Editorial: The politics of Deporting
This gesture against the immigrant community should be remembered at the voting polls
Republicans are trying to revive every previously discarded measure to facilitate immediate, certain deportation Crédito: Archive
The new U.S. House of Representatives has a very clear stance on immigration. First, eliminate the deportation deferral program, and then expel both the young DREAMers and the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens.
President Obama’s executive action put to rest last year’s doubts about legislative leadership. The GOP’s internal debate is still being won by the hardliners, who are even more emboldened.
The Republican majority’s project not only seeks to eliminate protection for millions of people with relatives in the United States. It is also trying to revive every previously discarded measure to facilitate immediate, certain deportation.
Last Friday the Republican majority unveiled its plan to use the Department of Homeland Security budget negotiations, at the end of February, to block implementation of the President’s executive actions for the past several years.
The measure, produced by Congressmen Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Robert Aderholt, makes clear that their goal is not to stop an allegedly unconstitutional presidential action as part of a theoretical power struggle. What they seek specifically is to expel youth and break families.
This is why the proposal also eliminates DACA protections, reestablishes the Safe Communities program, requires the local and state authorities to cooperate with ICE, limits the discretionary use of parole for people being processed, and changes the priorities for deportation.
It will be difficult for such a radical plan to get through the Senate. Democrats can block it. But not even the remote chances of having their bill approved discourages the House Republican deporting faction.
This kind of legislative extremism on immigration is always explained as a gesture to please the conservative base. It’s much more than that. It is also an attack on the Latino and immigrant communities, whose repercussions are as specific as inhuman and painful. It’s a gesture to be remembered at the voting polls.
