The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“‘The Democrats want open borders so they can bring in and amnesty tens of millions of illegal aliens — that’s their electoral strategy,’ tweeted [Arizona Senate candidate] Blake] Masters May 14.
“Masters’ tweet included a clip from a May 10 interview on ‘The Ben Shapiro Show.’ Asked about immigration, Masters said the Biden administration and Democrats like seeing thousands of people coming to the border “so that someday, they can amnesty these people, and make them voters.”. . .
“The term ‘open border’ can be subjective, but controls at the southern border are significant. They include nearly 20,000 Border Patrol agents and surveillance systems that rely on motion detectors and blimps that scan for low-flying aircrafts. And there are hundreds of miles of fencing at the southwest border.
‘There’s no such thing as an open border,’ Terence Garrett, political science professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, told PolitiFact in April.
“In Biden’s State of the Union Address, he talked about the importance of strengthening border controls. . . .
“During his interview with Shapiro, Masters spoke of Democrats ‘someday’ granting amnesty to those who enter the country today. We can’t assess a prediction. But for the estimated 11 million immigrants who have been illegally in the U.S. for years, the latest Democratic proposal would put them on a path to citizenship that takes eight years. It’s unlikely that the proposal will get enough support in Congress to eventually become a law.
“Masters’ statement assumes that newly arriving immigrants will eventually seek U.S. citizenship; however, not all eligible lawful permanent residents apply for naturalization. He also assumes that Latino voters are firmly in the Democratic orbit. Some evidence backs that up, but several trends push the other way. . . .
“We rate this claim False.” – Fact Checking Arizona’s Blake Masters Claim of Open borders and Democratic Amnesty, Jon Greenberg, PolitiFact, 5/16/22 [Link]]
Fact Check of Above Quote: This “fact checker” certainly needs checking. It claims that there is no plan by “progressive” Democrats to tip the electorate to their side by promoting Amnesty and mass immigration. The truth is that some of these progressives have openly admitted this plan. A good example is prominent Democrat strategist Robert Creamer. In his book How Progressives Can Win, Creamer states:
“[T]he immigration battle is important because it will have an enormous impact on the battle between progressive forces and conservative forces in American society. As of 2007, there are 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. [If granted amnesty] . . . they will be eligible for citizenship and voting rights. . . . They [could] join the nearly 30 million immigrants who are legal residents . . . who could apply for citizenship . . . and could register to vote. . . . If Democrats continue to stand for immigrant rights, the issue will define immigrants’ loyalties for a generation. If we are successful, a gigantic bloc of progressive voters will enter the electorate over the next 15 years [and] that could be decisive for the future.”
Since publication of Creamer’s book, American’s electorate has shifted to the left, with immigrants voting for Democrats by a margin to two-to-one. Recent polls show some shifts of Hispanics toward Republicans and border control, but it is mainly among second that third generation Hispanics. Continuing mass immigration will dilute their influence.
Despite obstacles, progressives are still determined to pass a mass amnesty. They are perfectly willing to wait for amnestied illegals to become citizens and voters.
PolitiFact maintains that we do not have an “open border,” and literally speaking that is true. Some border enforcement still exists. When critics say “open border” they are employing hyperbole, an obvious exaggeration to make a point. The border is substantially out of control, as evidenced by record crossings of illegal aliens since the Biden Administration began. It doesn’t matter how many agents the Border Patrol and ICE have when the administration prevents them from doing their jobs. President Biden has given lip service to border control, but his actions speak otherwise. Tom Homan, the former acting director of ICE, stated that the administration has “intentionally” dismantled immigration law enforcement.
Was Blake Masters correct to say that progressives are using immigration to expand their political power? That claim should be rated True.