Kris Kobach and Eric Schmitt don’t want border security. They want political theater

The results of our recent primary elections would suggest the nation won’t be effectively addressing immigration issues any time soon. Despite our labor shortages and the greatest worldwide refugee crisis since World War II, the Republican Party appears set to continue down an anti-immigrant path, fully supporting a useless border wall and narratives of fear and distrust.

Kris Kobach’s primary win for attorney general in Kansas exemplifies this. His rhetoric often has a “law and order” or even authoritarian feel to it, consistently and aggressively promoting anti-immigration policies as well as efforts to root out voter fraud wherever it doesn’t exist. In Missouri, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Eric Schmitt’s verbiage is from the same script and mirrors what most Republicans are saying nationally.

Speaking of law and order, whenever Republicans talk about it, their words ring hollow. Yes, we need law and order at the border. But we also needed it in the White House during Donald Trump’s administration, and now during his continuing rolling coup. With few exceptions, Republicans are not only uninterested — they are complicit and risk our democracy.

And like inflation, the chaos at our southern border is an international issue impacting the European Union as well as the United States. Desperate migrants worldwide are fleeing poverty, crime, political violence and the largely man-made climate crisis that Republicans refuse to help address. President Joe Biden could have done better at the beginning of his administration and needs to do better now. But at least Biden is working toward a solution, not fueling the chaos. Republicans can cry all the crocodile tears they want during staged public relations campaign visits to the border, but their interest in taking any action is as fake as their tears.

Republicans say Trump’s border wall is the solution, and have introduced legislation to reboot its construction. This doesn’t make an iota of sense, except as throwing a bone to the base that doesn’t know that the portions of the wall that have been built are nothing but costly failures. How could they possibly know? Trump TV — er, Fox News — will never tell them the truth about Trump’s so-called “wall,” or much else. As of March of this year, Trump’s flimsy barrier had been breached by smugglers more than 3,000 times. How do they do it? With tools that can be found at any hardware store.

The anti-immigrant rhetoric espoused by Trump and other Republicans exploits the border crises in ways that make the situation even more unstable. Ali Noorani, former president and CEO of the nonpartisan National Immigration Forum, and now with the Hewlett Foundation, says it best:

“Borders are meant to create order and security. But worldwide, authoritarians seeking to enhance their power are pushing dangerous border narratives to sow chaos and exploit insecurity. Democratic societies have failed to understand how these narratives are weaponized, putting migrants in harm’s way and our way of life at risk.”

Where you see “authoritarian” above, think “Trump,” but don’t stop there. Republican governors are becoming increasingly authoritarian. Think Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas and Kim Reynolds of Iowa. Remember when 10 Republican governors went to the border and presented a 10-point plan to make it more secure? I wrote about it for Time, while also addressing our labor shortage and how legal immigrants could help ease it. Here’s Noorani again from the Time piece:

“Ten Republican governors traveled to Mission, Texas, on Oct. 6 and released their 10-point plan for border security. Noorani says, “The cartels must be thrilled: Nine of the plan’s 10 proposals would merely push migrants out of the already-elusive legal path to entry and into the hands of smugglers, coyotes and kidnappers. Through their inaction, Congress has outsourced our nation’s immigration system to the cartels. Organized crime, not our government, is determining who can enter the U.S.“

Kansas’ abortion rights victory shows a path

Republicans are making the border crisis worse — much, much worse — and blaming Biden because it serves their immediate political interests.

However, in finding a path forward on immigration, there are likely lessons to be learned from Kansans’ overwhelming support of abortion rights in the recent primary election. Presenting an issue on a ballot members of any party could vote on (making it structurally easier to go against the party line), using Republican rhetoric (government infringing on individual rights) against them, successfully messaging how an issue impacts one’s day-to-day life, and energizing enough of the electorate to result in an outcome reflecting the majority viewpoint all likely contributed to the measure’s success.

If Republicans have their way, the border will never be secure — because they don’t want it secure, and they will keep undermining border integrity as long as it serves their political ends. Republicans want chaos at the border, the human and economic costs be damned.

But maybe if we can divorce immigration (and other critical issues) from party membership just enough to have real conversations, see the human stories, and make the real connections as to how it impacts ourselves and our communities we can start to drown out Republican narratives of fear and distrust. Maybe we can turn chaos into clarity, compassion and cooperation.

With smart government policies on immigration, our economy would sizzle.

This story was originally published August 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.