Newsletter: Trump’s tweets fuel outrage and a new immigration debate

With three posts to Twitter early Sunday morning, President Trump not only sparked controversy over his views on the changing face of America but also threatened to undercut his administration’s effort to distinguish between illegal — and legal — immigration.

‘THE TOTALLY BROKEN AND CRIME INFESTED PLACES FROM WHICH THEY CAME’

Trump didn’t identify them by name, but when he took aim on Sunday at “ ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen,” it wasn’t hard to guess which outspoken newcomers — all women of color — to which he was referring.

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” the president tweeted.

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Recent comments certainly suggested Trump was referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

Three of the women were born in the United States; the fourth, Omar, was a refugee from Somalia and naturalized almost two decades ago.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sharp retort, also on Twitter: “When @realDonaldTrump tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to ‘Make America Great Again’ has always been about making America white again.”

Sen. Kamala Harris called it a “racist attack,” and similar critiques were widespread.

Trump’s outburst came at the same time as his administration prepped to carry out immigration raids across the country. The raids were expected to take place in several major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Atlanta, Baltimore and Houston. Democratic presidential hopefuls were already poised to make the enforcement action an issue on the campaign trail.

But again, Trump’s tirade wasn’t about those in the U.S. illegally.

LEGAL OR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION?

The president’s words would certainly seem to put his fellow Republicans on the defensive as to whether he’s intentionally invoking the “go back where you came from” insult heard by so many Americans of color.

It certainly seems at odds with his own party’s platform. “Our party is the natural home for those who come in search of freedom and justice,” says the GOP platform from 2016. It goes on to praise legal immigrants by saying their “industry and commitment to American values strengthens our economy, enriches our culture, and enables us to better understand and more effectively compete with the rest of the world.”

Or there’s this declaration in the California Republican Party’s platform: “America continues to symbolize hope and promise to people from around the world. We believe new immigrants help make our great nation greater still. The Republican Party is pro-immigrant.”

Trump’s rhetoric, should it continue, could further put California’s GOP incumbents in a tough spot. A statewide public survey in December found 72% of adults believed immigrants are a benefit to the state, a sentiment agreed with by a majority of Republicans.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- A new report offers this sobering fact: virtually every problem California elected officials have struggled to solve seems even worse for the state’s Latinos.

-- Joe Biden confronts rivals’ Medicare for all plans with a call to add a public option to Obamacare, reducing the number of uninsured but keeping private insurance.

-- Pro-impeachment Democrats hope testimony from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will give them the sound bite they need.

-- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Friday legislation creating a multibillion-dollar fund available to California’s electricity providers held liable for wildfire damage linked to their equipment.

-- Newsom on Friday defended his decision to fire California’s top oil industry regulator for issuing too many fracking permits.

-- California housing crisis podcast: How do Google and Facebook figure in the problem?

LOGISTICS

Essential Politics is written by Sacramento bureau chief John Myers on Mondays and Washington bureau chief David Lauter on Fridays.

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john.myers@latimes.com

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