Salon: Trump to push new immigration rollback Sanders once supported
Once again Trump will try to push his own brand of populism by playing to racism and xenophobia while preaching that his moves are motivated by economic concerns by American workers. This time Trump is pushing for curbs on immigration that have been championed by progressives such as Bernie Sanders. The policy and worker friendly rhetoric might be the same, but in hearts of hearts Trump knows that his anti-immigration and trade policies appeal to Americans because of racism and xenophobia hidden behind coded language.
In contrast, Bernie Sanders is pushing these policies out of genuine concern for American workers. This is why Bernie might stand the best chance at making in-roads among Trump voters, because he can speak to the economic insecurities of white working class men in pursuing the policies discussed in the article, but unlike Trump, Bernie is a true populist and his motives are pure.
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/28/trump-to-push-new-immigration-rollback-sanders-once-supported/
A new report indicates that President Donald Trump is going to continue to push forward his anti-immigration agenda, this time by significantly curtailing cultural exchange programs in the United States. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the rollbacks being considered by Trump would focus on five employment-based programs that are part of the J-1 visa exchange-visitor program. Young foreigners, including au pairs and summer workers, could be impacted by the new policy if it is put into place.
* * *
Trump said at the time that, “It has not been fair to our people, to our citizens, to our workers.” He added that the new bill “would represent the most significant reform to our immigration system in half a century.”
While proposals like the one pushed by Trump, Cotton and Perdue are usually unpopular outside of the far right, Trump’s proposed reform to the J-1 program could actually garner left-wing support, but not for its jingoism. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont denounced this program in 2013 during a speech which argued that “the J-1 program for foreign college students is supposed to be used as a cultural exchange program, a program to bring young people into this country to learn about our customs and to support international cooperation and understanding.”
Sanders added at the time, “But instead of doing that, this program has morphed . . . into a low-wage jobs program to allow corporations . . . to replace young American workers with cheaper labor from overseas.”
= new reply since forum marked as read
