I've Seen Lies From Both Sides Now, Immigration Edition

They’re annoying me now on the subject of immigration.

Immigration is a problem; it has been a problem for several years; it may be a major issue in the upcoming presidential election.

How do Democrats lie about immigration?

When asked why President Biden didn’t do anything about the immigration problem during his first three years in office, Democrats lie. They say it isn’t true that Biden did nothing about immigration for three years. Democrats say that Biden proposed an immigration bill very early in his administration, and Republicans opposed it.

No, no, no: Early in his term, Biden issued an executive order to encourage lawful migration to the United States and to undo many of Trump’s earlier restrictive policies. Biden also proposed an immigration bill loaded up with Democratic priorities. The bill was designed to create a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. That bill looked nothing at all like the recent immigration bill, and Biden knew full well that the earlier bill wouldn’t pass.

The truth is that Biden largely ignored (and may in fact have exacerbated) the immigration problem for three years. He then realized that immigration would be a problem for him in the upcoming election. Seeking to neutralize his political problem, Biden gave the pen to Republicans to write a tough immigration bill, which Republicans then did (and Democrats acquiesced in the bill, rendering it “bipartisan”).

Thus, Democrats are lying: Biden did not try to do anything about immigration early in his term. He ignored the issue until he realized that he might lose the 2024 election because of it.

How do Republicans lie about immigration?

When asked why Republicans opposed the recent immigration bill (which Republicans had basically written), Republicans say that the bill is both bad law and unnecessary. It’s supposedly bad law because it would allow 5,000 illegal border crossings per day. The bill is unnecessary because Biden can solve the immigration problem with executive orders; Biden should do that.

No, no, no: The recent bill would have permitted the border to be closed under certain circumstances and required that the border be closed under other circumstances. If you oppose illegal immigration, then a border closing is a good thing, not a bad one. And Biden could obviously reverse his original executive order on immigration, but executive orders can’t do everything that legislation can. Republicans are lying when they say these are the reasons why they opposed the recent bill.

Republicans opposed the bill because immigration is likely to be a great electoral issue for Donald Trump. Trump didn’t want to solve the problem and thus take the issue off the table. Republicans would rather have a live political issue than a solution to a problem.

A pox on both their houses.

How should you look at this question?

Here’s one way to think about this: Ask yourself, “Which is the greater sin?” Democrats sinned by miscalculating about immigration at the beginning of the Biden administration and then ignoring an important issue for three years, until politics forced their hand. Democrats only belatedly tried to solve the immigration problem, in part to cure a political headache.

On the other hand, Republicans sinned by being given a chance to solve an important problem — a problem that supposedly constituted a “crisis” — and choosing not to solve the crisis in order to maintain a political advantage in the upcoming election.

You can decide for yourself which is the greater sin and vote accordingly (if you’re a single-issue voter on the issue of immigration).

Personally, I’m just howling at the moon again: Politicians infuriate me.  Owoooooooo!