By Shlomo Rudman. With the Central American caravan camped out across the southern border waiting for an opportunity to enter the United States, some of those in the caravan have become violent, throwing rocks and bottles at Border Patrol officers, causing injuries to several of them. The Border Patrol policeman have been extremely patient with them, but have been forced to spray tear gas at the unruly crowd in order to protect themselves from the flying debris.
Democrats have created an uproar over the use of tear to tame the threatening assembly of asylum seekers at the border fence. Many have compared the response to war crimes, and they’ve been inundating the airwaves with rhetoric denouncing the border, President Trump, and Republicans in general for not indiscriminately permitting the members of the caravan to receive asylum.
The Democrats behavior on the issue reeks of two-facedness and hypocrisy. In 2013, when Barack Obama was president, border patrol agents used pepper spray to assist them in fending off a group of migrants who attacked them with stones and bottles. Everyone, Republicans and Democrats, agreed that the utilization of pepper spray, considered to be an intermediate use of force, was completely warranted. Yet this time around, in a nearly identical situation, Democrats are throwing a tantrum. NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called the use of tear gas “horrendous”, former Obama advisor Ben Rhoades, who worked in the White House at the time of the 2013 incident, admonished Republicans over it’s use, and so on and so forth from dozens of Democrats.
For decades, securing the border was a non-partisan issue, one on which Democrats and Republicans agreed that it was a crucial element in protecting the nation and upholding it’s sovereignty. Even as recently as 2006, Democrats approved of plans to strengthen border security. The Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizing the erection of 700 miles of fences along the border with Mexico, as well as checkpoints, lighting, and vehicle barriers, was passed with major Democratic figures, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Chuck Schumer all voting in favor of it. Another 23 Democratic Senators joined them in concurring with Republicans that border security along the southern border was far too porous. Then-Senator Obama praised the bill as one that would “help stem the tide of illegal immigration in this country”.
So what changed? Demographics did. As the Latino population in the United States continued growing, politically-savvy Democrats recognized illegal immigration to be a powerful wedge issue which they could use to portray themselves to the nation, specifically Latino voters, as being more compassionate and understanding than their Republican colleagues. Democrats began using illegal immigrants as props in their propagandized moaning over the plight of the immigrants.
The strategy worked. Whereas in 2004 President Bush got 44% of the Latino vote, in 2008, John McCain received just 31% of the Hispanic vote, which became a key driver in helping propel Barack Obama to the presidency. In just several years, Democrats managed to sell themselves as champions of Latino civil rights and Republicans as depraved, soulless monsters who wished nothing more than ridding the United States of anyone who wasn’t of “pure” white lineage.
Don’t fall for the Democrats shtick. When you hear them bemoaning the tear-gassing of criminals wounding US law enforcement, remember that it for some reason didn’t concern them in 2013, when Obama’s administration sanctioned the very same response. When you hear Democrats decrying the Trump administration policy to protect the border, keep in mind that they too voted to do the same just a few short years ago.
It is undoubtedly true that many of the migrants in the caravan are truly helpless people who deserve a fair chance at a better life. But that must be dealt with rationally and whilst taking every factor into account. Democratic tears over the issue aren’t real, nor do they solve the problem. All they do is garner for the Democrats a few more votes. Which is exactly what they want.
what do you expect from the dems?
Why can’t issues get debated on their own merits? It’s always about ‘what about that other story?’, or look at that hypocrisy.
Are the current moves right, under international laws about refugees? Is this not what was outlawed after the shameful treatment of refugees in other crises during history? The law is clear, these people must be allowed to request asylum and then processed according to the law. If their claims are found to be without merit, they will be repatriated. This preemptive judgement is dangerous for the world, and those of us who had ancestors who suffered from this kind of treatment, should be especially sensitive to this.
Actually during the Obama administration pepper spray and tear gas were used on border crossers who had crossed the border and were on US land. This does not mitigate the wrong, but it is disingenuous to think that lobbing tear gas grenades at people in Mexico is the equivalent. Both are wrong, and one is a violation of Mexican sovereignty. Please check your facts and do some research before posting a dog whistle you haven’t fully researched.
I would also add that during the Obama administration children were not gassed.