The Trump Trap

Trump's immigration proposals are a hot mess that can be summed up as follows: Build a wall, enforce the law, and protect the jobs of Americans.

But who can be sure that any of this is real?

President Obama promised to make immigration reform a top priority, tried to explain away record numbers of deportations by claiming that he lacked the executive power to halt them, insisted that his administration was only deporting dangerous criminals and not hardworking people looking for a better life, and pledged that thousands of women and children refugees from Central America would be treated humanely.

None of this was true. It was all one big con job intended to fool the Democratic base.

Likewise, Trump's policy paper is a mixture of bluster, generalities and vagueness. You hear what you want to hear.

As when Trump tells Chuck Todd, moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press": "We're going to keep the families together. But they have to go."

This isn't the same as declaring that you would forcibly remove entire families. One could do what Obama did: Deport undocumented parents, and hope their U.S.-born children follow.

Those on the right who take Trump at face value on immigration will likely be just as disappointed as those on the left who were taken in by Obama.

This brings us back to the idea of ending birthright citizenship, which is catnip to the nativist wing of the GOP.

So when NBC's Hunt asked Walker if he wanted to jump onboard Mr. Trump's Wild Ride, the governor said uncomfortably:

"Yeah, to me it's about enforcing the laws in this country. And I've been very clear, I think you enforce the laws, and I think it's important to send a message that we're going to enforce the laws, no matter how people come here, we're going to enforce the laws in this country."

No one who has studied Walker's multiple choice positions on whether we should give the undocumented legal status would agree that he has been "very clear" on immigration.

What is clear is that Walker, and the other GOP contenders, would likely never have been dragged into the thorny debate over birthright citizenship if not for Trump. And now with his spineless "me-tooism," Walker has disqualified himself from the race. Moderates won't go near him, and the folks who agree with him are with Trump anyway. That's a recipe for losing.

Thanks for playing, Governor. You're done.

Republicans, beware of the Trump trap. Things are not what they seem. Every policy proposal is really a character test. And a presidential campaign is a terrible thing to waste.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.