Don’t feel dismayed if you have no idea what’s going on at our southern border.
Since I began covering it two decades ago, the notion of “illegal immigration” has always been confusing, and it’s gotten even more muddled in recent years.
Lawmakers playing partisan politics want to confuse you. Democrats and Republicans regularly warned of a “border crisis” during the Donald Trump administration, though for different reasons. Trump used the bully pulpit to amplify the shrill cry. His core campaign call to “build the wall!” withered in the hot desert sun once he became president. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon faces charges of running a “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding scam to enrich himself and associates. Democrats, for their part, accused Trump of putting “kids in cages,” even though Joe Biden is now using the same holding facilities.
