With so much media attention trained on Republicans' internal fight over immigration policy -- often centered around Donald Trump's incoherent and evolving stance on the issue -- Democrats have largely escaped scrutiny. In an effort to draw the starkest contrast possible with Republicans while pandering to certain Hispanic voters, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have sought to 'out-Left' each other, dragging their party closer to a posture of pure open borders. On his weekend HBO program, lefty commentator and comedian Bill Maher ritually flogged Republicans over immigration, but couldn't shake the nagging sense that Democrats are engaging in "mission creep" on the issue, too. Watch:
"Did you see the Democratic debate on Univision about a week ago? Because there has been a real change with the Democrats, too. Mission Creep, I would call it. I understand their position was comprehensive immigration reform. Now, in front of Univision, it seems to have morphed into, 'you get across that river, you're here to stay.'"
He's referring to this month's Univision debate, at which both remaining Democrats in the race specifically vowed to end deportations of illegal immigrants who haven't committed subsequent crimes in America. Note how this pledge is cloaked in the language of morality:
No deportation of children, no matter what, and no deportation of illegal immigrants with no criminal record (beyond violating our immigration laws, that is, which the Democrats now seem to shrug off as mere suggestions). This is not only a cynical vote-seeking abandonment of the rule of law, it constitutes a nationally-televised advertisement for more unlawful immigration -- a point that raised eyebrows even among a number of left-leaning and mainstream observers (via AP):
If we have a blanket policy of not deporting non-criminal adults, isn't that an invitation to immigrate illegally? https://t.co/1ShrRfBV15
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) March 10, 2016
The Democratic candidates are closing in on the position that it is immoral to deport anyone who came here illegally who is not a criminal.
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) March 10, 2016
As both Maher and the Univision panel note in these clips, Hillary Clinton in particular has traveled quite a distance on these issues, changing her position based on the political needs of the moment. Here she is expressing her "adamant" opposition to illegal immigrants as a US Senator:
And here she is on deporting children less than two years ago, during the unaccompanied minors crisis at the Southern border:
"We have to send a clear message: Just because your child gets across the border, that doesn’t mean the child gets to stay. We don’t want to send a message that’s contrary to our laws or will encourage more children to make that dangerous journey."
She was right on this point back then. According to the border patrol and even the Obama administration, this crisis was exacerbated and fueled by rumors of an imminent amnesty inside the US. Reports about the president's legally-dubious executive power grabs on immigration helped flip on a powerful magnet that was drawing minors to our border, encouraging their treacherous journey north. Hillary has now abandoned her 2014 "clear message" by promising Latino voters that she'll never deport any children who are inside the United States, and will halt deportations of non-criminal adult illegal immigrants. This is a radical position that even exceeds Obama's attempted mass amnesty for millions of adults who broke our laws and entered the country illegally. For all the warts and flip-flops within several top Republicans' immigration plans, only one political party is publicly announcing its active abandonment of America's immigration laws. But remember, it's the GOP that's extreme and reckless -- always and forever.