NOVEMBER 17, 2025

D BLOCK

Cross talk / Music intro

Rachel Maddow: We are back and continuing our discussion on the chaos on the border. There are reports tonight that thousands of undocumented migrants — and let’s call them what they are, okay? — we’re talking about criminals, crossing the border illegally, coming into this country without going through the proper procedures, and then immediately voting for the Republican. Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, you’ve been watching this story and dealing with this issue for years, what’s your take here?

Robert Reich: Well, Rachel, I think the question has to be, why has the Trump administration — which talked such a big game when it came to border security — why have they been so lax about keeping the border safe since taking office? And there are a couple of reasons for this. First, because Republicans like cheap labor. They want to be able to hire nonunionized workers who —

Rachel Maddow: Let me just break in here for a moment. The pictures you’re seeing on the screen right now are live from the southern border, and you can see people streaming over —

Jen Psaki: Rachel, can I just —

Robert Reich: . . . and each one is a potential off-the-books employee who —

Jen Psaki: . . . I think the real issue here, and I’m sorry I just have to say this, the real issue here is that the Republican Party sees these people — these illegals — as potential Republican voters. So this is a strategy, Rachel. This is very much part of the Republican strategy. Flood the country with illegal Hispanics who as we all know from the 2024 election tend to vote Republican.

Rachel Maddow: I want to bring Yamiche Alcindor into this conversation, because I know she’s done some reporting about this. Yamiche?

Yamiche Alcindor: Thank you, Rachel. As Jen notes, Hispanics and Latin American immigrants are at this point reliably Republican voters. Many of the all-Mexican counties in Texas voted for Trump, and it’s clear now that unless we do something to secure our southern border, we’re looking at millions of new Republican voters.

Rachel Maddow: Do you think this is an actual goal, Yamiche?

Yamiche Alcindor: I think it’s pretty clear that the Republican strategy is to replace us. It’s a replacement-type theory.

Rachel Maddow: I feel like we’ve heard this before.

Yamiche Alcindor: No, this is a new thing. Totally new thing.

Jen Psaki: Can I chime in here? This is very much part of the Trump plan to remake the country into his authoritarian model. Many of these border criminals come from backward countries run by antidemocratic strongmen, and so they’re more likely to be, how can I put it, to be January 6th–type voters.

Yamiche Alcindor: That’s why we need to keep them out.

Rachel Maddow: But how can we do that?

Robert Reich: I think the smart move is to build a wall.

Rachel Maddow: I feel like I’ve heard this argument before but in a different way.

Jen Psaki: I don’t think so.

Robert Reich: May I add that, interestingly, there is a growing sense among experts that in some ways Mexico itself could fund the construction of the wall.

Rachel Maddow: So Mexico could pay for it? It’s just . . . I mean that really rings a bell.

Robert Reich: It’s a complicated issue. But the key is, we must close the border immediately to the flood of Republican voters currently streaming across it.

Jen Psaki: I think Bob is half right. Yes, border security is important. But we really do have to come to terms with the millions of Trump voters and Republicans who are already here illegally.

Rachel Maddow: Are you talking about deportations? Is that even feasible?

Yamiche Alcindor: Actually, Rachel, many experts say that it wouldn’t be all that complicated. And unless you want to look at a coming Republican majority for the next few decades, we need to begin that process now.

Rachel Maddow: When we come back: Far-right Trump-supporting Hispanics and how we need to get rid of them. Stay with us.

END D BLOCK.