From compassionate conservatives to “cruelty part two”: how the GOP went from Reagan’s welcome to Trump’s savagery

Ronald Reagan used to talk about Mexico as a neighbor, not a threat. In a 1980 debate, he suggested cooperation over fences and offered amnesty to undocumented immigrants just a few years later.

George W. Bush picked up the thread, calling for immigration reform rooted in dignity and legal pathways for workers who, he said, crossed deserts not to break the law, but to survive.

Fast forward to 2025, and the rhetoric is unrecognizable. Republican immigration policy – now dominated by Donald Trump’s second-term agenda – has gone from “compassionate conservatism” to something more like punishment-as-policy.

Under Trump: money talks, migrants walk

Trump’s MAGA re-election platform revived and intensified the hardline ideas of his first term: mass deportations, expanded ICE raids, and new legal tools to bypass due process. A viral new ad warns darkly that if Trump can deport immigrants without hearings, “who’s next?” That’s not a fringe view anymore... it’s the party line.

Republican lawmakers who once pushed for bipartisan solutions have largely fallen silent. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who co-authored the failed 2013 reform bill, now supports the idea of deploying the National Guard to stop border crossings. And proposals like the $5 million “Trump card” visa scheme – granting legal residency to ultra-wealthy foreign nationals — underscore the transactional nature of the new GOP stance: money talks, migrants walk.

Meanwhile, the raids have moved off farms and into fast food joints and restaurants, disrupting families and terrifying workers. But in MAGA circles, that appears not to be an issue, it’s more of a feature, although some organizations are taking a stand. What began as a shift in tone under Trump has become a party-wide embrace of cruelty as deterrence. Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro called it “cruelty part two”.

Once, Republicans worried about alienating Hispanic voters. Now, the debate on the right isn’t whether to deport, but how fast – and, it feels, how visibly.

Reagan’s amnesty is ancient history. In today’s GOP, empathy to all is weakness, and threats win primaries. At least for the moment...

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