Read on Twitter
Yes, there is a comparison to be had. Obama was not particularly good on immigration. That doesn't make Trump good--it means we have had three bad immigration presidents in a row. And Biden will make it four. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/02/how-border-apprehensions-ice-arrests-and-deportations-have-changed-under-trump/%3famp=1 https://twitter.com/shikhadalmia/status/1323471750315855872
1/x Note: The thing I hate most about Trump is his anti-immigrant positions. However when you strip away the rhetoric, he is in various ways not so different from recent presidents. For instance, we still see about 1 million green cards issued a year: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2019/table1
2/x. Under Trump, apprehensions at the Southwest border are way up, and his policies of separating families (which he didn't originate) was grotesque. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/02/how-border-apprehensions-ice-arrests-and-deportations-have-changed-under-trump/ft-20-02-24_trumpimmigrationenforcement_1/
3/x. He is very bad on refugees, accepting recent record lows. But it is true that the US was already bad on this score, going back to the Clinton years. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2019/table13
4/x. ICE arrests went up under Trump, but remain around half of what they were in Obama's first term. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/02/how-border-apprehensions-ice-arrests-and-deportations-have-changed-under-trump/ft-20-02-24_trumpimmigrationenforcement_2/
5/x. Removals of unauthorized immigrants remain well below highs set under @BarackObama. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/02/how-border-apprehensions-ice-arrests-and-deportations-have-changed-under-trump/ft-20-02-24_trumpimmigrationenforcement_3/
6/x. In 2018 and 2019, more total people were granted asylum than in any year since 2001. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2019/table16
7/x. In the 2018/2019 academic year, the number of international students in the US set an all-time record. https://www.iie.org/en/Why-IIE/Announcements/2019/11/Number-of-International-Students-in-the-United-States-Hits-All-Time-High
8/8. Again, none of this is to make the case that @realDonaldTrump is good on immigration. Rather, when you strip away the rhetoric and focus on the number of bodies coming in and going out, he is not so different than Obama or George W. Bush. Which is to say: Terrible. /end
