President Donald Trump’s rhetoric surrounding immigrants has been a flashpoint throughout his entire presidency. Critics have pounced on Trump for calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “bad hombres,” and referring to countries like Haiti and El Salvador as “sh***hole” countries. On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Trump suggested soldiers posted on the US-Mexico border should shoot migrants, and wanted to build an electrified wall with spikes that can pierce human flesh. Trump denied the report, but incorrectly attributed it to The Washington Post.
Ali Noorani, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said that Trump’s language crossed a line, even when compared to his past comments.
“I just think that it’s pretty shocking that the president feels like this is a completely appropriate thing to say in the Oval Office about the way the United States should be treating migrants,” Noorani said during an interview with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday.
Noorani also said members of the administration and its staffers should reflect on what kind of values Trump embodies. Though Noorani has sought to view the administration's actions from a purely political perspective, he said comments like the ones surfaced by The New York Times should be a warning sign for anyone working for Trump.
“I think policy makers [make] really, really difficult decisions, but you know what, if you were in the room and your boss says something like this, you have, I think, a moral responsibility to look yourself in the mirror and ask, ‘Do I want to go to work today? Do I want to work for this person?’” Noorani said.
