For months the political left and a small cadre of centrists (and some libertarians) have been denying reality on immigration and border controls. They claim (as if they are mind readers) that when Donald Trump ran his 2024 election campaign on mass deportations of illegals, voters actually thought he would only deport “violent criminal” illegal aliens, or migrants who committed crimes after crossing the border without permission.
This was never Trump’s policy or promise. It is a carefully crafted propaganda narrative designed to shift the Overton Window and change the nature of the debate. The original point being that all illegal migrants are, in fact, criminals by default and should be deported.
The “criminal” policy manipulation is an attempt to override the prevailing reason for majority support of strict immigration controls: It’s not only about crime – Americans oppose cultural replacement.
