One Year of Trump Campaign Rhetoric on Immigration Is No Cause for Celebration

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — One year ago today, Donald Trump launched his presidential bid with a series of vicious attacks on immigrants and immigration. Few thought his scorched-earth strategy would result in Trump as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president. But here we are.

Those comments set the tone for the ensuing primary campaign, and he is clearly doubling down on the strategy as voters turn to the general election. This is to the detriment of a nation that greatly needs a productive conversation about immigrants and immigration.

But the dismissiveness that prevailed a year ago is being replaced: More and more Republicans are condemning Trump’s hateful rhetoric.

While the level to which Republican lawmakers will speak out against Trump still varies, growing numbers of conservatives are distancing themselves.

They also are realizing the real dangers of many of Trump’s immigration-related policy proposals. For example, many elements of a ban on Muslims “would be impossible to apply,” the Los Angeles Times notes, and others could have serious “diplomatic repercussions.” That’s to say nothing of Trump’s mass deportation approach, which would come at an extreme moral, economic and taxpayer cost, and which strong majorities of Americans oppose.

“After too much denial and dismissal in the past year, it’s time that we as a country take a good hard look at what Trump’s policy proposals would mean,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum Action Fund. “Mass deportation, walls and blocking America from an entire religion are dangerous and impractical policies. It’s good to see that more and more Republicans are taking this seriously and speaking out.

“America is better than the mass deportation policies Donald Trump presents to the electorate.”

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