It’s clear what Donald Trump’s strategy is this November. He sees he may very well lose a Republican-led Congress that has failed to be a check on his blatant corruption, racism, and destructive policies. So in the Central Americans that are still hundreds of miles away and are seeking asylum here, he wants you to see “criminals” and feel fear. Reject this.
Reject his ignorant notion that vulnerable people, under U.S. and international law, do not have a right to seek asylum. They do. Reject his baseless lies—aided by mainstreamed propaganda—seeking to turn moms and children into shadowy figures that are supposedly a danger to you. In reality, they’re the ones escaping danger and they face further danger during their journey here, including their treatment under U.S. hands.
As Kerry Eleveld wrote this past weekend, the Republican strategy of hate is “a sign of extreme desperation. After Democrats won the messaging war on the GOP's tax giveaway to the rich, it's simply too toxic to run on. And now that the GOP's supposed Kavanaugh ‘bump’ is fading, Republicans are left with nothing to sell but racism and sexism.”
“Of course, we’ve seen homestretch fear-mongering over immigrants before,” noted immigrant rights coalition America’s Voice. “In Virginia’s 2017 governors race, Republican Ed Gillespie stoked fear of immigrants as his closing argument, and ended up losing by 9 percentage points. But that isn’t stopping Trump and the GOP from going back to the well.”
All the while he’s hoping you’ll forget about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who continue to remain without permanent protections, the kidnapped migrant children who continue to remain under U.S. custody in blatant violation of a court order, and the mass deportation agents who continue their abuses while a complicit Republican-led Congress looks the other way.
GET OUT THE VOTE to hold Republicans accountable for their hate. Just click here, enter your zip code, choose the event that works best for you, and RSVP to attend.
Don't let up the pressure. Can you give $1 to Beto O’Rourke and other Daily Kos-endorsed candidates for Senate and House?
Trump won’t talk about Yonny, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient who came here as an unaccompanied minor, and today is a small business owner. “I became my own boss and opened by own business,” he said. “I got permits and created my company, and little by little, it grew.” But without permanent protections, Yonny could not only lose everything he’s worked for, but also be deported.
Trump won’t talk about Helen, the migrant child who was kidnapped from her grandma’s arms and separated for 55 days. Officials apparently thought the 5-year-old was old enough to sign a legal document waiving some of her rights. She was eventually reunited with her family, but she remains traumatized. “Lately, at bedtime, Helen hides in the closet and refuses to go to sleep, afraid that her family might leave her in the night.”
Trump won’t talk about Claudia Patricia Gómez González, the indigenous woman from Guatemala who was shot and killed by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent. Border Patrol initially claimed she ambushed the agent with “blunt objects,” but this was a lie. Months later, her case remains shrouded in secrecy, while the possible witnesses to her death have, conveniently for Border Patrol, agreed to their own deportation.
Claudia, much like the children and families in today’s headlines, came here for a chance to live:
Trump’s “divide and distract” strategy will only get worse as Election Day approaches. Reject it, and remember we can fight for both our health care and for the dignity of the migrants among us—and the asylum seekers who wish to be among us. “The majority of Americans embrace immigrants and want leaders to bring us together and solve problems, rather than blame others,” said Frank Sharry of America’s Voice. “The majority of Americans dislike the divisiveness Trump relishes. Election Day is an opportunity for that majority to be heard.”