He’ll be doing something
Trump now says, no doubt sullenly, that he’ll sign “something” to end family separations at the border.
He’ll do the least he can get away with, and meanwhile we’ll be accepting all the lesser evils because he made this one concession. If he does in fact make it.
Trump, whose administration weeks ago began separating hundreds of children from their parents at the border, did not describe the specifics of the order.
“I’ll be doing something that’s somewhat pre-emptive but ultimately will be matched by legislation I’m sure,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
And the ogre strolled away, picking bits of human flesh out of his teeth.
And then he’ll claim there never was policy of family separation, and will then take credit for ending Obama’s legacy of separating families, not that there was one, but if there was it wouldn’t be so bad because immigration is a mess, it would be easy to do well, he’s the best at families, but of course he’d never split families apart and there never was such a policy, but damn those Democrats for implementing family separation…
And Fox will happily sanitise it for the true believers of the Trump base.
It’s a head fake. This executive order does not end the zero-tolerance prosecution policy, rather it simply permits children to be incarcerated with their parents. Which is illegal. So this will end up in court and a judge will almost certainly toss it out. Then he can shrug and blame the judicial system, and the policy will continue unabated.
And according to the TV in the background here, he’s now launching another Twitter offensive against the Mueller probe. Because of course he is–if something doesn’t go his way, he pretends it isn’t there and makes noise elsewhere as a distraction.
Holms, but that’s just how Trump rolls. He lies when he breaths. He can’t help himself. It’s become so commonplace that much of the time no one even bothers pointing it out. I mean look at this widely reported quote referring to the resignation of Joe Hagin.
I think that he is referring to Trump’s 2017 trip to SE Asia, which was reported at the time as being the longest trip made to the region in 25 years. So, neither the longest trip (duration or distance) made by a President, or even made to that region. Just the longest to that region in 25 years. Somehow that becomes “longest foreign trip ever made by a President.” It’s minor, but no one even blinks at that sort of thing now and it adds to his hagiography.
Order is here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/affording-congress-opportunity-address-family-separation/
Conservative David French seems to think it is essentially a complete capitulation and an effective return to Obama-era policies:
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/donald-trump-executive-order-catch-and-release/
I almost always disagree with his politics but find his factual analyses to be correct.
They are seeking this change:
French believes without that they will detain families for 20 days then release them with an order to return to court (the old policy).
So sounds like public pressure force a true reversal, not a head fake.
@Skeletor Then you (and David French) are significantly more generous than I. Trump has impaled himself on the horns of his self-created dilemma and returning to the old policy would be seen as a defeat. The screaming from his base would be heard from space. And the adulation of his base is all he cares about. Twenty days from now we’ll know for sure.
But even if I am completely wrong (and I would love to be), the crisis remains. Thousands of children separated from their parents with no system to help reunite them. Detained children whose parents have already been deported and no plan for how to deal with that problem. Babies who are too young to speak can’t be asked their names, their parents’ names or their dates of birth. This is a horror show and it is not over yet.
Claire,
French floated the possibility that they won’t release people in 20 days and will separate families at that point, but he thought that would massively backfire, or, as he put it, “such a massive con would take an already-toxic public debate and push it to even lower depths”. I think even Team Trump can see that.
As you said, we shall see in 20 days.
I agree about the damage already done, but at last we’re apparently not going to continue doing damage at that rate.