Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has based his candidacy on being an outsider who will “make America great again”.
Trump is perceived as going against the political establishment, particularly because he is not a career politician who is owned by lobbyists. Trump has delved into various issues, such as tax and trade reform; however, his presidential run has predominantly focused on the issue of illegal immigration, in particularly the infamous wall. It is his position on the issue of immigration, more than any other, where the Trump agenda is clearly revealed.
Trump has claimed that the answer to the immigration crisis in America is to build a wall, have mass deportations, and “defend the laws and constitution of the United States”. [1]
In regards to a wall along the US/Mexico border, former Congressman Ron Paul, stated “ I think this fence business is designed and may well be used against us and keep us in. In economic turmoil, the people want to leave with their capital and there’s capital controls and there’s people control. Every time you think about the fence, think about the fences being used against us, keeping us in”. [2] This proposed wall is to be built between the US and Mexico border, but not Canada’s border. This is despite the fact that visa overstays from Canada are twice as many than from Mexico.[3] It is also in spite of the fact that 51% of “illegal immigrants” are from a country other than Mexico.[4]
Trump’s plan to build a wall on America’s southern border is dependent on Mexico paying $5-10 billion for it. In order to coerce Mexico into paying for the wall, he proposes a statist solution of magnifying the Federal government’s power of monitoring monetary transactions between individuals. His plan would force privately-owned financial institutions, such as Western Union, to act as bureaucrats who would impede on an individual’s liberty to freely conduct business. This regulation would apply to every individual who uses these services in the US. Such a regulation is a hallmark of a police-state in which every individual’s privacy is subject to government surveillance. Trump’s plan for breaking up the family unit through deportations, known as the sequel to Operation: Wetback, can only be accomplished through a police-state. [5] It is plausible that martial law would be enacted to facilitate these mass deportations.
Trump expands section 326 of the Patriot Act as a means to create this nationwide regulation which would further impose government intervention into the private sector. [6] Trump’s draconian Big Government regulation would virtually freeze remittances from the US to Mexico. This is essentially a capital control which would confiscate a person’s property (money).
According to Ron Paul, this plan “sounds like theft […] and I think it sounds like something illegal. I think it sounds like it’s immoral”. [7] Under a Trump administration, an individual’s liberty to disburse their own money would be prohibited based on belonging to a certain class. Such a measure is founded on a collectivist notion. Undocumented immigrants within the US would in effect, become economic slaves to a greater extent. Employers who hire undocumented workers are exempt from any new punitive measures under a Trump administration. This is not surprising considering the fact that Trump hired undocumented immigrants to build Trump tower and even called them “good hard workers”. [8]
In addition to building a wall, Trump wants to “triple the number of ICE officers”, make E-Verify mandatory nationwide, and “end birthright citizenship”. [9] The expansion of Immigration and Custom Enforcement serves to increase the size of Department of Homeland Security as a whole; thereby adding to the US’ every increasing police-state apparatus. It would undoubtedly increase the power of the prison-industrial complex as well.
Trump’s E-Verify mandate once again brings government into the private sector. According to a policy analysis by the Cato Institute, “a national E-Verify mandate would not turn off the jobs magnet, but it would spur more unlawful immigrants to engage in identity theft and work under the table”. [10] It is logical that a business owner, who wants to keep expenses down, would bypass such a government mandate.
Trump’s plan to curb so-called “anchor babies” is in direct violation of the US Constitution. The 14th Amendment states “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”. [11] The 14th Amendment’s basis of jus solis, not jus sanguinis, makes it clear that this includes the children of undocumented persons within the US.
Trump’s position on immigration reform makes it evident that his administration would: make government bigger, add regulations that would burden private-sector businesses, enlarge the police-state grid, and tread heavily on the US Constitution. The Trump agenda is undeniably: Fascism.
Why would people support these fascist policies? Firstly, the claim that he is an outsider who is not owned by lobbyists is blatantly false. Trump himself is a lobbyist, as observed by the numerous donations he has made to politicians. Notably, he has made numerous donations to Hillary Clinton throughout the years. [12] Trump is a component of the Wall Street establishment. His new finance chairman is Steven Mnuchin. Mnuchin has worked for Goldman Sachs for 17 years and for bilionaire George Soros’ Soros Fund Management LLC. [13] Billionaire Trump is easily revealed as an establishment insider.
