Riddle me this: Who said these words, and to what political party do they belong?

“The American people are a welcoming and generous people. But those who enter our country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law. ... Americans are right to demand better border security and better enforcement of the immigration laws.”

Or this one: "We have to send a clear message. Just because your child gets across the border, that doesn't mean the child gets to stay."

I don't know about you, but that sounds like President Donald Trump echoing his far-right, MAGA – excuse me, Republican – followers.

President Barack Obama told Americans in 2006 they were right to demand better borders. His would-be successor, Hillary Clinton, told a 2014 CNN town hall that even immigrant kids separated from their parents don't get a free pass to stay just because they made it across.

I have to say, looking at the Democratic Party's stance on immigration now, those statements from two of its former leaders have aged like milk.

Don't blame me for the bait and switch – I was testing how far Democrats have shifted on immigration in the past 20 years. Buried about an hour into Elon Musk's recent 90-minute interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, is a powerful diagnosis of the growing gulf between America and Europe,........

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