April 13, 2019

Do Democrats Have an Immigration Policy to Offer?

Dan Balz says no one has a great immigration policy on offer:

President Trump’s immigration policies have been a failure. His goal of sealing the border has come to naught, and a mass of asylum seekers has overwhelmed the system. Trump has sought to blame others, including the Democrats, for the problem. Democrats cry foul, but they too struggle for an effective answer.

That wouldn’t be surprising. It’s a tough problem, after all. Still, there’s this:

There was no crisis on the border until Donald Trump entered office and set about to create one. So maybe the only policy we really need is “Get rid of Trump.”

It’s also worth noting that Democrats have supported several compromise immigration plans over the years, but Republicans have always crushed them. So maybe we actually need two policies: “Get rid of Trump and get rid of Republicans.” I realize this isn’t the 50-page white paper that we all expect from Democrats, but sometimes you really only need a sentence or two.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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