The Pro-Amnesty Lobby Fails to Mimic Trump’s Success



After President Trump’s victory in 2016, pro-amnesty proponents tried to mimic his success in this year’s midterm elections. Ignoring that Americans connected with his common-sense immigration policies, they assumed the president’s success was largely because of his celebrity status. As a result, pro-amnesty celebrities were sent across the country in the hope they could bring their agenda to Congress.

These celebrities attempted to win elections in Kentucky, Mississippi, and New York. Since Trump easily won in Mississippi and Kentucky, they thought they could replicate that success by relying on their star power. But Trump didn’t win because of his celebrity status. He won because people agreed with his policies, and the pro-amnesty crowd learned that the hard way.

Howard Sherman, a California native and husband of actress Sela Ward, ran for Sen. Roger Wicker’s seat in Mississippi and called for a path to citizenship for illegal aliens in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Sherman eventually lost the Democratic primary and accused the Magnolia State of being “not ready for change.”

Kentucky experienced an even more extreme personality in California musician Hank Linderman. He lived in the Golden State most of his life and worked for several rock bands, such as the Eagles, Chicago, and America. While campaigning in Kentucky’s Second Congressional District, he called for a mass amnesty that would include all “qualified” illegal aliens living in the United States prior to July 4, 2018. Linderman added that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be restructured, and he accused the agency of “violent and sexual assault” that “must stop.” He lost against the Republican incumbent and gained only 31 percent of the vote.

The pro-amnesty lobby also ran actress Cynthia Nixon in the New York gubernatorial race. She notably called ICE a “terrorist organization” and went so far as to circulate a petition demanding that ICE be abolished. Incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo easily defeated Nixon in the Democratic primary.

However, not all celebrities campaigning for office in 2018 endorsed a pro-amnesty agenda. Glenn Jacobs, who is a professional wrestler and former WWE champion known as Kane, acknowledged that the U.S. has a problem with illegal immigration in his mayoral campaign for Knox County, Tennessee. He said that illegal immigration feeds into the country’s welfare state. Unlike the others, Jacobs won his race in a landslide and is now mayor. He channeled policies that are favorable to his constituents, instead of relying on only his celebrity status to win an election.

If the other celebrity candidates focused on the interests of all their constituents instead of virtue signaling to a small minority, they may have won as well. Sherman and Linderman attempted to push pro-amnesty policies in states that favor enforcing our immigration laws, and Nixon was even too much for New York. Meanwhile, WWE star Glenn Jacobs took home a ballot box championship by focusing on issues that resonated with voters.

About Author

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Casey joined FAIR in 2018. He assists the research team with projects and writes for FAIR’S website. He previously spent a year working in journalism in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in Journalism in 2017.

5 Comments

  1. avatar

    I’m from Switzerland. With over 30% immigration rate, we have thehighest immigration rate in Europe and are among the highest in the world. I’ve never lived in the USA, and I have zero political affiliation with any American party. I was simply looking to find an American website on Immigration that is 100% unbiased towards any political party.
    This website here says in their “About Us” page, that thanks to private investors, this website is non-partisan.
    WHAT A LOAD OF ********! Seriously though. Every single news that can be found that puts illegal aliens into a negative light, is being published big here, yet zero information on the up side of immigration.
    Every picture of Donald Trump on this website, are those glorifying pictures of him. Every article involving a left oriented pro immigration organization is being bashed without factual information. Every Trump agenda is being hailed as a solution. Even looking at the editors and authors who run this website… every single one is Republican.

    Seriously, how the hell is this website considering themselves non-partisan? Is this a joke? Is this what is happening in the USA? “Fake websites” pretending to be factual and informational, claiming they’re non-partisan, when in fact they’re heavy right wing?

    Guys… as a European, I tell you, we’ve seen this happening in the 1930s in Germany. It started with a leader hating certain demographics, tried to kick out all immigrants, called the press “fake news” when they were on to him and he was proud to be a nationalist and joined joined the nationalist party (or short Nazi).

    This is unreal what is happening in the USA. PragerU, InfoWars etc. now seeing that a immigration reform website joins the rows of calling themselves non-partisan, when it fact it’s clearly right wing agenda.

    Dangerous times we live in.

  2. avatar

    Why on Earth would American Citizens risk their freedom ad everything they have worked for all their lives?
    Evidently they have not been exposed to the true consequences of Amnesty and sanctuary,
    Well I have and I can tell you from first hand experience that it’s like a “Trojan Horse”
    The President is trying to protect us and people want to condemn him for that? I guess they would rather be governed by a Cartel, or Mafia.
    I live in an Agricultural Sanctuary City. During harvest season many immigrants come to work as they have done for many years. There are many older residents here that came years ago and made this their home . They worked hard to buy their homes and they raised their families to do the same. . Those are my good neighbors the people I love and those are the people that deserve the American dream.
    But two years ago Harvest time visitors came and did not leave when to season was over. They were very different than the visitors of the past. My quiet friendly neighborhood suddenly felt cold ,unfriendly and very over crowded. I’m not sure if their american host families even knew what they were getting into. Their homes were taken over by these visitors .They had no intentions of moving out. Suddenly there was even more additions as the girl friends moved in and more pets were added .They bought fancy new cars & trucks. And Some even began building onto their hosts homes. They brought criminal activity to my neighborhood. Drugs, Dog Fights, loud parties, They race up and down the streets with no regard for public safety.
    They are not grateful to be in America in fact . They have no respect for our laws, or City codes and no respect for the neighbors around them . The stores cannot keep up with supply and demand and have had to increase their security causing prices to continue to climb. Many businesses have vacated. Since my Doctor retired three years ago, I have not been able to secure a replacement. There are no appointments available in this City. I drive nearly 35 miles to see a Doctor. I have to wait weeks to get my car serviced. Auto shops are booked solid . Police force is understaffed and over worked so they overlook a lot of incidences thus increasing crime even more. It’s a pirates cove here. As property values drop due to crime, our insurance premiums increase. Why don’t I just move somewhere else? Because I am a senior now. It’s not as easy as it used to be to just up root. Again property value, and the bottom line, why should I have to?
    Is this what you Pro Amnesty people want? You better think twice about what you are fighting for.and what you are doing to the rest of us.
    You don’t really have a clue do you.

  3. avatar

    It will be harder, once the new Congress takes office, to advance Trump’s border security agenda in the House. But there is a silver lining. Whatever pro-amnesty legislation the Dems manage to pass, it will die in the Senate — unless enough Senate Republicans cave. Even then, Trump will veto it.