Stephen Miller Discovers Border, Forgets History
Stephen Miller, architect of the Trump administration's child separation policy, now cites the children of immigrants as a fundamental 'problem,' according to the NYT's December 23rd report. This isn't groundbreaking insight, it's a re-run of a nativist greatest hits album, echoing rhetoric seen during the Chinese Exclusion Act period or directed at Irish and Italian immigrants over a century ago.
The notion that citizenship by birth, granted by the 14th Amendment, somehow dilutes American identity is a political dog-whistle as old as the melting pot itself. The media frames this as Miller's 'latest' controversial statement, yet it overlooks how this same dehumanizing language laid the groundwork for policy that separated thousands of families at the border, a policy condemned by human
rights organizations worldwide. One might wonder if the concern for 'national identity' only flares up when the 'problematic' individuals don't share a certain complexion or don't fill out the right tax forms. How many times will we hear the 'children are a problem' spiel before we recognize it as the foundational rhetoric for cruelty?