There’s little question that immigration is the focal point of the Donald Trump 2.0 agenda. Obstructing immigration (both legal and not) has proven to be the clearest line connecting his rhetoric to his action, and consequently the issue where he has the most obvious mandate.
Not coincidentally, immigration policy is also the area where the consequences of Democratic failure are most stark. Personally, I’m an open borders type; if it were up to me, I would let them all in. But it is not up to me, and the American voters have made it clear that they are currently gripped with immigration restrictionist sentiment. For that reason, we badly need a more humane and open immigration policy that can actually win converts among the public and votes in Congress.
But despite years of knowing that this anti-immigrant backlash was coming, despite all the warnings, polling, press coverage, internal memos, and reality screaming in their faces, the Democratic Party is powerless to neutralize Trump’s immigration rhetoric—because the party still does not have an immigration policy.
