Sometimes, even a "counter-puncher" can punch himself in the face. Especially if that "counter-puncher" happens to be named D****** T****.
I'm referring to His Orangeness' recent trial balloons regarding transporting refugees via bus to U.S. cities that have designated themselves as "sanctuary cities," without any formal acknowledgement of their legal status, or any other due process that might subsequently protect them against harassment, or worse, by government or private actors. In his warped view, this will somehow teach the governments of these cities, as well as their political supporters, not to oppose T**** on any aspect of immigration policy, lest they suddenly be inundated by people he has described as "animals."
Unsurprisingly, especially since T**** is the one proposing this, the legality of this proposal is dubious at best, and (more likely than not) non-existent at worst. In fact, officials within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have apparently been discouraging him for some time from pursuing it. This, along with other reasons, probably goes some distance toward explaining T****'s recent purge of several of his top DHS appointees, most notably the Department's Secretary, Kristjen Nielsen, who have spent much of the past two years testing and frequently exceeding the boundaries of both their legal and moral authority to satisfy their boss' need to use immigrants--and refugees in particular--as a political whipping post.
But now that Stephen Miller, the architect of T****'s crueler anti-immigrant policies, is now poised to be the sole whisperer in T****'s ear on the subject, all gloves and bets appear to be off. The limits will no longer be tested, or even merely exceeded. Instead, they will be smashed to pieces, transforming the United States--the nation of the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breath free--into a pariah in the community of nations, and (far worse) the author of an incalculable amount of human misery.
On the other hand, with regard to his proposal for sanctuary cities, maybe that's not entirely the case. In fact, assuming that it doesn't involve massively unacceptable violations of national and international law (a generous assumption), perhaps there's a case for letting him proceed with doing it.
Let me explain.
T**** has also said recently that no one, documented or undocumented, refugee or otherwise, can be allowed into the county, because he has arbitrarily made the decision that the country is full. To borrow a reference to his alleged favorite holiday, Christmas, there is no room for the stranger and sojourner at the inn of America.
Well, that's what he believes. And, like much of what he believes, it's 100% wrong. The fact of the matter is that there are large portions of this country that have been largely abandoned by their former residents, and that can hardly be called cities or towns in any meaningful sense. They are largely collections of real estate and infrastructure that once housed productive activities and meaningful lives--and could do so again, with a modest amount of governmental effort and investment. Immigrants would do the rest, if they could just be allowed into the country and be given the opportunity to do what they have historically done in cities and states all across the U.S..
And, in the process of doing this, they would not only boost tax revenues at both the state and federal levels, they would create jobs that would put less fiscal stress on social programs at both levels. This recent article from the New York Times fairly summaries the value of immigrants to the decidedly "empty" stretches of the American landscape.
The article mentions Baltimore as one city that his experimented with policies designed to encourage immigrants to move in and participate in the rebuilding of struggling communities. As a native and nearly lifelong resident of the Baltimore area (including city neighborhoods), I can testify from personal experience that it is very far from being "full." Within the boundaries of the city itself, there is a large number of vacant blocks for which there are no current plans other than demolition, and the vague hope that someone with money will come along and decide to translate all of the resulting vacant lots into some sort of urban paradise.
Of course, anyone familiar with Baltimore's current struggles with public safety and integrity within the city government can guess as to how much of a fairy tale that hope is, actually. On the other hand, maybe the huddled masses currently massing at our southern border are the potential authors of that fairy tale. What if they were the one with the potential to make it come true?
And what if calling T****'s bluff on his "sanctuary city proposal was not merely good fiscal and humanitarian policy, but a vehicle for scoring political points as well? It's painfully clear at this stage that T****'s political appeal rests fundamentally on his lifelong intolerance toward people of color. What greater form of payback could there be for Democrats and their supporters than forcing him to act on his dishonest words, and let the results provide all of the rebuttal to them that is needed? After all, a lot of the "empty" areas of this country are in so-called red states--the ones that have been abandoned by blue residents tired of living with decades of failed Republican policies. The ones left behind have been led to believe that immigrants have "stolen" their jobs. But what if they had the opportunity to see immigrants created new businesses and jobs, both for themselves AND for their new neighbors? Is it too much to hope for the possibility that, if immigrants are given the chance to show what they can do, they can effectively make their own case to even the most intolerant of audiences?
Perhaps that is too much to hope for I have to admit that two-plus years of life under T**** has done a lot to set back my sense of what might yet be possible in the American experiment. But I'm determined to not let it be set back any further. And, as a nearly lifelong Democrat and a partner in an immigration law practice with my wife, nothing would make me happier than to see a "counter-puncher" punch himself in the face with his own ignorant, racist bravado. After all, Trump started with everything, financially speaking, and found new and novel ways to turn it into nothing. As this Times article illustrates, those with nothing often have not only the greatest incentive, but for that very reason also have the keenest insight, on how to create value. Perhaps those "animals" could teach T**** a thing or two about capitalism.
Actually, I don't think he's teachable, any more than he's a real capitalist. Otherwise, by now, we'd have seen his grades as well as his tax returns.
Go ahead, D******, and make my day, as well as the day of thousands of people who still believe in the promise of this nation, even in the face of your ignorance, your bigotry, and your insufferable ego. Bus them in, and knock yourself out in the process.
After all, at least one newspaper in your home town is begging you to do it.
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