Don’t Fall for the Trap: Framing Migrant Children Arriving at the Border as a “Crisis” is a GOP “Divide and Distract” Tactic

Over the previous few weeks, the Republican celebration and their right-wing media allies have tried to use determined migrant children on the border for political acquire. Despite the info on the bottom, the GOP employed a coordinated effort to solely blame President Biden, framing the scenario a “disaster.” Their give attention to the border is all about politics, not coverage. It’s a cynical and strategic racist play. Sadly, many within the media have fallen proper into their lure and helped amplify their strategic racist political narrative. The GOP is incorrect each on the problems and the politics. We can not fall for the GOP lure, dividing Individuals and distracting from the work of offering actual options. 

Watch and share our explainer video right here:

For the GOP It’s All Cynical Politics With No Coverage

Members of the GOP advised us precisely what they have been going to do: use the border as a political prop mixed with a racist deceive blame immigrants for spreading the virus, crime, and terrorism. 

On February 23 on ‘Hannity,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham stated, “I predict this, that immigration will probably be a much bigger subject in 2022 than it was in 2016.” The following day, the Washington Put up quoted white nationalist and high GOP strategist Stephen Miller saying, “From a purely political standpoint, [immigration] is a recipe for Democrats to have a historic drubbing within the midterms if we will make it whilst massive a problem or larger than Obamacare.” Former Home Speaker Newt Gingrich, a longtime Trump ally, additionally stated, “In the event that they don’t management this, it’ll be an enormous subject this 12 months, and it’s a problem that will get you into public well being, into the problem of defending America and whether or not there are borders.” Basically Miller and Gingrich are saying the GOP ought to use the border as a political prop with a racist deceive blame immigrants for spreading the virus and rising crime. 

Many members of the celebration are totally embracing the technique. The Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the celebration committee allied with Senate management, has been polling on the problem. They’ve already run advertisements in Georgia and Arizona exhibiting an early funding in xenophobic dog-whistles as their midterm election technique. And, this weekend, 18 Republican Senators are touring to the border for photograph ops.  

On the Home aspect, the Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House Republicans, and 33 Republican members of Congress used the hashtag “BidenBorderCrisis” in an effort to assemble the strategic racist political body Miller and Gingrich recommended. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14),  Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-03), the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) – an xenophobic hate group with ties to white nationalists the GOP has repeatedly taken their messaging cues from created neo-Nazi collaborator Jack Posobiec – additionally have been pushing this phrase to assist assemble the strategic racist political body of a “border disaster.” 

In the meantime, Home Minority Chief Rep. Kevin McCarthy led a dozen members to the border for a fear-mongering photograph op the place they gave deceptive fear-mongering narratives about terrorists and medicines on the border. For the GOP, the border is all about politics and cruelty, not coverage. Sen. John Cornyn made that clear when he criticized Biden’s “humane therapy” of migrants.

Xenophobia is No Longer the Wedge Difficulty it As soon as Was

The Miller and Gingrich political idea of utilizing strategic racism to depict non-white others because the specter of illness and hazard to distract from the GOP’s full failure to enhance the lives of the American folks is harmful and politically ineffective. Time and time once more we’ve seen the horrific and sometimes lethal penalties of dehumanizing a marginalized group, particularly when backed by highly effective voices, thousands and thousands of {dollars} in advertisements, and media echo their narratives. However, GOP candidates used an aggressive xenophobic dog-whistling campaigns in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 and we watched that technique repeatedly fail or backfire.

In 2017, Steve Bannon boldly predicted that Ed Gillespie would win the Governor’s race as a result of he had embraced Trump’s anti-immigrant messaging (many pundits believed him). He was incorrect. Miller predicted the identical in 2018 and 2020. He was additionally incorrect. However many within the GOP and the pundit class are nonetheless making comparable predictions. Aggressive dog-whistle xenophobia may fit with a shrinking base of Republicans that candidates suppose they should woo to get previous the first, however it’s a dropping long-term technique. 

We have now the receipts>>

The notion that dog-whistle xenophobia is politically savvy and can damage Democrats is outdated and a lazy political evaluation.

The Information

The GOP’s coordinated effort to border migrants on the border as a “Biden Border Disaster” was meant as a tactical political distraction – a distraction from the info: 

• The variety of migrants on the border are in step with a typical seasonal enhance.
• Migrants nonetheless got here to the U.S. beneath the cruelty and chaos strategy the GOP employed beneath Trump.
• Writing in The Week, Ryan Cooper calls the concept that there’s a disaster on the border “nonsense” saying “There’s a downside on the border, however it isn’t remotely a ‘disaster.’ It’s an administrative problem that could possibly be solved simply with extra sources and clear coverage.”
• David Bier of the Cato Institute writes, “The explanation that arrests have reached such a excessive degree is that since March, the overwhelming majority of crossers are instantly expelled to Mexico beneath authority in Title 42 of the U.S. code. As soon as despatched again to Mexico, the expelled can promptly recross. With out these repeat crossers, the primary few months of fiscal 12 months 2021 would look almost equivalent to fiscal 12 months 2019 earlier than the pandemic.”
• Alexandra Yellin of Human Rights First writes, “The prospect that individuals making the choice to flee for his or her lives are basing that call on adjustments in U.S. immigration coverage is each woefully self-centered and laughably wrong-headed.”

A GOP distraction from GOP failures

The GOP additionally hopes to fear-monger on the border to distract from their failures in serving to and defending the American folks. For instance, zero Republicans voted for the aid invoice that gave Individuals stimulus checks, prolonged unemployment, and helped scale back youngster poverty. 

They helped stoke a terrorist assault on the Capital and refused to confront these accountable. As an alternative, they blame kids looking for refuge, with some members like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) going as far as to say, “They’re kids as we speak, however they may simply be terrorists tomorrow.”

Don’t Fall For the Lure

The brand new administration is fixing an deliberately damaged mess and making an attempt to construct a secure, humane, and well timed system to course of asylum claims. Utilizing the GOP’s “disaster” body will not be goal journalism. It solely helps dehumanize migrants on the border and perpetuates the GOP’s strategic racism. The GOP is seeking to divide Individuals and distract them from the work of offering actual options. There are large challenges and actual crises that we face. A disaster of overcoming a worldwide pandemic, a disaster of racial justice, and a disaster going through environmental adjustments. Migrants on the border, particularly kids, is a problem Individuals should meet with humanity and respect. As DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just lately stated “We are able to do that.”