Trump ally: Republican victory not an end to migrants’ dreams

LAS VEGAS – An ally of President Donald Trump assured the public yesterday that a victory of the Republican Party will not mean the end of the dreams of non-Americans to migrate to the US, contrary to common perception.

Amy Tarkanian, a political strategist and former Nevada State Party chairperson for the Republican Party, said Trump’s immigration policies have been misinterpreted and this is what the party wants to correct.

“I think the Asian descents, the Latino descents, we all have the same needs here in America. We want to make sure that there is food to put on the table, there are clothes for our children, there is a roof over our head,” Tarkanian told The STAR.

All that the Trump administration expects, Tarkanian noted, is for those who want to migrate to the US to do so legally.

Americans are heading to the polls today (US time) for their midterm elections, which is seen as a referendum of Trump’s two-year administration.

The polls come on the heels of Trump’s plan to put a stop to chain migration, under which Americans could sponsor their foreign-born relatives to get US citizenship.

Trump has also taken steps against a migrant caravan from Central America to the US.

“That’s what the Republicans are trying to get across in their messaging – just don’t come here illegally… We are people of laws, we are following laws that are in the books,” Tarkanian said.

Tarkanian’s husband Danny is a Republican running for Congress in Nevada’s District 3.

Polarized

Andre Mouchard, political and immigration editor of Los Angeles, California’s Orange County Register, said these elections take place at a time the US is “more polarized” than before.

“It’s a different time. The US is more polarized now, at this moment, politically and culturally in every way than before the Civil War,” Mouchard told foreign journalists participating in a US government-sponsored International Reporting Tour in California and Nevada.

Mouchard claimed that many people see a “fundamental shift in the way that America is viewing itself and the way the government is working.”

“As a journalist, it is an amazing time to be covering this. It is an amazing period for watching the world. But as a citizen, it is sort of scary,” Mouchard said. 

At stake in the midterm elections are the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Democrats will have to bag 24 more seats to flip the chamber. 

Meanwhile, 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are at stake, with Democrats defending 26.