agriculture interests, which are heavily concentrated in GOP areas, are urging the incoming Trump administration to refrain from removing untold numbers of migrants working throughout the food supply chain, including in farming, dairy, and meatpacking.
Notably, GOP Representative John Duarte, who just lost his seat in the elections, explicitly tells Reuters that farming interests in his California district depend on undocumented immigrants—and that Trump should exempt many from removal. Duarte and industry representatives want more avenues created for migrants to work here legally—the precise opposite of what Trump promised.
Now over to Texas. NPR reports that various industries there fear that mass deportations could cripple them, particularly in construction
… In the end, Trump’s deportation forces may selectively spare certain localities and industries from mass removals. Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan, suggests this won’t happen. But a hallmark of MAGA is corruptly selective governance in the interests of MAGA nation and expressly against those who are designated MAGA’s enemies, U.S. citizens included. One can see mass deportations becoming a selective tool, in which blue localities are targeted for high-profile raids—even as Trump triumphantly rants that they are cesspools of “migrant crime” that he is pacifying with military-style force—while GOP-connected industries and Trump-allied Republicans tacitly secure some forbearance.
Indeed, there is historical precedent for something like this. In one infamous 1990s episode, Georgia lawmakers intervened to get immigration authorities to back off deportations during the state’s Vidalia onion harvests.
… At the most basic level, Trump-MAGA “American carnage” mythology holds that reversing the elite-engineered energy transition and purging the nation of millions of undesirable migrants are key to rescuing left-behind areas from stagnation—and rebuilding the foundations of virtuous, long-term working-class flourishing. In reality, the green transition and immigration are potential keys to revitalization. It’s striking to see Republicans already more or less confirming this themselves.”
Additional AV Resources
- Read America’s Voice, “Growing Concern Among Business and Industry Leaders About Impact of Mass Deportations”
