This is the seventh in a series in which we show how Trump’s MAGA movement is the new American fascism. We use a template laid out in an article published in 2003 by historian Lawrence Britt, which analyzed seven fascist regimes and the common threads linking them. You can read the previous blog here.
“Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.”
Since he descended the golden elevator in 2015, the “foreign powers” portrayed as threats to his admirers have been Muslims, China and anyone crossing the Mexican border into America.
Trump stokes his followers’ nativist fears and white supremacist impulses. We have seen it with the obsession over the “wall,” a wall the Mexicans would pay for (they did not); in his “Muslim travel ban”; and in his insistent characterization of SARS Cov2 as the “Chinese virus,” or “kung flu.”
Since MAGA directs most of their venom and hatred at the “foreign powers” at the southern border, let’s focus our attention on it.
Yes, there is a problem at the southern border, where a flood of undocumented asylum-seekers and refugees fleeing collapsing economies and rising authoritarianism in their home countries appear daily, knowing they will be released into America pending their hearings. American asylum courts are hopelessly understaffed, however, guaranteeing them a multi-year stay. According to Syracuse University there is a three-million-case backlog in the immigration court system and only 600 judges to hear them all. Biden’s attempt to deal with the problem—budgeting for massive staffing increases—was rebuffed by the House GOP. Why? Because Republicans are not interested in humanitarian solutions to the border issue—they want to use it as a potent electoral wedge issue, knowing that fear and anger do more for voter turnout than cogent policy making.
This GOP inaction is nothing new. Let’s take a look at the last attempt at comprehensive immigration reform: the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.” Formulated by the bipartisan “Gang of Eight,” the legislation passed the Senate by a resounding vote of 68-32. Reacting to furious opposition from the Tea Party, then-Speaker John Boehner refused to bring the bill to the House floor, where it would certainly have passed with bipartisan support.
In retrospect, some of the bipartisan bill’s provisions are astounding.. The addition of 40,000 border patrol agents. Authorization for the National Guard to participate in operations related to border security. Construction of a double layer fence along certain parts of the southern border. Funding for additional surveillance and surveillance technology. All to meet a target of stopping 90% of illegal border crossings. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that this bill would have reduced the U.S. fiscal deficit by $197 billion over 10 years and by $700 billion by 2033. The Social Security Administration said that it would help bring in $276 billion in additional revenue over the next 10 years at a cost of only $33 billion.
So, what was wrong with it? For the GOP, offering a path to citizenship for 11 million brown-skinned “illegals,” no matter how long and tortuous the path, would dilute the power of their white constituents—would “poison our blood.” Looking at this bill with 2024 eyes, it’s apparent how our border would have been transformed —and how the immigration process would have improved—had the Act been passed a decade ago.
In spite of the hatred directed at those trying to enter our country, we must face the fact that healthy immigration is essential for the economic well-being of our country. Thomas Friedman, perhaps put it best in 2021:
“If we just emphasize the high wall, and wear cruelty as a badge of honor, as Trump did, we lose out on the huge benefits of immigration. But if all we do is focus, as many on the left do, on the evils of a wall and ignore the principles of a big gate—that would-be immigrants and asylum-seekers need to get in line, ring our doorbell and enter legally, and those who don’t should be quickly evicted—we will also lose out on the huge benefits of immigration.
Why? Because so many Americans will think that the border is open and out of control that they will elect leaders who will choke off all immigration, which is the lifeblood of our country. Have no doubt, a seemingly out-of-control border would be a godsend for the Trump G.O.P.—an emotional club even more evocative than the mantra “Defund the police” with which to beat Democratic candidates in the midterms.”
In other words, when it comes to our southern border, we need to build a high wall with a big gate.
The 2024 Presidential race is ramping up. It is clear that Trump and his allies are using the national security “threat” at our southern border exactly as Friedman predicted. Little wonder they do not want to compromise. Doing nothing to quell the border chaos is simply good politics for the GOP.
Next week: “Religion and Government Intertwined.”
How is this for a headline from “Business Insider?
