Donald Trump hasn’t moved an inch on immigration

Donald Trump has recently suggested that his immigration policy is still a work in progress – I don’t buy it. The centerpiece of his campaign has always been simple and straightforward, immigrants are not welcome in Trump’s America. Specifically, Trump has said if elected he would establish a “deportation force” to institute the mass deportation of the 11 million undocumented people presently living in the United States. He has also said he would build a wall along the southern border with Mexico and make Mexico pay for it. Finally, he stated that he would institute a ban on all Muslim immigration to this country.

One need only look at a few of Trump’s ignorant and racist views to understand how he could propose such policies. He launched his campaign with an anti-immigrant tirade which included his now infamous allegation that Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals. He regularly argues that all Muslims should be viewed as potential terrorists until they can prove otherwise. Based on that logic he proposed an unprecedented and unconstitutional religious ban on immigration, which was roundly criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike. And more recently, he ridiculed a federal district court judge because of his Mexican heritage, which House Speaker and fellow Republican Paul Ryan, called “a textbook definition of a racist.”

Trump’s policy positions on immigration have been clear through the entire primary season and the Republican convention. Trump has held firm on proposed policies on immigration, even in the face of strong criticism, and has doubled down on his hateful rhetoric. In fact, he regularly attacked primary opponents as weak on immigration when they attempted to point out the problems with his proposals. In making such arguments, Trump would often state that he is the only Republican candidate tough enough to follow through on his immigration policy.  While I strongly disagree with his views, I must acknowledge that they represent who he is and what he would do if elected President.

Thus, it came as quite a surprise to everyone when Trump suggested that his long held views on immigration may be changing.  However, even the most superficial review of his most recent actions reveals it is more about political pandering than any real evolution of his views.

Real change would include Trump acknowledging that his racist allegations regarding the immigrant community were wrong in every respect, and gaining a real understanding of the daily contributions made by the undocumented people.  But we know that there has been no real outreach to the Latino community in order to better understand the issue and no evidence that his views have changed.

In addition, a real change in policy would be clear and unambiguous. Instead, over the past week Trump has hinted at a change in his views regarding deporting 11 million people, while his campaign manager has denied any such change, and Trump finished the week creating further confusion on the issue. Even where the Trump campaign offers something more specific, like moving from a complete Muslim ban on immigration to “extreme vetting,” a careful review reveals that the new policy is so ambiguous as defy any real analysis. For example, his extreme vetting policy lacks important details such as which countries would be impacted; who would have to take the test; what questions would be on the test; who would administer the test; and ultimately, who would determine whether an individual passed the test.

Trump’s motivation is obvious, he is down in the polls and needs to create the impression that he is changing on issues such as immigration, in order to attract a broader base of support. But that’s not real change, and we must call it what it is, political pandering at its worse. The American people will not fall for such game playing and in the end, Trump will learn that only wall he has succeeded in building is a wall of mistrust between him and the voters on election day. 

Wilkes is the executive director of the League of Latin American Citizens, which advocates for the political, economic and educational rights of Hispanic Americas. Follow him on Twitter@BrentWilkes. Follow LULAC on Twitter @LULAC

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