Immigration

MS NOW -    President Donald Trump’s got a new problem. It seems hard to believe, but some of his own base thinks his administration hasn’t sufficiently cracked down hard enough on illegal immigration.

News emerged last week that the White House wanted to soften the president’s reputation on immigration enforcement by reportedly discouraging the party from talking about “mass deportations” and suggesting a rhetorical focus on removing violent criminals. Immediately, a group of pro-Trump immigration hawks began a lobbying effort to deter Trump from even pursuing his mostly cosmetic attempt to moderate on the issue. Inconveniently for the president, this group calls itself the “Mass Deportation Coalition.”

The infighting illuminates a striking phenomenon. For once, it is not the Democrats who appear to be torn up about immigration as a wedge issue that could weaken their coalition. Instead it is the GOP for whom immigration is becoming a point of internal tension, and posing a dilemma to its leader. While there’s no reason to think Trump will ever become truly moderate on the issue, he will be vexed by questions of how to approach what was once one of his strongest policy issues ahead as the midterms near.