Trump inexplicably cedes the immigration hardline to Obama – Washington Examiner

Who knew that former President Barack Obama was more effective on deterring illegal immigration than President Trump, who claimed to care more about the issue than anyone else?

Trump said precisely that during a brief exchange with reporters Tuesday at the White House.

Asked about whether the administration was considering a return to the falsely named “family separation” policy for illegal immigrants who are caught crossing into the U.S., Trump said that it was an action that started under Obama. Trump then took credit for ending it in spite of its effectiveness.

His full answer, which referenced photos that went viral showing images of immigrant children in detention centers (“cages”):

In the span of 20 seconds, Trump both blamed an Obama policy for the current border crisis and credited it as a deterrent for illegal border crossers. Figure that out.

There are reports that say Trump is considering reimplementing “zero-tolerance” for illegal aliens, which wasn’t so much a “policy” so much as it was a decision to fully enforce immigration law.

Trump backed down on it in 2018, though there was evidence it was working. No less than the New York Times reported on migrants who were thinking twice about unauthorized entry into the U.S.

“Maybe it’s best not to,” 21-year-old Yolanda Lopez of El Salvador told the paper in June 2018 after considering that her two young children would be taken from her. “What bad luck.”

Lucía Carmen Flores Sánchez, also of El Salvador, said she had planned on coming into the U.S. with her 8-year-old daughter, but after finding out about the “zero-tolerance” enforcement, she said it was “maybe better to stay” in Mexico, just south of California.

Trump is welcome to give it another go. But if he backs down again, he won’t be able to pin the blame on Obama.