A Crying Toddler Can Be Politicized, But Not a Murdered 20-Year-Old

From the moment that it was revealed that Mollie Tibbetts had been murdered and that her alleged killer was an illegal alien, the illegal alien advocacy network was ready to respond with the precision of a tactical strike force. From libertarian Cato Institute on the right to the National Immigration Forum on the far left, came preemptive warnings that Ms. Tibbetts’ murder should not be politicized by those who think it might be a good idea to stop illegal immigration.

These are the same people who politicized a photo of crying toddler at the border a few months ago who had been separated from her mother for all of about 60 seconds. Or who accused the Border Patrol of keeping kids in cages by recycling photos from 2014, when the Obama administration was briefly holding minors separately from other illegal border crossers for their own protection.

And then there are those who believe that the murder of a 20-year-old college student is just a distraction and we shouldn’t really pay it any mind. Among those in that camp is Senator Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), a likely contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. In response to question posed to her on CNN about whether Ms. Tibbetts’ murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien, was cause for concern, Sen. Warren offered her perfunctory condolences to the Tibbetts family before getting to the “real problems.”

The “real problems” are not the snuffed out lives of Mollie Tibbetts, Kate Steinle, Sarah Root, or countless others who have been murdered, maimed, or assaulted by illegal aliens our government failed to keep out, or who were protected by sanctuary policies. No, the “real problems,” in Sen. Warren’s estimation, stem from the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce our immigration laws. “Last month, I went down to the border and I saw where children had been taken away from their mothers, I met with their mothers who had been lied to, who didn’t know where their children were, who haven’t had a chance to talk to their children, and there was no plan for how they would be reunified with their children.

“I think we need immigration laws that focus on people who pose a real threat and I don’t think mamas and babies are the place we should be spending our resources. Separating a mama from a baby does not make this country safer,” the senator opined.

It should be superfluous to point out to a United States Senator that Mollie Tibbetts’ “mama” is now permanently separated from her daughter with no hope of ever being reunified, and that there is a “real threat” that other families will be victimized by criminal aliens who easily slip across the border Sen. Warren visited. But, apparently not.

Ira Mehlman: Ira joined the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 1986 with experience as a journalist, professor of journalism, special assistant to Gov. Richard Lamm (Colorado), and press secretary of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. His columns have appeared in National Review, LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and more. He is an experienced TV and radio commentator.