If Slotkin Is for Mass Deportation, Maybe We Are Nearing a Consensus

If you don’t have a border, you don’t have a country. 

I was at the tire shop a few weeks ago—thanks Gretch—when an Elissa Slotkin ad came on. Slotkin was talking strong about border security.

A cold sweat came over my body, the kind I only ever feel when I’ve been inaccurate in a story. I had been writing for weeks about Slotkin as a Democrat, but here she was, sounding every bit a Republican. This is the journalism equivalent of having a dream that you’ve skipped a class all semester, and now you have to take the final exam. 

I checked Slotkin’s party affiliation and was relieved. She is indeed a Democrat. It’s possible she has changed her beliefs, but she has certainly changed her tune, and this tells us something.

If Democrats felt the election was a done deal, they would act the way they normally act. Harris and Biden would not have slowed border crossings. Slotkin would not be putting the border front and center. There would be no need.

The border is a weakness for Democrats. That much is obvious. What’s less obvious, and more important, is what this moment represents: a consensus, if we can act on it.

At the Michigan Senate debate Tuesday night, Slotkin didn’t just favor a secure border, she supported mass deportation.

Asked what should be done about the 10 million new illegal immigrants, she spoke in favor of the homeland. 

“Every country in the world has the right to know who’s coming in its borders and what they’re doing here,” Slotkin said. “To me, if you are not here legally, you should go back to your home country and be removed to your home country.”

A House candidate in Pennsylvania echoed that sentiment. At her debate Tuesday night, Democrat Janelle Stetson said: “The ones who are here, we need to find out where they are, and they need to be sent home.”

Clearly the word has gone out. But will it reach Republicans?

Slotkin can support mass deportation without worry that the Detroit News or Detroit Free Press will call her a racist. That’s the first thing they would say about a Republican who dares to have a country. 

The question is not whether Republicans will be called racists, but whether they’ll value their children and their community or their self-image more. History says that self-image often wins that battle.

Slotkin can support mass deportation without fear that her spouse will be shunned at the PTA meeting for saying mean things and putting kids in cages. Republicans who face such pressures tend to fold.

Democrat women have spoken. A strong portion of them are fine with mass deportation. They get the importance of borders and aren’t shy about saying so. Will Republican men join them in protecting their communities? Or will they kick the can and wait for Democrats to pursue amnesty, and then send strongly worded letters in protest?

This land is our land. On that, we have a consensus. If we can act on it. 

James David Dickson is host of the Enjoyer Podcast. Join him in conversation on X @downi75.