Could Immigration be the Issue Trump Uses to Make Good on Promises to Unify the Country?
On inauguration day, half the country woke up feeling let down by the election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States. The disappointment was bound to have happened no matter which side of the divide won. The 2016 election cycle was a deeply polarizing period for the country. It served to show just how divided everyone in the nation was. One of the major issues that became quite evident during the election was the issue of immigration. Both candidates shared wildly different views on the issue. We at RunRex.com have decided to examine how Trump could use it to unite the nation.
Immigration has always been a complex issue in America since it goes beyond party lines. Those who are for immigration usually find allies when Congress votes on issues such as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform. A good idea of this is when Jon McCain (R) teamed up with Marco Rubio (R) and Democrats Chuck Schumer and Richard Durbin to from the infamous “gang of eight” that drafted the Comprehensive Immigration bill of 2013.
In general, polls show that a majority of Americans are in support of modest immigration reform that would help to address the issue of over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US. Those in support of immigration reform were so many that even Trump felt there was a need to go back on his promise to deport 11 million immigrants.
Additionally, despite the distaste for the rhetoric about building the wall, there appears to be some support on both sides of the divide about strengthening security at the border. This is especially so at the Mexican border. While the Republicans still have the majority in both the House and Senate, it will take some support from the Democrats to push forward with a wall. However, it is not going to be a continuous solid wall.
Instead, it is likely going to be made up of a patchwork of more border agents, technology, remote monitoring, and some more miles of more physical barriers. The issue of immigration and a wall create a picture of what may end up being a compromise. First, they will need to address the issue of many undocumented immigrants in the US. Secondly, they will also need to address the issue of the broken immigration system. Right now, it is suffering a backlog of millions of people trying to enter the US.
However, ideas such as adding new H1B numbers to the annual quota, exempting dependents from the employment-based quota, or taking further steps to reduce the wait times may be tricky to achieve. These are the very issues that led to voters trooping to polling stations to vote for Trump. The main reason Trump was winning so much was that he promised to bring back jobs to the US and put Americans first. He also promised he would roll back unfair trade deals like NAFTA.
What to Expect in the Next Four Years
The election cycle taught most people that making predictions was a risky affair. However, there is still hope. These two things might still happen in the four years of the Trump presidency.
First, no matter how much rhetoric Trump puts out there, he does not have the capabilities to deport over 11 million immigrants. Such an undertaking would quite literally cripple the US economy. When he realized this, Trump backtracked a bit for his hardline position. There are signs that he could be willing to move further back.
It is reasonable to think that while crisscrossing the nation, Trump heard how much American people were struggling. He may now understand how much difficulty mass deportation would cause many good people. As a result, Trump may now not be willing to go ahead with it. No matter how crazy this may sound, it would not be the first time that he has backtracked on a position.
Another issue that Trump needs to understand is that a majority of American did not support him. Thus, he may be concerned enough with his popularity that he may try to resurrect the idea that he is a good businessperson who makes good deals.
From the desire to appeal to more people in the US, and with the backing of his previous statements on the role that compromise plays in success, he may compromise on his hard stance. He may even be willing to allow some legalization program or some guest worker program for those who want to stay in the US legally.
Despite his various flip-flops on the issue, Trump would eventually be able to claim some victory for being able to achieve something that has failed others. The issue of immigration reform in the US is an issue that has been around for many decades. Unfortunately, all presidents usually choose to back away from it and hope someone else does something about it.