Don't Let His New Book Fool You, Bush Laid the Groundwork for Today's
Immigration Nightmare
George W. Bush drastically increased the militarization of the Mexican
border, sending 6,000 national guardsmen to patrol it, greatly increasing
detention capacity for immigrants and using drones to patrol the area.
by Alan Macleod
August 07th, 2020
By Alan Macleod
George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, has announced he is
releasing a new book called "Out of Many, One" which will celebrate
America's diversity and immigrant populations. "Our immigrant heritage has
enriched America's history. It continues to shape our society. Each
generation of Americans - of immigrants - brings a renewal to our national
character and adds vitality to our culture. Newcomers have a special way of
appreciating the opportunities of America, and when they seize those
opportunities, our whole nation benefits," the former president said.
The book, scheduled for release in March 2021 will feature 43 images of
immigrants, painted by Bush himself, and will retail at $38, although avid
fans will be able to purchase an oversized deluxe signed edition for $250.
"While I recognize that immigration can be an emotional issue, I reject the
premise that it is a partisan issue. It is perhaps the most American of
issues, and it should be one that unites us," he said in a press release.
"My hope is that this book will help focus our collective attention on the
positive impacts that immigrants are making on our country."
With immigration becoming an increasingly hot partisan issue, the move
celebrating the practice is the latest in a series of actions that Bush has
taken to distance himself from the current Republican president. Both Bush
and his father claimed they did not vote for Trump in 2016, leading to
delight from many Democrats. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, for example,
yearned for a by-gone age, admitting to wishing Bush were still president,
even though at the time she described him as a "total failure" in every
aspect of governing. So complete was the rehabilitation of the figurehead of
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that he was embraced and praised by liberal
talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Yet those with long memories will remember that, despite claiming to love
immigrants, both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were created under his auspices. The DHS,
often described as the United States' "new standing army," has been at the
forefront of crushing protests against racist police brutality in Portland,
with anonymous, masked and armed agents abducting individuals off the
street, throwing them into unmarked vehicles. The DHS's actions have been
condemned by Democrats representing Portland at the local, state, and
national levels. The department's chief Ken Cuccinelli has tried to justify
his agents' presence by pointing to "weapons" like shields and gas masks
confiscated at protests.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of the pandemic, ICE launched a huge drive to
"flood the streets" of sanctuary cities with officers to arrest as many
undocumented immigrants as possible. "I have gotten frantic texts from
people that they are spotting ICE in their New York City buildings knocking
on doors. They are terrified. This is happening today. Right now. People
[are] being hunted down," wrote journalist Maria Hinojosa in March.
After the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border that began after the
North American Free Trade Agreement decimated the Mexican working-class, ICE
became the main weapon used to pacify the immigrant population, lest they or
their loved ones be taken away to one of many detention camps the group
operates. In April, it was reported that ICE was knowingly deporting
COVID-19 positive detainees to countries that could not deal with the
influx.
George W. Bush Immigration
Bush takes his new high-tech border security software for a spin at the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga, May 29, 2007. Photo |
AP
The Bush administration also drastically increased the militarization of the
Mexican border. Between 2001 and 2007 border security funding more than
doubled from $4.6 billion to $10.4 billion, with the number of Border Patrol
agents employed also doubling during his time in office, also sending 6,000
national guardsmen to the southern border.
Bush bragged about greatly increasing the U.S.' detention capacity for
immigrants, using drones to patrol the area, and building 700 hundred miles
of fencing and wall, which served as a stepping stone to Trump's border
plans. The increasingly militarized border mirrored the increasingly hostile
rhetoric towards immigrants that dominated the Republican Party today.
Bush is no stranger to covering controversial topics in his art. In 2017, he
released a similar bestselling book called "Portraits of Courage: A
Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors." In it, he painted
dozens of fallen American servicemen, all of whom died fighting in wars he
started under false pretenses and has expressed no remorse for doing so.
Neither Bush nor the great number of outlets who praised the book appeared
at all interested in Middle Eastern victims of his policy. Now, as then, it
appears few see the irony of a former commander-in-chief extolling the
virtues he helped take away from so many.