Money is the only argument that would sway the President: separating adults and children captured by ICE is more expensive than keeping them together–(the fact that there is no plan for what to do with them now is unimportant.)

Here is the only argument that carries any weight with people who have the aggressive attitude championed by Stephen Miller towards immigration of any kind: it’s more expensive to separate the adults from the children than it is to keep them together, even if you’re going to deport them all anyway.  It’s easier to deport a minor when they are in the custody of an adult who is also being deported.

That’s the kind of argument that will make the operation of Miller’s railway back to Mexico for those captured at the border smoother and quieter.  At the same time, ICE employees tasked with removal of legal permanent residents who have had any interaction with the law are working from a list and plucking people seemingly at random from the bosom of their families.  The Kafkaesque nature of these detentions rivals the Stalinesque nature of the mass convictions and mass deportations of chained and shackled humanity.

This behavior ignores the essential nature of immigration, to our disadvantage: US citizens are not reproducing at a rate sufficient to even keep the population level.  If it were not for immigrants, the population of the US would be declining.  The average age of US citizens continues to rise, even as their longevity has soared– although longevity has suffered a hit recently.

Thus, the behavior of this presidential administration is self-defeating even while its popularity with the credulous 1/3 of the people has remained strong.  A ruinous trade war and expensive subsidies to coal-fired and nuclear power plants are only a few examples of the self-defeating policies of this administration.

Why do I feel like I’m yelling down a well?  There’s a big echo and no sound is escaping.

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com and Free-Photos)