I’ve been canvassing voters in a swing state. More than three quarters of those who support Trump cite immigration as their top issue. I’ll paraphrase what one said to me:
“We shouldn’t have to put up with all these ‘illegal’ immigrants. [He actually made air quotes.] I don’t like that I go to work and my money supports illegals. I don’t know about you, but that’s not why I go to work.”
I know immigration is a complex issue, and it’s easy to view it simplistically along these lines. “They shouldn’t be here, so why should my taxes pay for anything they receive in social services?” I also know this storyline is false, since immigrants (documented or not) generate more in taxes than they receive in social services, but that’s a statistic that may run counter to people’s anecdotal observations.
Finally, I know I’m unlikely to change any minds, and I might just be asking for trouble. But I hate standing there like an idiot going, “uh-huh, sure.” Is there a response I can give that just might engage one person in a conversation and, perhaps, to re-evaluate their stance?
More and more, the No. 1 thing people respond to is, “Is X category of people like me, or politically similar to me?”
You could point out that the majority of Mexican illegal immigrants are of Christian/Catholic background and hold socially conservative views (if that’s true.) But ultimately most Trump voters (like most voters of any stripe) care about whether immigrants - legal or not - are future D or R voters.
Do you really think that’s why they care about immigration? Immigrants won’t be voters for several years, if ever. I think their concerns are more immediate – e.g., they don’t want their taxes paying for services for people who (they believe) shouldn’t be here.
People voting Republican due to issues real and imagined regarding taxes and “my money” are quite common in my world. Perhaps you could show what their money is actually used for by the government, rather than what they imagine it is.
No, I disagree. Engage them. Pushing back - in any way - will only engage their defensiveness and tribal instincts (the two things that dominate American political discourse at the moment).
Instead, ask them for a solution. Say something like, ‘Well, how would you want to deal with it? We’ve been trying to prevent people from crossing the border since WWII. It hasn’t worked so some new solution needs trying. What do you think would work?’
See, it allows you to engage them in dialog while allowing them to take lead. It’ll require you to be nimble enough to take what they give you - if anything - and turn it into something positive that you can pitch regarding your preferred candidate. I have faith you can do that.
Remember, even with enhanced enforcement and detaining people they’re still coming. No matter what they’ve done they’re still going to come. So be prepared not to argue but to go with something like, “Good thought, how would that deal with X?” and similar. If you have something you can hook on thank them for their ideas, mention how your preferred candidate has something similar (think fast, here) and move on. Remember to thank them for their time and thoughts and say you’ll take it back to HQ.
It might not work - it sure won’t for some - but these games are won at the margins. And NO one disagrees with you when you’re thanking them for being helpful.
Probably not. As Velocity notes, they are not really thinking about this rationally, but just responding to identity politics. If I were you, I’d just get a stack of small pamphlets with a digest of the actual facts, and say, “I used to think that, too, but then I learned about the truth [spoken in conspiratorial tone],” and then give them the pamphlet and walk away.
People like that like to think that they have some kind of access to “the real truth” that other people don’t. It’s the whole Alex Jones effect, and Trump taps into it to a certain degree.
You could point out that it’s the efforts to keep illegal immigrants out that consumes massive amounts of tax money not the illegal immigrants themselves. Illegal immigrants generally don’t receive social services because for obvious reasons they avoid bringing themselves to the attention of the government.
That won’t matter in most cases though. Money’s just a rationalization for their stance. The real cause is xenophobia.
I like Jonathan Chance’s approach. People like to feel listened to. Even if you don’t have enough information at hand to have a discussion, just gathering some data might help you. Once you know what or how people are framing the issue, then you might be able to find a way to continue the conversation in a productive manner, rather than having their minds just turn off.
You really wanna change their minds? Say you completely agree with them that illegal immigration is a huge issue and that Trump’s strategy won’t work. Trump wants to build a wall -a strategy that didn’t work even thousands of years ago (they’re already manufacturing 31 ft ladders in Mexico!) - while Democrats have plans to use the latest satellite and drone technology - the same used to capture Osama Bin Laden - the man that attacked our great nation on 9/11.
I absolutely do think that’s what’s in their mind, even if they don’t say so out loud. If Mexican illegal immigrants were stalwart GOP voters and MAGA conservatives, the Republican Party would be pulling out all the stops to bring them in in as great numbers as possible. The fact that these illegal immigrants would be taking their jobs would be considered an acceptable trade-off.
“Obama was able to deport many immigrants without all the hoopla. Bernie Sanders will be able to deport even more than Trump because the media won’t care about it anymore.”Fist bump
You can’t reason with them. They believe what they believe. One of my brothers-in-law shared this Facebook post today:
They have the impression that “illegals” get all these benefits the instant they cross the border and the actual facts are totally irrelevant. Can’t reason with them, just have to outvote them.
This is by far the best tactic. Just make sure that the language of the pamphlet solely addresses the issue of illegal immigration and spins it so that Trump looks like the incompetent - it should have nothing in it that expresses solidarity with anything in the Democratic platform.
If OP is looking to dispel myths and to enlighten, then correcting this belief:
“Why Do Seniors On Social Security Have To Pay Medicare & Supplemental Insurance & Yet Illegals Get It All For Free?”
is a great place to start.
Octopus and Sunny Daze agreeing that o have a decent solution. I’m feeling good.
Look, the first step toward any discussion is acknowledging that the other side has opinions and that those opinions are worth exploring. To treat all people that disagree as a lost cause is the height of pointless arrogance. You’re out there to canvass. So canvass.
Yes, they seem to think their hard work is somehow supporting illegal immigrants. If I arm myself with some actual facts about the social services immigrants do and don’t receive, maybe a dialog as suggested above can be productive.
But this still doesn’t make any sense. Immigrants can’t vote for five years, minimum, and undocumented ones never can. Aren’t “they’re taking our jobs” and “they’re stealing our social services” more immediate and therefore more likely concerns?