Robinson: Republicans, do you want race-based immigration?

To Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the president’s message apparently came through. His colleague Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who was not at the meeting, said Graham told him that Durbin’s account was “basically accurate.” Graham himself would say only that “I said my piece directly” to the president and that “I’ve always believed that America is an idea, not defined by its people but by its ideals.”

Other Republicans at the meeting cravenly claimed deafness or memory loss. Perhaps they simply agree with Trump’s race-based immigration approach.

Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and David Perdue, R-Ga., issued a joint statement saying they “do not recall … specifically” the “shithole countries” slur; Perdue later went further, flatly denying the words were spoken. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she did not recall “that exact phrase.” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. and Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., apparently have been stricken mute.

I mention them all because they deserve to be enshrined in a Hall of Shame.

I suppose I should also mention that Trump now denies making the statements, but there is absolutely no reason to believe him. On the subject of immigration he has been remarkably consistent: At another White House meeting last month, according to The New York Times, the president said that Haitians “all have AIDS” and opined that once Nigerians saw the United States, they would never “go back to their huts.”

Long history of racism

Trump ridiculously told reporters Sunday that “I’m the least racist person you’ve ever interviewed.” In fact, his long history of racism is well documented, going all the way back to the 1970s, when he and his father were sued by the Justice Department — Richard Nixon’s Justice Department, no less — for refusing to rent apartments to African-Americans.

There is nothing inherently racist about the free-market conservatism that Republicans cherish and advocate. But there is everything racist about the white ethnocentric theory of American identity that Trump champions with remarkable frankness.

Republicans say they want a “merit-based” system of immigration. That has a nice, neutral sound. Who can argue against merit? But Trump has made clear that what he means to do is halt or reverse the demographic trends that are making this nation increasingly diverse — trends that are wholly consistent with American history.

A century ago, there were nativists who railed against Irish, Italian and Eastern European immigration, claiming that unwashed hordes from poor countries were “mongrelizing” the nation. We now have a president who rejects American ideals of diversity and inclusion in favor of racial purity.

Sens. Cotton and Perdue, Secretary Nielsen, Reps. McCarthy and Goodlatte, do you want a race-based immigration system, too? Please don’t pretend you didn’t hear the question.