The first original GOP party platform since 2016 establishes closing the U.S.-Mexico border to migrants and conducting mass deportations as Republicans’ top two priorities.
The document, released Monday, mirrors former President Trump’s rhetoric and style, from the nature of its proposals to its grammatical quirks.
Following a preamble that stylistically mimics Trump’s social media persona, the platform lists 20 broad-strokes policy proposals, beginning with two immigration-related points.
“SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION,” reads the platform’s No. 1 policy position, which formalizes the concept of a “migrant invasion” as an official policy of the Republican Party.
Describing migrant arrivals as an “invasion” is relatively new in mainstream politics, and it has caused divisions even among immigration restrictionists.
But for advocates, the use of violent terms to describe migration is a new element of an unfolding nightmare scenario.
“We see a four-alarm fire for our country when the GOP’s official platform formalizes xenophobia and recklessly spreads misinformation and fear,” said Kica Matos, president of the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund.
The second GOP policy proposal hits at the heart of the immigrant advocacy movement: mass deportations.
“CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY,” reads point No. 2 in the document.
Trump often references the Eisenhower administration’s infamous “Operation Wetback,” though not by name, as a model for his deportation force. The 1950s operation, in large part a continuation of Truman-era immigration policies, involved military-style roundups in Latino communities in the Southwest, often deporting U.S. citizens of Mexican descent along with foreign nationals.
“Mass deportations, the centerpiece of the platform’s immigration policy, will irreversibly destabilize American communities, separate families and decimate the economy. There are no solutions here, only hate,” said Matos.
And the platform’s 10th proposal intermingles immigration policy, global drug trafficking and criminal justice.
It pledges to “stop the migrant crime epidemic,” a position also consistent with Trump’s stump speech.
Despite a broad corpus of studies suggesting immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born residents, supposed links between migration and crime have taken hold among most Republicans and a number of Democrats, particularly at the state and local level.
The GOP platform’s 20-point priority list is followed by a more detailed vision of policy proposals.
Those proposals double down on an “invasion,” migrant crime and a vision of greatly expanded border and immigration enforcement.
“Republicans will restore every Border Policy of the Trump administration and halt all releases of Illegal Aliens into the interior. We will complete the Border Wall, shift massive portions of Federal Law Enforcement to Immigration Enforcement, and use advanced technology to monitor and secure the Border,” the document reads.
