The Republican party’s first original platform since 2016 establishes closing the US-Mexico border to migrants and carrying out mass deportations as the Republicans’ top two priorities.
The document, released on Monday, reflects former President Trump’s rhetoric and style, from the nature of his proposals to their grammatical peculiarities.
Following a preamble that stylistically imitates Trump’s personality on social media, the platform lists 20 general policy proposals, starting with two points related to immigration.
“SEAL THE BORDER AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION,” reads the platform’s No. 1 policy position, which formalizes the concept of “migrant invasion” as official Republican Party policy.
Describing migrant arrivals as an “invasion” is relatively new in mainstream politics and has been divisive even among immigration restrictionists.
But for advocates, the use of violent terms to describe migration is a new element of a developing nightmare scenario.
“We see a four-alarm strike for our country as the official Republican Party platform formalizes xenophobia and recklessly spreads misinformation and fear,” said Kica Matos, president of the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund.
The Republican Party’s second policy proposal strikes at the heart of the immigrant defense movement: mass deportations.
“PERFORM THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY”, says point 2 of the document.
Trump frequently refers to the Eisenhower administration’s infamous “Operation Wetback,” although not by name, as a model for his deportation force. The 1950s operation, largely a continuation of Truman-era immigration policies, involved military-style detentions in Latino communities in the Southwest, often deporting U.S. citizens of Mexican descent along with foreign nationals.
“Mass deportations, the centerpiece of the platform’s immigration policy, will irreversibly destabilize American communities, tear families apart, and decimate the economy. There are no solutions here, just hate,” said Matos.
And the platform’s tenth proposal mixes immigration policy, global drug trafficking and criminal justice.
He pledges to “stop the epidemic of migratory crime”, a position also consistent with Trump’s decisive speech.
Despite a broad body of studies suggesting that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born residents, the alleged links between migration and crime have taken hold among most Republicans and several Democrats, particularly at the state and local level.
The GOP platform’s 20-point list of priorities is followed by a more detailed look at policy proposals.
These proposals focus on an “invasion”, on migrant crime and on a vision of a major expansion of border and immigration surveillance.
“Republicans will restore all Trump administration border policies and stop all interior releases of illegal aliens. We will complete the Border Wall, transfer large parts of federal law enforcement to immigration law enforcement, and use advanced technology to monitor and secure the border,” the document says.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
