Dems miss the immigration boat again

Either they do nothing or they overdo it. There's something called balance—that's their job. To maintain that balance.

Not just one, but 12 Democratic senators teamed up with the Republicans to pass the Laken Riley Act. After initial approval by the House in March 2024, it faced setbacks and was amended in the Senate. It passed the House again on January 7th and has now cleared the Senate, heading to President Trump’s desk.

The Democrats who voted yes include Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), and Mark Warner (Va.).

I'm all for Democrats and Republicans working together, like they did during President Biden’s term. It's great when they push things forward together. However, this immigration bill isn't so straightforward.

Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised it, saying, “This legislation will ensure that illegal aliens who commit theft or assault against law enforcement officers are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not released onto the streets. I’m eager to get this bill to the president’s desk.”

But there's a dark side to the bill. It includes provisions that could lead to abuse by those in power. An anonymous senator expressed huge concerns to The Hill, saying,

“There is huge frustration that the bill didn’t go to committee on something so consequential. We’re looking at mandatory imprisonment based on mere accusations, without charges or convictions, and it even involves kids.

This is a broad attack on fundamental principles, with no judicial review.”

It's alarming, right? Why would this senator choose to stay anonymous while making such a crucial point? The bill was screaming for a filibuster, begging the Democrats to unite and refine the rough edges of this first immigration bill of Trump’s term.

But no, they got scared. They hesitated to use their power, afraid of being labeled pro-migration by Trump, allowing the GOP to dominate. This tells the GOP that they control the immigration narrative, showing that the Democratic party is neither united nor strong on this front.

Why was it so hard to push for amendments in the Senate?

Look, there was a GOP senator who shut down the government for weeks to kickstart a presidential campaign. When Donald Trump derailed the bipartisan immigration bill earlier last year, what consequences did he face?

None.

None, whatsoever.

At ever opportunity Donald Trump tries to score a political victory. And yet, here was a golden chance for Democrats to show they aren't afraid, that they want to address the immigration crisis without backing down. But they folded under pressure, imagined or not.

What they’ve done yesterday is let the GOP bulldoze through all checks and balances.

Trump just pardoned several MAGA protestors who had assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6th. It's always the same: one rule for MAGA, another for everyone else. Soon, it could become one rule for white nationalists and another for everyone else. This is the slippery slope we're on.

When Democrats held the trifecta, they neglected immigration issues, leading to a point where they now align with Republican immigration policies. Progressive groups are outraged at the Democrats for supporting the Laken Riley Act, but it was this very fear of backlash from these groups that previously stalled Democrats from passing effective immigration legislation.

Now look where that’s gotten us.

When your goal is to protect people, which is what the far left claims, then they must encourage the Dems to do the right thing. If they really care about helping those who are already inside the border, the only way to do so is by arresting the flow of new entrants at the border.

Democrats need to change the narrative on immigration. Ignore the far-left and push to relocate asylum processing from the southern border to embassies abroad. This will immediately reduce the influx at the border, allowing the U.S. to better manage those already here. Once that is done, they can then turn their attention to create a path for seasonal migration to support industries that rely on cheap labor.

The Republican Party understands the importance of the immigration issue and will try to keep it simmering for as long as possible, harming as many as possible. Cruelty makes for great TV. They will not immediately jump on board if the Dems start pushing to relocate asylum processing from the southern border to respective embassies in foreign nations.

That is their weakness.

Pin them down on it.

Either the dems fear the left and do nothing or they fear the right to make a mess. The real job for Democrats isn't to sway to the extremes but to ask: What’s the right thing to do? They need a long-term perspective to see if their decisions align with their goals.

Sure, passing the Laken Riley Act might have been okay—if they had amended it to protect against misuse by law enforcement. Did that happen? No, it didn’t.

So, here we are, with the Dems having sided with the Republicans without doing their homework, and the country has to live with the consequences.