Protecting Trump’s enemies from prosecution just reinforces the idea of politics as retribution. Instead, Democrats should be defending his most vulnerable targets.

Protecting Trump’s enemies from prosecution just reinforces the idea of politics as retribution. Instead, Democrats should be defending his most vulnerable targets.

  • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
    502·
    2 days ago

    The problem is that pardoning undocumented immigrants won’t have any real effect. Yes, crossing the border illegally is a crime, but is the equivalent of a misdemeanor; in other circumstances, it would likely result in a fine and no jail time. But even if they’re all pardoned, that doesn’t give them legal status in the US. There’s likely not a lot that Biden can do to give them the status that they would need. And even if he could, there wouldn’t be much to stop Trump from revoking it.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      91·
      2 days ago

      Eh, do it anyway and force them to waste time arguing in court about it. Obstruct them like they do us.

    • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
      9·
      2 days ago

      Here’s a straightforward thing the Biden administration could do without Congress to protect migrants

      In the period between now and Inauguration Day, on January 20th, the Biden Administration could still give immigrants additional layers of protection before Trump takes office. One of the most obvious possibilities is to expand T.P.S. for Nicaraguans [and other migrants]… So far, however, the Administration appears unwilling to do so, just as it remains opposed to renewing parole for those who entered through Biden’s “pathways.” Trump almost certainly will revoke parole. Either way, the senior congressional staffer told me, “parole is a weak protection compared to T.P.S.”

      When Trump tried to end T.P.S. for certain nationalities in his first term, federal courts blocked him on the grounds that he had a “predetermined presidential agenda” that betrayed a racial “animus.” According to a former Biden Administration official with knowledge of current talks, the State Department supports expanding T.P.S. for Nicaraguans, based on a straightforward analysis of what’s happening in the country, but Mayorkas, at D.H.S., is opposed. (A D.H.S. spokesperson said that this was false and that “no decision has been made.”) “Extending T.P.S. used to be one of the easiest things Democrats supported,” the senior congressional staffer told me. But the Administration’s approach is now constrained by anxieties that it might seem brash or opportunistic on its way out. “It’s becoming evident that they believe immigration was one of the main factors in the electoral defeat,” the staffer said. “They don’t want to take actions that would double down on what they believe is a failed political strategy.”

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
        31·
        2 days ago

        Lmao, they think taking the Republican line loudly and proudly failed so they’re refusing to to double down by taking the democratic line from a decade ago? I’m not saying I don’t believe the staffer, the Save America Pod interview made it clear they’re completely detached from reality, it’s just hilarious to me.

      • ZK686@lemmy.worldEnglish
        15·
        2 days ago

        But we’re talking about ILLEGAL MIGRANTS… are you morphing the two together?

        • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 day ago

          We’re talking about the same people, Biden could and should extend TPS protections to all of them to clear up any bullshit immigration officials are trying to pull

    • makyo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      2 days ago

      Agreed, it won’t stop the radical right GQPers from doing their evils. Plus it will alienate more people on the immigration issue - what the USA needs is real solutions and people would see this for what it would be, political gamesmanship.

      • ZK686@lemmy.worldEnglish
        16·
        2 days ago

        What evils? There are no evils. Republicans simply do not support ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION… jesus, this is becoming worse than r/politics that swings so hard left, it’s nuts…

        • makyo@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          Last time Trump separated families, do you think this time they’ll play nice? But sure, keep you head in the sand.

          • ZK686@lemmy.worldEnglish
            13·
            1 day ago

            And Obama, Clinton, Biden… didn’t do anything right? I mean, their hands are clean right? It’s ONLY Trump that’s trying to fix out immigration system? You don’t get to choose who’s had moral high ground with this issue. All Presidents have had to deal with it differently, some are just better at hiding their tactics.

      • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
        11·
        2 days ago

        Plus it will alienate more people on the immigration issue

        Immigration was the 2nd most important issue to voters, after direct economic issues (e.g., how well they felt they were doing economically). Without seeing what mass deportations will actually do to the economy and country as a whole, the majority of people that voted this year are in favor of the shit the GOP has promised to do.

        the USA needs is real solutions

        There isn’t one, not really. Certainly nothing that can be done in a mere four years, and probably not in sixteen. The countries that people are coming from are largely desperately poor, and struggling with gang violence. The way to ‘solve’ the immigration issue is to correct the problems in their own countries so that they don’t feel like making the journey to the US is a necessary for their survival. We can have some degree of effect on the gang violence by cutting the demand for the drugs in the US that fuel the gang violence in central and south American countries. But we can’t do much of anything directly. We can dump money into the issue, but then you have the problem of people in the US screaming about how we should be helping people in the US before doing any kind of foreign aid (spoiler: we wouldn’t be helping people in the US anyways).