Judging from the mainstream media and the social media accounts of most Democratic Party politicians, one would think that the only atrocity of justice currently occurring in the United States is the behavior of the Trump administration and ICE at the border. And the Democrats are right to call Trump out on his treatment of migrants, because ultimately, a country that abuses the rights of migrants will also abuse the rights of citizens.
And, to be clear, I don’t think any Democratic Party outrage on behalf of migrants has been misplaced. Still, migrants can’t vote, and in order to win power in government — providing Democrats with the actual ability to fix things at the border — the Democratic Party must also address the needs of citizen voters.
In other words, the Democratic Party needs to do two things at once. They need to do that which is probably pretty politically easy for them — defending the rights of migrants who (correctly!) enjoy support from America’s billionaires and oligarchs — and also that which is probably politically hard for them — attacking the gross inequality and poverty that has destroyed the lives of so many in the Democratic Party’s base.
So, please do talk about the obscenity that is Trump’s separation of children from their parents at the border, but also please talk about the obscenity that is the U.S. health care system and declining life expectancy. Talk about ways to halt the atrocities on the border — abolishing ICE and fixing the wildly incompetent Office of Refugee Resettlement at Health and Human Services — and also talk about America’s entirely inadequate welfare state — calling for policies like Medicare-for-all and social protection for “gig economy” workers like the European Union has been doing. They could even talk more about how Trump’s trade war will destroy the U.S. cheese industry, because who doesn’t like cheese (and also because Wisconsin)?
I totally get that it’s easier for the Democratic Party to focus on migrants and “identity” issues than it is to attack powerful financial and corporate interests, but unfortunately doing that alone is not going to help them win in 2018 at a time when many Americans — voters -- are literally killing themselves from despair due to the disruptions caused by post-industrial late capitalism.
In short, yes, continue highlighting Trump’s maltreatment of migrants and refugees, but also advance a concrete policy agenda with popular proposals — like true universal health care — that will inspire the Democrats’ core electorate.
If the Democrats don’t win — and lots of evidence is pointing to the fact that 2018 is going to look like 2016 — the atrocities at the border will continue. So, if the Democrats need to “steal some minutes” from the migration issue to talk domestic social and labor policy for citizens who can vote, it’s fine, and shouldn’t be treated as dismissing the plight of migrants.