As we noted last night, the Trump administration is showing its racist and xenophobic roots, using the coronavirus as a pretext to further diminish border crossings from Mexico into the United States. The country noticed and is furiously pounding back on the ridiculous and offensive move, one obviously meant to further the administration’s anti-immigrant stance rather than keep the nation safe from the virus.

To set out the facts, Rueters reported last night on the administration’s move:

“The Trump administration is considering imposing entry restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border to control the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, according to two U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.”

“Considering” means there is time to make it too politically dangerous to enact, and thus opponents rushed to respond. Many responded by pointing out the obvious racial nature. Canada has far more documented cases of coronavirus than Mexico, and yet the administration’s potential restrictions don’t mention Canada.

https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/1233822555540250624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1233822555540250624&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2F2020%2F02%2Ftrump-hammered-for-taking-advantage-of-coronavirus-with-plan-to-limit-us-mexico-border-crossings%2F

Very few administration proposals are so obviously race-based. Rarely does one get a situation so obvious in its racist and xenophobic motivation.

Below, sometimes the only response is to laugh, while in a fury.

Behold the power of @realDonaldTrump's Sharpie: pic.twitter.com/wWyefuGn3L

— Recovering Republican #Fella (@BraveNewTrump) February 29, 2020

In the end, there is no denying what this is all about, and sometimes it is necessary to just say it plainly:

Pigmentation issue

— FoggyMamaBreakdown (@DawnWatland) February 29, 2020

Of course, it is not just about being white, sometimes being rich matters more than race. Japan and South Korea have been hammered by the virus, but the people traveling to the United States from Japan and South Korea are wealthy and doing business, not war refugees begging for a better life:

https://twitter.com/PoliticsPoorly/status/1233829302917107712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1233829302917107712&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2F2020%2F02%2Ftrump-hammered-for-taking-advantage-of-coronavirus-with-plan-to-limit-us-mexico-border-crossings%2F

It may be time to make a statement. Given that the United States has four times more cases than Canada and thirty times more cases than Mexico, it would certainly seem more appropriate for Canada and Mexico to close their borders with the United States.

But Canada and Mexico also have to worry about the economy, and both nations seem to know that slamming doors to travel with so many people crossing for so many reasons is an ineffective policy anyway. Viruses don’t respect borders.

It is clearly just another example of the administration’s racist roots and cynical nature, using a viral epidemic to slide a policy through that may never be reversed if it is put in place. We must push back all we can against this typically “Trump” response, one based on hatred.

****

Peace, y’all

Jason

[email protected] and on Twitter @Miciak