Immigration has often been a political football. Politicians both on the left and right use it for their own gain when it’s convenient to them.
Elvia Díaz, editorial page editor of the Arizona Republic, says that’s what some Democrats are doing with the issue as they prepare for another Trump administration. Díaz joined The Show to discuss.
Full conversation
LAUREN GILGER: You start this column with New York Mayor Eric Adams. Obviously, New York has been an interesting place to watch in terms of the number of migrants there and the amount of services they have needed.
And he has now said he will deport those who are charged with a crime. Now some are saying, sort of, “Shame on Democrats for waiting to do this until now.” Tell us your take.
ELVIA DÍAZ: Well, yes. We’re talking about a Democratic mayor who for years had been helping immigrants, and openly so. He’s been taking a lot of the asylum seekers. And it is true that the city has been inundated with them, and he has been spending billions of dollars — that’s with a B — and helping them.
And so, quite all of a sudden now he is saying that he will join the Trump administration and help deport criminals — those people who are charged with a crime, as you said.
My point here is why until now, right? Clearly the city is in need, is in desperate need of help, and he’s not going to get that from the federal government after Trump takes office. But then again, why wait until now? So as you said at the beginning, because it is politically convenient now, not just because Trump is in office, but because the mayor himself is facing some serious investigations.
And so the easiest target always is the immigrant, those that cannot defend themselves. And that’s what gets me. And this is about Democrats and Republicans alike. They promise immigration reform when it’s convenient, when they’re looking for those votes, just to forget about it.
And in this case, and in this administration, it’s not just forgetting about it. It’s actually and actively helping deport them. So that’s the most depressing thing that I have seen, and it’s going to be one of the biggest stories this coming year.
GILGER: Right. We’ll watch for that. Do you think this is about federal funding of cities and threats to withhold it because of “sanctuary city” policies?
DÍAZ: Well, absolutely. The New York mayor has his own problems, but then mayors across the nation and also governors are seeing that the Trump administration is, in fact, serious about deporting people at the beginning. I heard from a lot of Latinos and others that voted for Trump in denial, saying, “No, Trump is not going to deport anyone. Hardworking, law abiding immigrants. He’s only going to go after criminals,” which is not the case.
I mean, Trump himself has been saying it incessantly, that he’s going to target everyone here illegally and their children, whether their children are U.S. citizens or not. And we know that to deport, what, 11 million? 15 million? We don’t know exactly how many undocumented people are here, but still it’s a very complex operation.
And so Trump will rely on local authorities, and that goes to governors and mayors. And immigration enforcement is a federal issue. It’s something that we have been saying and repeating so many times. And so the only way for Trump to force local authorities is to actually threaten to withhold federal funding.
GILGER: Let me ask you about a different take we’ve seen from an Arizona mayor: Tucson Mayor Reno Romero. She’s coming out now saying she will do kind of the opposite. She will protect children and families in her community. She’s doubling down on the kind of sanctuary city message.
How much do you think mayors can do on that front? How much control do they have?
GILGER: A lot, actually. Immigration enforcement is a federal issue. And local authorities — in this case the mayor — they’re the state are elected to protect local residents. And they are the ones that administer, that have power over local police, local sheriffs. And in the case of governors, the National Guard and state police.
And that’s why Trump is saying that he’s going to withhold money from those cities that do not help, because that’s his only power, right? Well, not his only but the main power that he has over local authorities now. I mean, the mayor is right. I mean that she or he can direct police officers however they want.
And I am glad that Mayor Romero is very clear. That’s what I want people to do. Politicians, just be clear. Just tell us exactly what you’re going to do. And she is being open. She’s saying she’s not going to separate families. And that doesn’t mean that she’s not going to help Trump deport anyone. I mean, she may help deport criminals, and those are fair game.
But Trump is saying that he’s going to deport U.S. citizens, the children of undocumented immigrants. In order to not separate families, “Oh well, they can go too.”
And the mayor is saying, “No. Those children are U.S. citizens, and I’m just not going to do it.” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego essentially said the same thing, that as long as she’s mayor, she’s not going to turn the local police into immigration agents.
But something that I’m going to be looking to see — and everyone should — is whether Trump is going to force agreements. I don’t know if you remember the so-called 287(g) agreements essentially deputizing local cops, local state police into immigration agents.
That’s going to be interesting to see. And I’m pretty sure the Trump administration is going to try to do that.
GILGER: Let me ask you lastly about the state level here and Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who has said she will work with Trump on border security. She also said, if there are policies that hurt families, she will not work with the Trump administration. What do you make of that approach?
DÍAZ: Oh my goodness. To begin with, I don’t understand her. I don’t know what she’s saying. And that has been my biggest frustration. At least with other mayors — and at least with Eric Adams and New York others are clearly stipulating, “This is how I’m going to help the Trump administration.”
With our governor, she’s not being clear. She’s not saying exactly how she’s going to help Trump secure the border. Because I think that was her line. You know, “I’m going to help the Trump administration secure the border.”
Well, of course. When you put it that way, I mean, who’s not going to do that? Especially When there are drug trafficking and human trafficking happening on a daily basis.
But we just don’t know exactly what she means. Is she going to deputize the National Guard to go to the border, not just to help — they’re already doing that — but to actually do some enforcement. Or is she going to deputize DPS?
Again, we have no idea what she means.
