From The Hill: Americans care about children. We get
upset when we hear stories or see images of children in distress. The
problem is, some in positions of power exploit that concern to achieve
their political agendas. They use words and show images that don’t
reflect the truth . . . .
The playbook goes something like this:
Identify an issue, in this case,
the immigration laws whereby children of illegal aliens were housed
separately while their parents’ cases are being adjudicated. Then spread
wild misrepresentations, sensationalism and flat-out lies about the targeted policy. Next, deploy fellow travelers in the media, entertainment
and the pundit class to pile on manufactured outrage at the enforcers
of such a purportedly sinister policy. After several days of scathing
media coverage declaring the entire nation aghast at the policy, the
president calms his panic-stricken congressional allies and seeks to
appease the angry mob . . . .
It’s
played like a street hustler’s card game, and the American people are
starting to realize that they are the sucker in the game.
People
are getting wise to the kind of manipulation that took place with the
children at the border. They see the absurd exploitation in the news,
such as the publishing of photos
suggesting that Trump policies put migrant children at the border in
cages, until it was revealed that the photos were from the Obama era or
not from the border at all. Migrant children in U.S. government custody,
it turns out, are housed in very comfortable facilities
with better food, housing, medical care and education services than
many American children in low-income families receive. They see that
foreigners are being coached by lawyers from open borders groups to say
the “magic words” that trigger the asylum process, even though their
claims may be dubious at best.
Americans
do not want a two-tiered justice system which gives non-citizens more
rights than themselves. They are sick of politicians who value the
interests of foreigners over U.S. citizens , , , ,
More
Americans see that allowing unfettered, chaotic migration to America is
not an act of kindness, but an irresponsible act that Americans suffer
for on a daily basis. For every illegal alien who merely seeks better
financial prospects — not grounds for asylum under U.S. law, it is worth
noting — there are too many others who bring with them MS-13 gang
membership, drug trafficking, violent crimes and murder.
They see their local schools, hospitals and social services
overwhelmed. Even when nonviolent aliens enter the country illegally,
they often commit identity fraud with stolen social security numbers,
which forces American citizens to repair the damage to their lives. Who
in the media pleads the case for these innocents? Simply put, illegally
entering our country is not a victimless crime . . . .
It
is clear that the outrage being hurled at President Trump has almost
nothing to do with concern for the children. It is merely the latest
tactic by those who desire an open southern border, to the point that
the United States can no longer be considered a nation of laws and
borders . . .
If those who claim a
monopoly on caring for the children at the border really want to help
them, the best thing they could do is to stop conning the American
people while demonizing those who only want a safe, sovereign America.
Stop the games and start working on real solutions.
Brian
Lonergan is director of communications at the Immigration Reform Law
Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and
interests of the American people from the negative effects of illegal
migration.
