Donald Trump's Bad Politics

LThe issue of immigration has long been a blind spot in US President Joe Biden's agenda of structural reforms. This inaction is explained by internal democratic differences and above all by the lack of consensus between the two major parties represented in Congress. When illegal entry figures hit a historic high in December, Joe Biden resigned himself to trying to provide answers. In return, the president expects a deal on new military aid for the benefit of Ukraine from Republican elected officials.

To achieve his goals, Joe Biden agreed to toughen his positions. The compromise plan, currently being drafted in the Senate by elected officials from both camps, would include a significant increase in the number of agents responsible for border patrol, increased capacity at detention centers and expedited screening procedures for asylum claims, or even increased resources to deport rejected people.

Joe Biden abandoned the demand for regularization in favor of those who immigrated to the U.S. soil illegally when they were minors and then became fully integrated into American society. Until now, this has been a constant demand from the Democratic camp.

Such a bilateral agreement, if adopted, would mark a turning point after decades of impasse that has left the United States legal to rise to the challenge represented by a significant increase in illegal entries. The last deal, reached in the Senate in 2013 under a Democratic president with the help of eight Republican-elected officials, was then blocked by the House of Representatives, controlled by the Grand Old Party, because it was deemed insufficiently restrictive.

Republican drift

Everything suggests that the episode could be repeated because of the activism of a man who wants to present himself as a champion of the fight against immigration: Donald Trump. The latter really throws its full weight into defeating this compromise, however, it is possible to massively reduce illegal entries. Less than ten months before the presidential election, the former businessman wants to inflict defeat on his future opponent in November, rather than taking steps to meet his demands.

There were no surprises from the former president, who earlier in the month appeared nonchalant about the prospect of an economic crisis that occurred before he returned to the White House. With a narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a Trumpist twenty elected officials hostage, this bad policy is much easier to implement.

The slide of the Republican Party did not stop there. The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has actually decided to turn a deaf ear to the Supreme Court's ruling, although he authorized the removal of barbed wire fences installed by his services on the Mexican border. The barbed wire actually blocks access to the Federal Border Police, its prerogative. By placing Texas sovereignty above the federal government, the governor is dangerously weakening his state, much to the applause of Donald Trump.