Thread by @FrankSharry

A thread on what Stephen Miller and his allies are up to now. They are trying to set up Biden for failure by setting a frame that is a trap.

First, let's remember that this will go down as the most evil, cruel and xenophobic administration in modern American history. /1

They kidnapped children and separated families. They ended DACA, then defied SCOTUS and fed court decisions they didn't like. They built a wall Congress opposed. They gutted asylum, decimated refugee admissions, slashed legal immigration, and now expel all, no qs asked.../2

They were appointed and serve illegally. They buried intel on Russian cyberattacks. I could go on. Then, in the runup to '20, they turned DHS into full-time political tool of Trump's reelection campaign. They helped clear out Lafayette Square for that Trump bible stunt./3

They put little green men in Portland to provoke TV images of violence desired by Dear Leader. They staged campaign rallies in AZ at the border wall. They put up billboards in PA with menacing photos of "criminal aliens." They parroted "Biden means open borders" talking pts./4

Now they're busy setting up the incoming Biden Administration. Acting Something or Other Ken Cuccinelli: "you saw the ‘Trump effect’ when Trump came into office. You’re going to see the ‘Biden effect’ as well. And it’s going to be the opposite...it’s really bad for America."/6

Acting BP Chief Mark Morgan held a presser this week to denounce Biden’s immigration platform: “the message you’re sending is clear and simple: We have open borders.”.../5

Frmr ICE Director Tom Homan: “The cartels are celebrating...right now because they are back in business. The border numbers are already going up because they think Joe Biden is going to be the president...‘It’s a Biden effect. It’s already happening."/6

Mark Krikorian of the hardline anti-immigrant group CIS in National Review this week: “The Biden Effect at the border — the surge of illegal immigrants expecting to be let in by Democrats — has already begun, with increasing apprehensions of minors and families.”/7

Their strategy seems to be working. Recent headlines in MSM: "Biden plans to spurn Trump immigration restrictions, but risk of new border crisis looms." "Surge in border crossings spells early test for Biden’s immigration plans." "Biden pledges could spur more migration."/8

The right wing is setting the frame: Trump was tough, the numbers of arrivals at the border came down, Biden is going to undo Trump's policies, the numbers have been going up since April, and it's his fault. They sure are on message: Numbers are up cuz "the Biden effect." /9

Now for some missing context: Trump gutted root cause alleviation programs in source countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. He ended option of applying for orderly refugee resettlement, leaving the U.S.-Mexico border as the only place to apply for asylum. /10

Then Trump ended the option of applying for asylum at the border entirely, using the cover of the pandemic to expel all arrivals, even sending kids back to the violence they fled without so much as a hearing. They kept asylum-seekers in jails that became Covid hotspots. /11

Trump built 450 miles of border wall - the antithesis of the Statue of Liberty - a vanity project and a costly, ineffective and offensive monstrosity that does nothing - nothing - to help the region intelligently manage the flow of refugees and migrants from Central America. /12

Trump's case for "zero tolerance" policies are based on a "catch and release" lie, that if released, ppl will be no shows at court. NB: Trump ended case management programs that result in 95% compliance w court dates and orders. /13

Our view: yes, we have to get it right at the border but the the only way to get it right at the border is to get it right in Central America and Mexico AND to get it right in communities in America that receive, settle and integrate those seeking asylum. All of the above. /14

Instead of goal posts anchored in up or down, tough or soft, we need a multidimensional and regional strategy and new measures re management, safety and protection and freedom: 1) Process refugee applications in-country, in the region, at the border, and throughout America. /15

2) move those who have strong cases - the vast majority - into communities off the border where their families and case management programs can help them get settled and follow through with their court dates and decisions. /16

3) get serious about a long-term and intensive strategy to address the push factors that drive migration and refugee flows. And as much as possible, strive for migration flows that are safe, legal and a matter of choice, not a matter of life and death. /17

We get it. A multilayered strategy that operates on a regional basis isn’t as snappy as calling any increase in border arrivals ‘the Biden Effect.’ But if we’re serious, we must recognize that Central American migration is a phenomenon fifty years in the making./18

It's time to move beyond simplistic soundbites spewed by anti-immigrant actors and reckon with the complex solutions required to address a complex challenge. We can do this, but not if we listen only to Stephen Miller and his crew. END