A History of Fearmongering
Richard Nixon, the maestro of fearmongering, once claimed that “People react to fear, not love.” During the 1968 presidential campaign, Nixon won the hearts of conservative voters by encouraging racial discrimination and boasting that America’s values and power structure were being threatened by a liberal agenda. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately, fear has always been an incredibly effective form of political rhetoric. George W. Bush was able to fund his war on terror by creating a color-coded matrix that never failed to display an elevated threat warning. Bill Clinton passed his crime bill in 1994 by preying on people’s fears and warning that a crack down on violent juveniles was the only way to protect the country.
According to an article released by The Washington Post, Donald Trump has issued over 10,000 false and misleading statements – averaging about 17 per day since taking office – for the sole purpose of galvanizing support for his most controversial policies. On April 28, 2019, President Trump made the mistake of commenting on a policy that even his stalwart supporters have mixed feelings about: family separation.
Trump Lies About the Family Separation Policy
In a phone interview with Fox News, President Trump declared that the family separation policy had been a carryover from the Bush and Obama administrations, and that the decision to stop the practice was a mistake. He told host Maria Bartiromo, “When they used to separate children, which was done during the Obama administration, with Bush, with us, with everybody, far fewer people would come, and we’ve been on a humane basis, it’s pretty bad. We go out and stop the separation. The problem is, you have 10 times more people coming up with their families. It’s like Disneyland now. In our country, you have to bring them to court and you have to have Perry Mason involved, it’s all legal. You have lawyers standing at the border. Our people, lawyers, wise guys, standing at the border, signing people up.”
In reality, this “zero tolerance” policy was developed by Jeff Sessions, the president’s former attorney general, and enacted for the purpose of imprisoning undocumented asylum seekers. For months, migrant children were seized from their parents’ custody, with no protocols in place to reunite them, and transferred to centers across the country. Many of these children still haven’t been returned to their parents.
President Trump was forced to rescind the family separation policy after videos of the children sparked a national uproar. However, he has since come to regret this revocation, which he calls a “disaster,” because it’s led to an increase in the number of immigrant families attempting to cross the border. During the call with Fox News, he called on Democrats to vote on tougher immigration laws, claiming that the United States has “things that nobody in their right mind would have, such as chain migration and a visa lottery. He added, “We’re trying to get rid of them; the Democrats won’t do it. We need some Democrat votes. We’re unanimous with the Republicans, but we need some Democrat votes.”
Trump concluded the call by touting the untested benefits of his 400-mile border wall, which he assured would be built by the end of 2020.
Schedule a Consultation with a Qualified Immigration Attorney
Contact the Coral Springs immigration attorneys at Guerra Sáenz, PL if you have questions about your immigration status or require legal representation. Our trial-tested legal team is diligent about keeping up-to-date on this country’s fluctuating immigration policies because we understand the various challenges associated with the legal immigration process. During your appointment, we can examine your case, explain the extent of your legal options, and guide you through each step of your personal immigration journey.
Call Guerra Sáenz, PL today at (888) 936-3228 schedule a consultation.