Trump’s obsession

US President Donald Trump fired his latest salvo at illegal migrants on Oct 19^th, accusing Democrats of conspiring to drag a caravan of migrants into his country. Since the remarks were made during a trip to the western states — where border security is already a hot button issue — there is little doubt that Trump is counting on such rhetoric to ensure success for his party in next month’s election.

Central American immigrants in particular have been targeted. A day earlier the US leader had threatened to close the southern US border and restrict access to Mexico—hardly a clever tactic considering that it is the United States’ largest trade partner.

For the moment securing electoral gains and getting Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto to stop a flood of incoming visitors seem to be weighing more heavily on his mind. Aid suspension to Central American states is also being contemplated as another punitive measure. However, these threats are unlikely to be ever carried out even though they may sound like music to many Republican voters in the western states.

It must be remembered that populism cannot become the answer to the world’s immigration problems. Such thinking is also dangerous because it is fuelling psychosis on the issue of immigration, even as aging societies such as those Europe faced a long demographic winter.

The link drawn between illegal migration and crime is deeply unsettling, warped and erroneous for the most part. If that however was remotely factual, the US would not have 43 per cent of its population drawn from mainly migrant families.

The US leader needs to be cured of his immigration obsession at the earliest. As soon as that happens we can expect a return to more fair and less divisive politics. The world can then heave a collective sigh of relief.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.