Trump's latest scheme is scramble to cover up core policy's failure: MSNBC host
The Trump administration has offered $1,000 to undocumented migrants who agree to deport themselves — and MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire claimed that reveals the failure of the president's immigration policies.
The policy would offer cash stipend and a flight home for each immigrant who agrees to leave, which President Donald Trump insisted was necessary to achieve the administration's goals, but the "Morning Joe" co-host told panelists that the payouts were an admission that his campaign promises on the issue had so far fallen flat.
"The border has been quiet, even during the final months of the Biden administration, after they did start cracking down, because for a long time, by their own admission, they were slow to act there," Lemire said, "and it has even gotten quieter since Donald Trump took office, in part because of the they did sort of install a culture of fear as immigrants didn't want to try to try to risk it."
"They're they're not going to hit their numbers, not only because there just simply aren't the immigrants they can deport in logistical fashion, but it's too expensive," Lemire added. "We talked about this during the transition, what they thought they were going to do, the plans they were unveiling, it just wasn't going to happen. We also remember, remember the thoughts of like migrant camps being built across, you know, near major cities across the country – none of that has has occurred. We had a few high-profile ICE raids in that first week or two, that was about it."
The administration has been flying migrants to El Salvador and Venezuela under the Alien Enemies Act, which judges have paused or found to be unlawful.
"There was an attempt of shock and awe," Lemire said. "That was the first play, and as we've been talking about at great length yesterday, the El Salvador prison is the next play in terms of trying to create this idea – and not to belittle the what the plight of the people who are actually there – but to create this idea that there's this widespread deportation effort. They simply haven't been able to do it, now they're turning to this cash payment."
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