Positive Assessment of the Popularity of Trump Immigration Policies from an Unexpected Source

A significant issue in the immigration debate (ongoing during the quarter century I have been involved in immigration law) has to do with the popularity of various proposals for enforcement or, in the alternative, "reform".

For example, my colleague Mark Krikorian recently noted that, in a new poll, the Hispanic constituents of Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) (who, as Krikorian notes, is playing a "leading role in trying to get a 'Dreamer' amnesty passed through the House") "oppose his approach and support instead" the approach embodied by the "Securing America's Future Act". That bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), would end chain migration and the diversity visa lottery.

To read much of the popular press, the president's immigration policies are widely disdained, with the president called a "vile bigot" and his immigration policies "racist". It is no surprise that in the bubble of Washington, D.C., members of Congress from the president's own party attempt to distance themselves from him on immigration, as Bloomberg has reported.

Which is what makes a little-noted opinion piece In the San Francisco Chronicle by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown all the more interesting and important. That piece, captioned "Trump is more popular than Dems want to admit", states:

Like it or not, a significant number of Americans are actually happy these days. They are making money. They feel safe, and they agree with the president's protectionist trade policies, his call for more American jobs, even his immigration stance. [Emphasis added.]

To understand how astounding this assessment is, it is important to know who the author is. As the Chronicle'sbiography of Willie Brown states:

Two-term mayor of San Francisco, renowned speaker of the California Assembly, and widely regarded as the most influential African American politician of the late twentieth century, Willie L. Brown, Jr. has been at the center of California politics, government and civic life for four decades.

To say that he is liberal would be an almost criminal understatement. That said, he is also a shrewd observer of popular opinion and a populist in every sense of the term. I lived in San Francisco for the first two years of his term, and he was...Read More HERE