Why would they need a “hall pass” if our immigration policies weren’t broken?
I wouldn’t say it was superficially similar, Obama used tear gas at the border about once a month in 2012-2013, and again in later years, according to DHS data. It was a common method used throughout his years as president.
But you’re right that context matters. The only reason I’m somewhat sympathetic to Trump’s tough line during the tear gas incident is for two reasons. One, there was a large caravan traveling to the border that presented a unique challenge, a caravan which ultimately arrived and stormed the border. Having a tough immigration stance in the face of this large group of people attempting to cross illegally is not immoral, wrong, or out of place. I don’t agree to the logic that stricter border security is inherently wrong because it leads to illegal crossings.
Second, Trump inherited the same asylum backlog that existed during the Obama years. This will require an overhaul that, while we cannot credit Trump for attempting to address, we also cannot credit his predecessor who gave him this problem. It is not a Trump-created problem.
“Broken” is a subjective term. Just because they want in doesn’t mean that we don’t have the fundamental right to say “Sorry, we’re full–have you tried Brazil?”
Maybe if we’re actually “full” and not just saying we are because of racism and xenophobia.
Fuck if I can tell the difference between this post and Dacien’s trumpanzee nonsense.