“Well, because we're talking here about people who've been ordered deported and the administration has done nothing about actually making sure that they go home. This is theater, I think, for two audiences - one probably for the American public to some degree, to make it seem as though the administration is taking this renewed surge of Central Americans seriously.” PeopleThinkingWellsTwoDoneHomeSeemsTalkingAudienceDegreesTheaterAdministration Author:Mark Krikorian
“Well, nobody's being deported - nobody - practically. And so what the people down there getting is the American government is telling us that you're not going to be able to stay. But, in fact, they're letting almost everybody stay. And so what they're trying to do is show that at least some people are going to get deported.” PeopleTryingWellsFactsShowsGovernmentAbleAmerican Government Author:Mark Krikorian
“Well, enforcement theater is OK if it's reality theater. In other words, obviously, you want to make it clear, you want to make people see that the law is being enforced.” PeopleIfsWantWellsRealityLawClearTheaterEnforcement Author:Mark Krikorian
“In enforcement, you always have to have both a focus on the really worst actors - you know, gang bangers, in this case, drug dealers, that sort of thing - but also routine enforcement because think about, for instance, the IRS. They don't say, OK, well, if you're not a money launderer, it doesn't matter whether you fill your tax return out right or not. They have both. They go after the really bad actors and they have a kind of general, routine enforcement.” IfsThinkingKnowsWellsKindMatterActorsCasesFocusWorstReturnDrugTaxesInstanceRoutineEnforcementGangDealerIrsDrug DealersTax Returns Author:Mark Krikorian
“And they are much more skeptical of the very idea of having immigration limits, whereas the public - again, independents and Democrats, as well as Republicans, although not necessarily all in the same proportions - have a much stronger sense of the American government and American law having responsibility to Americans specifically rather than to people around the world. So the polarization is up versus down, not really right versus left.” PeopleWorldWellsIdeasGovernmentLawLeftResponsibilityRepublicanLimitsStrongerDemocratImmigrationAround The WorldProportionVersusSkepticalAmerican GovernmentPolarizationAmerican Law Author:Mark Krikorian
