Democrats take advantage when Republicans trip over immigration
SAN DIEGO -- In their treatment of immigrants and refugees, Republicans are really bad. But this doesn't mean Democrats have been any better.
The Obama administration was never all that good at dealing with newcomers. And often, it was terrible.
Just how terrible became clear last week thanks to a report released by the American Civil Liberties Union -- which was often missing in action while President Obama was in office but now seems to have awakened from its siesta.
The report alleged that many unaccompanied minors from Central America who crossed the U.S.-Mexican border between 2009 and 2014 -- that is, during the Obama administration -- were repeatedly beaten, sexually abused, stunned by Tasers, deprived of food and medicine and threatened with rape or death by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Complaints were filed with the Department of Homeland Security, but they were largely dismissed.
When it comes to immigrants and refugees, the party of Barack Obama must not get a pass on everything it has ever done wrong -- just because the party of Donald Trump can't do anything right.
In one of the latest examples of Trump's undeniable hatred for Latinos, The Washington Post described an Oval Office meeting last year in which Trump reportedly described hypothetical rapists and murderers with made-up Latino names.
You can see why Latinos look more favorably on Democrats. That party's Latino outreach material writes itself: "Vote Democrat. We're not Republicans."
But politics isn't like a rewards program where the more loyal you are to a hotel chain, the better you're treated. With political parties, those who are loyal are often not treated very well.
I say as much whenever a group asks me to speak about the politics that drive the immigration debate.
"Don't you think you were a bit too hard on Democrats?" a woman asked after a recent speech to a community group.
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