Trump supporters will ignore his vast amount of wealth made under this corrupt political system simply because he has made politically incorrect speeches. His political incorrectness and wealth are psychologically appealing to his supporter base. Trump supporters believe he is an alpha male who means what he says and won’t sellout unlike those RINOs in Congress. Supporters view Trump as a person who has “made it” in this immoral political system and is “great” enough to restore America. Trump being “great” while his opponents are “weak”, is a Social-Darwinist belief that his supporters apparently believe in.
Trump supporters claim that he will make America great again, but his policies on immigration alone prove why his presidency would be dictatorial in nature. It appears that Trump supporters do not want a limited government. In actuality, Trump supporters want a totalitarian form of government run ideologically under Fascism. Trump’s claim to being a nationalist and making America “great again” are incorrect. Instead, they are euphemisms for a return to a traditional America that excludes the various cultures he has attacked during his campaign. This fascist state is where Trump supporters have hope that a “White Anglo-Saxon Protestant” heritage can thrive once again.
His inferences to a WASP ethos is evident by the use of a divide and conquer strategy where he is pitting Americans of different backgrounds against each other, e.g. a Muslim ban.
The demographic shift in America, where people of color will constitute the majority in 2042, is precisely why the immigration issue is his central position. [14] Due to the proximity of the Mexican border, undocumented immigrants are not assimilating to so-called traditional American values. Simultaneously, the standard of living has declined and has given rise to a climate of scapegoating.
Thus, the Trump campaign is a hope for a return to a WASP-centric country, even if it has to be done under Fascism. Such an illusion ignores the historical consequences of land acquisition through an illegal war (Mexican-American War), broken treaties (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo), subsequent occupation, and the fundamental contradictions within the US political-economy. This has created a boondoggle all in the name of cheap labor, high profits, and greed. It is imperative that people of goodwill stop Trump and his faction from entering the Executive Branch of the United States; thereby obstructing his chance to unleash Nazi rule in America.
Andrew J. Santos holds a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Riverside
Notes:
[1] Donald J. Trump, “Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again” May 20, 2016 https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform
[2] Fox News, “Ron Paul, Border Fence Will Be Used To ’Keep Us In’” September 7, 2011 http://nation.foxnews.com/ron-paul/2011/09/07/ron-paul-border-fence-will-be-used-keep-us
[3] Cedar Attanasio, “Canadian Immigrants Lead World In Illegal U.S. Visa Overstays, According To First- Ever DHS Estimates” Feb 4, 2016 http://www.latintimes.com/canadian-immigrants-lead-world-illegal-us-visa-overstays-according-first-ever-dhs-367906
[4] Jens Manuel Krogstad and Jeffrey S. Passel, “5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S.” Nov 19,2015 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/19/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
[5] Julia Peterson, Alan Rapperport, and Matt Richtel, “What Would It Take for Donald Trump to Deport 11 Million and Build a Wall?” May 19, 2016 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/politics/donald-trump-immigration.html?_r=0
[6] Donald J. Trump, “Compelling Mexico To Pay For The Wall” May 20,2016 https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/pay-for-the-wall
[7] Mark Hensch, “Ron Paul: Trump’s Mexico wall ‘sounds like theft’” April 6, 2016 http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/275431-ron-paul-trumps-mexico-wall-sounds-like-theft
[8] Ian Tuttle, “Donald Trump Thinks American Workers Aren’t Good Enough for the Trump Organization” Feb 25, 2016 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/431933/donald-trump-foreign-workers-american-workers-arent-good-enough
[9] Donald J. Trump, “Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again” May 20, 2016 https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform
[10] Alex Nowrasteh and Jim Harper, “Checking E-Verify: The Costs and Consequences of a National Worker Screening Mandate” July 7, 2015 http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/checking-e-verify-costs-consequences-national-worker-screening-mandate
[11] Cornell University Law School, “U.S. Constitution 14th Amendment” May 20, 2016 https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
[12] Nick Gass, “Trump has spent years courting Hillary and other Dems” June 16, 2015
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/donald-trump-donations-democrats-hillary-clinton-119071
[13] Carrie Levine, “Donald Trump’s new finance guru: once a Clinton donor Soros employee” May 5, 2016 https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/05/05/19634/donald-trumps-new-finance-guru-once-clinton-donor-soros-employee
[14] Ed Pilkington, “US set for dramatic change as white America becomes minority by 2042” August 14, 2008 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/15/population.race
