The Democratic Party’s longstanding talking point on immigration – broadly, that the root problem is Republicans holding up “comprehensive” reform – is a “defensive crouch” that needs to evolve into action and “any ideas,” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Caitlin Dickerson told MSNBC on Thursday.
Dickerson, who writes about immigration for the progressive Atlantic and won journalism’s top honor last year for explanatory journalism, appeared with guest host Ali Velshi on Wednesday night’s “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
Velshi asked Dickerson what Democrats can do to “own” the problem – “as opposed to, you know, constantly being on the defensive about it?”
“What we hear from elected officials on the Democratic side, including the president, is just these, ‘No, no, no,’” she replied. “No, we shouldn’t get rid of asylum. No, we shouldn’t close the border. No, we shouldn’t enact mass deportations. And then, the question is, well, what should we actually do instead?”
Dickerson said she believes all Americans want “a system that works,” but that is also humane. But that “baseline,” with cleared court backlogs and a breezy pathway to legal entry, can’t be achieved without a plan – any plan.
“Democrats have been too scared to put forth any ideas as to how to go about doing this,” she said. “I mean, there are a lot of resources being spent on border security, and a lot of resources being spent on immigration. And there are people who know how to reorganize them, to make that system work.
“It’s just a matter of coming out of that defensive crouch that Democrats are in currently, and actually putting forth a position, a plan.”
Julián Castro, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development and an MSNBC political analyst, said Republicans are filling the void with “boogeyman politics” but agreed that Democrats need to do something fast.
“Democrats need to flip into a mode of going on offense, instead of being so defensive, or else the public is gonna buy what the Republicans are selling,” he said.
Watch the entire exchange in the video clip above.
