June 18, 2018 – Don’t be distracted by the side show in Congress. Don’t be confused by the lies, obfuscation, and blame shifting from the White House. Be aware of the cynical strategy we are all witnessing.

With observers across America horrified by Trump’s family separation policy, the Trump administration is seeking to sow confusion and to advance a pack of lies over what’s happening, who’s to blame, and what is in the House Republican immigration bills set for votes this week.

On Tuesday night, President Trump is planning to meet with House Republicans on immigration, ahead of impending votes on two right-wing immigration bills. The White House is attempting to set up a “heads I win, tails you lose” scenario – either Congress enacts one of the Trump-backed draconian immigration bills (it won’t) or Trump gets to blast Democrats for blocking legislation that would, he will claim – inaccurately – treat Dreamers with love and end the current family separation policy. The bills do neither.

The congressional debate is more about shifting the focus from the President’s cruel and inhumane policies and practices and trying to put the blame on Congress. It’s about generating political cover, not enacting sound policy. The solution isn’t in Congress, it’s in the White House.

As Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said this weekend on CNN, “President Trump could stop this policy with a phone call … I’ll go tell him: If you don’t like families being separated, you can tell DHS, ‘Stop doing it.’”

Get ready this week for a relentless campaign of outright lies and calculated distortions.  Trump wants to muddy the waters by distracting from his cruelty and focusing on congressional inaction.  Let’s not kid ourselves: the legislative debate is a side-show.  Trump and his administration created this crisis, and it is up to them to end it.

Let’s keep the focus where it belongs.  Trump did it; he can fix it; all it takes is a phone call.

The mission of America’s Voice (AV) and America’s Voice Education Fund (AVEF) is to harness the power of American voices and American values to enact policy change that guarantees full labor, civil and political rights for immigrants and their families. www.americasvoice.org