Trump’s Trap

Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine
(Germany) on 15 April 2019
by Andreas Ross (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Mallory Matsumoto. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
The more migrants from Mesoamerica* who stream toward the border, the more urgently the American Democrats need to propose their own solutions.

The dumbest argument against Donald Trump’s wall was always the assertion that the president was trying to combat a crisis that didn’t even exist. Families, especially, from Central America are streaming into the United States, and the country is poorly prepared to deal with the arrival of minors.

But a border fence of any height would change little, because almost all families are petitioning for asylum, which they can do at any crossing. Congress must quickly pull itself together to find an answer. On the one hand, arrival procedures are needed that are appropriate for children but, at the same time, don’t entice more families to flee north. On the other hand, a new approach is needed to address the factors behind emigration from the violence ridden countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

In his typical way of giving the crisis partisan overtones, Trump gives the opposition numerous reasons to refuse any cooperation. But the stronger the push of migrants becomes, the more urgently the Democrats need to propose their own solutions. Otherwise, they’re sitting in Trump’s trap.

*Editor’s note: Mesoamerica is a region that includes parts of what is now Mexico and Central America.



Trumps Falle

Je mehr Flüchtlinge aus Mittelamerika in Richtung Grenze strömen, desto dringender müssen die amerikanischen Demokraten eigene Vorschläge unterbreiten.

Das dümmste Argument gegen Donald Trumps Mauerplan war immer die Behauptung, der Präsident wolle eine Krise bekämpfen, die es gar nicht gebe. Vor allem Familien aus Zentralamerika strömen in die Vereinigten Staaten, und das Land ist auf die Ankunft der Minderjährigen schlecht vorbereitet.
Bloß würde ein noch so hoher Grenzzaun daran wenig ändern, denn fast alle Familien beantragen Asyl, was sie an jedem Übergang dürfen. Dringend müsste sich der Kongress zusammenraufen, um eine Antwort zu finden. Einerseits werden Aufnahmeprozeduren gebraucht, die kindgerecht sind, aber nicht immer mehr Familien auf die Flucht gen Norden locken. Andererseits ist ein neuer Anlauf nötig, um Fluchtursachen in den von Gewalt geprägten Staaten El Salvador, Honduras und Guatemala zu beseitigen.
Mit seiner Art, die Krise parteipolitisch aufzuladen, gibt Trump der Opposition zwar reichlich Vorwände, um jede Mitwirkung abzulehnen. Doch je stärker der Flüchtlingsstrom anschwillt, desto dringender müssen die Demokraten eigene Vorschläge unterbreiten. Sonst sitzen sie in Trumps Falle.
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