How Trump's border policies will make the migration problem worse
Border migration is a symptom, and Trump is ignoring the root cause
President Trump is threatening to close the U.S. border with Mexico.
He made the threat on Friday — a response to surging migrant arrivals at the border — then repeated it Saturday on Twitter. On Sunday, White House officials took to the morning news shows to make it clear he wasn't kidding. As White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News, the president's threat "certainly isn't a bluff."
Let us hope it is. Because shutting down the border probably wouldn't do much to curb illegal immigration. It will, however, have dramatic and disastrous consequences for America. As The Washington Post reports, it "would disrupt supply chains for major U.S. automakers, trigger swift price increases for grocery shoppers, and invite lawsuits against the federal government."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Any reasonable U.S. politician would avoid such a catastrophe. But we're talking about Trump here, so anything is possible.
Two things are worth noting. First, Trump's solution to the so-called "border crisis" is simply awful, as the Post's reporting points out. But perhaps more importantly, Trump is not even trying to solve the right problem.
In the minds of Trump and nationalist advisers like Stephen Miller, the issue seems to be this: "They" want to come here. (Don't know who "they" are? The weekend Fox News chyron discussing "3 MEXICAN COUNTRIES" should probably give you a good idea.) But the surge of migrant families isn't actually the problem — it's a symptom.
The real issue is that, in some countries south of the border, things are a mess — the kind of mess you and your family would probably also try to flee if you had few other choices.
Here's how UNICEF USA described conditions in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala late last year: "Crushing poverty. Endemic crime. Gang-related violence, extortion, and forced recruitment. High rates of domestic violence and sexual abuse of girls. Scarce social services. Limited opportunities to learn, or to earn a living. The desire of children to be with their parents, who are already working in the U.S."
Migrants aren't headed to the United States for the sheer pleasure of angering Trump and his supporters. They're doing it to make better lives for themselves, and that is the most human of reasons.
As long as conditions remain dire in those countries, people will try to flee. And they will flee in the direction of the most hope and opportunity. For now, that seems to be the United States.
Naturally, the Trump administration announced it is cutting aid to those countries — punishing them for the conditions that have led to mass migration. This is actually the surest way to increase migration: That aid was being used to address the very problems causing people to flee. "It's a shooting-yourself-in-the-foot policy," one nonprofit official grumbled to Politico.
Cutting off aid to Central America, then shutting down the border with Mexico, makes sense only if you completely reject the idea of enlightened self-interest. Trump, it seems, is capable of analyzing actions and transactions between people only in the narrowest sense of costs and benefits, winners and losers. We have no evidence that he believes in a "win-win" situation. So moving to help improve conditions in Honduras, Ecuador, and Guatemala makes no sense to the president as a good solution to mass migration — he can see such efforts only as sunk costs.
Unfortunately, in this case, the media is playing into Trump's hands. While there are notable exceptions, there has been very little coverage of the root causes of migration. As a result, the only moment that garners attention is the moment a migrant tries to cross the border. Everything that came before that moment — the various complex reasons someone would be compelled to leave their home — is forgotten.
For much of the American public, this makes Trump's solution — shut the border down! — appear, if not reasonable, than at least sort of understandable. But it's a mistake.
The president sold himself to the American public as having a singular ability to fix the country's problems. What's increasingly clear two years on is that he's not just lousy at the fixes, he can't even be trusted to properly identify the right problems in the first place. There are probably no easy solutions to the issues that spur mass migrations. But Trump, true to character, has come out in favor of the worst possible options.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Indie film's 'very brief' use of AI sparks backlash and calls for boycotts
Talking Points Did the creators of a new horror movie make a deal with the artificial intelligence devil?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Could Taylor Swift swing the election?
Today's Big Question The pop star has outsized influence — and that extends beyond the music industry
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will North Korea take advantage of Israel-Hamas conflict?
Today's Big Question Pyongyang's ties with Russia are 'growing and dangerous' amid reports it sent weapons to Gaza
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published