I have written a new article at CounterPunch titled, “Birth of a Xenophobe: How Donald Trump Learned to Hate Immigrants.”
It begins:
On March 15, 2013, an aspiring politician took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and proposed an immigration reform more radical and left-wing than anything ever enacted in America. He called for total amnesty and citizenship for all 11+ million illegal immigrants in the US, declaring that “you’re going to have to do what’s right.” And then he urged dramatically expanding legal immigration by millions to add even more citizens. His name: Donald J. Trump.
I encourage you to read the full article, and share with others. I think one of the important takeaways for persuading potential Trump voters to oppose him is the notion of how cynical and unprincipled Trump is. Here is someone in 2013 who thinks complete amnesty is the right thing to do, and only worries about the political consequences for Republicans.
The article also reveals how Trump’s approach to immigration was shaped by his life as a conspiracy nut. During the midst of his birther crusade in 2011, Trump claimed that the Mexican government was smuggling criminals into the US, and this insane theory became the foundation for “Mexico will pay for it.”
Understanding Trump on immigration reveals a lot about how vile Trump is.