ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- Americans are really good at pointing out the contradictions of others, but really bad at acknowledging their own.

The immigration debate proves it. That's where consistency goes to die.

Trust me. Having written and spoken about that issue for more than 35 years, I've become an expert.

I'm not saying I'm an expert on immigration. Like many of my fellow Americans, the fact that I was born in the United States -- along with my parents and three grandparents, with the fourth having arrived in the U.S. legally from Mexico more than 100 years ago -- means I'm too of my depth when it comes to understanding the immigrant experience.

My expertise is in the immigration debate. I got there by taking three roads: my personal experience as a Mexican American who has followed the immigration debate for more than three decades from cities in the Southwest such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas and San Diego; the fact that, as a journalist, I consume tons of information on immigration and other issues from multiple sources across the ideological spectrum; and the fact that I'm a political centrist who tries to keep an open mind as I travel down the middle of the road.

Here's our lesson for the day, class: The reason that Americans don't make any headway on this issue is because the immigration debate is crippled by dishonesty.

One example of that dishonesty is how -- when it comes to immigration and immigrants -- Americans reserve the right to be flexible in our own positions while quickly calling out our opponents for flip-flops and contradictions. The flaws in their arguments are crystal clear to us; the shortcomings in our own, not so much.

This is one of the many afflictions that plague both parties.

For their part, Democrats are masters at contradicting themselves and flipping the script.

In June 1963, they applauded when President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard and removed Gov. George Wallace from the doorway of the University of Alabama where the notorious segregationist was blocking the entry of two enrolled Black students -- Vivian Malone and James Hood.

Now, in 2025, when the president in question is Donald Trump and the armed forces being federalized belong to the California National Guard, which is normally under the command of Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democrats suddenly aren't so keen on the idea of a presidential override of a governor's authority.

Yet, on the other hand, when it comes to inconsistency and double-talk, Trump and other Republicans can hold their own.

There is the one big example. Trump couldn't wait to call out the National Guard in Los Angeles to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as they enforce federal immigration law. But -- as he was closing out his first term on Jan. 6, 2021 -- he refused to dispatch the Washington National Guard to suppress a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. There were at least two reasons for his reluctance: One, Trump had no interest in stopping a riot that he started, and two -- as he would later say -- he considered Jan. 6th to be a "day of love."

We're just getting warmed up.

-- Trump and the rest of the GOP claims to support states' rights and local control but, apparently, only when the states are red and the localities are under the control of Republicans.

-- MAGA is offended by immigrant protesters waving Mexican flags at immigration protests, but they're fine with those who protest the removal of confederate statues waving the Stars and Bars.

-- Trump treats legal residency as priceless when denying it to immigrants, but then he cheapens it by putting a price on it ($5 million) and creating a "Gold Card" visa for wealthy migrants.

-- Trump keeps a straight face when talking about upholding rule of law to justify his crackdown on illegal immigrants despite his own felony convictions, Jan. 6 pardons and unlawful decrees.

-- Conservatives want people to "follow the rules" when coming to the United States. Now an administration they put in office is breaking the rules in order to remove as many as 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day.

-- Republicans built their brand around supporting family values and defending the unborn. Now they're grinning as parents are deported, children are traumatized and immigrant families are ripped apart.

When it comes to inconsistency, let the party without sin cast the first stone. Guess what? No one is picking up a stone.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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