Trump’s Asylum Rhetoric Is Rooted in the Mariel Boatlift
A t the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Donald Trump described the migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border as “the greatest invasion in History .” He claimed migrants and asylum seekers were “coming from prisons. They’re coming from jails. They’re coming from mental institutions and insane asylums.” He repeated this claim at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention. This led to multiple social media posts charging Trump with co NFL ating two meanings of the word “asylum.” But Trump’s co NFL ation of asylum seekers with patients from mental Health facilities is a trope many decades in the making. In fact, it likely comes from the way in which the 1980s, in particular, shaped his thinking and view of the world. By claiming migrants were coming from institutions, Trump made a veiled reference to one of the most intense immigration crises of the 1980s: the Mariel boatlift. And he’s not alone. Narratives about Mariel, frequently grounded in false information, have h