The Tweedledee and Tweedledum Duo of Lindsey Graham and John McCain are demanding that we send children packing and threaten to cut aid to their home countries if more children follow.
“It’s a humanitarian problem but it’s apart from immigration reform, this is a specific problem created by the impression that if you get to America that you can stay,” Graham said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“We’ve got to turn that impression around, send these children back and tell the countries in question that if you don’t keep them and take care of them we’re going to cut all aid off.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on the same show that anyone seeking asylum should instead go to the U.S. embassies and consulates and “we’ll beef up those capabilities.”
McCain also called for cutting aid this afternoon.
“We should tell these countries in Central America that no more aid, no more assistance, no nothing until they stop this from happening,” Arizona Sen. John McCain told KFYI radio in Phoenix.
I’m not sure who the “we” is John McCain refers to when he says that “we’ll beef up those capabilities,” because if it’s congressional Republicans he’s referring to he may want to check with them first.
We, as in America, could “beef up” the capability to immigrate legally or seek asylum if House Republicans would agree to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, but as things stand John McCain is more or less encouraging President Obama to take executive action.
Barring that, if we do cut aid to the home countries of child immigrants, what would happen then? The situation could grow worse.
It may be about time to shut down the Statue of Liberty or at least close her for maintenance.