Trump’s other victory: How he shifted the conversation on immigration
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Trump’s rhetoric on immigration was seen as racist and coarse. Now, it’s the consensus, Eric Garcia writes. On Friday, the Senate voted to advance the Laken Riley Act, legislation that would allow for the deportation of migrants who are arrested for theft, burglary, or shoplifting. The biggest surprise? Ten Democrats joined along.
![[Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida represented competing visions about immigration and the Republican Party. Now, Rubio will be Trump’s Secretary of State.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/04/28/18/BIDEN-TRUMP-BROMAS_61333.jpg)
That vote came after 48 Democrats joined Republicans in the House of Representatives to advance the bill, despite civil rights groups warning that the legislation could grease the skids for Donald Trump’s proposed mass deportation push. As if that weren’t enough, 61 Democrats joined House Republicans on Thursday to advance legislation by Nancy Mace that would make sex crimes like rape a deportable offense, even though sex crimes are already subject to the punishment.
All of this comes as Trump prepares to return to the White House. The Republican has promised to enact mass deportations of immigrants living in the United States illegally, and polling shows that a large slice of American voters support Trump’s plans. A decade after his rhetoric was slammed as xenophobic, racist, and out of step with much of the American public, it seems a significant number of Americans are in line with where Trump is.
It signifies a shift in the politics of immigration since Trump announced his first candidacy for president. Back then, his calling Mexicans rapists, drug dealers and criminals lost him multiple brand endorsements from Macy’s and ESPN. NBC stopped broadcasting The Apprentice in response.
