Can Voters With Reasoned Moral Imagination Vote For Trump?

By Andrew Moss Photos: YouTube Screenshots If re-elected president, Donald Trump plans to deport millions of people from the United States. It takes a certain kind of moral imagination to understand the scope and consequences of this plan — and to vote against Trump solely on this basis. A voter possessing such imagination understands that neighbors who don’t have green cards or U.S. birth certificates are fellow human beings, not criminals, gang members, or individuals “poisoning the blood of our country.” Such a voter can envision the suffering of millions of people if the plan were to be carried out: the immense, avoidable pain of those deported – as well as that of their families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.& From the standpoint of economic impacts alone, the deportation scheme defies reason. According to a recent& study& by the nonpartisan American Immigration Council, deporting upwards of 11-13 million people will cost hundreds of billions in arrests, detention, legal processing, and removals, and it would mean the additional loss of billions in tax revenues, including contributions to Social Security and Medicare. It would result in “labor shocks” to industries reliant on undocumented workers: agriculture, construction, and hospitality. And it would represent, overall,...