Deconstructing memes: promoting false and misleading political claims

In this edition of deconstructing memes, GRIID takes a look at misinformation from the Democrats, with a meme that was circulating on social media by the group Occupy Democrats.

Occupy Democrats was a group that formed in 2011 in response to the Occupy Wall Street movement that sprung up all over the country, even in Grand Rapids. Occupy Democrats don’t actually promote the same ideas or share the same principles as the Occupy movement, but they were hoping to cash in on the popularity of that movement. A major theme of the Occupy movement was the 99% vs the 1%, which is interesting since this movement took off during the later part of the first term of the Obama Administration.

The text of the meme I am deconstructing today is:

That Darn Obama! He’s given full amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants, banned assault weapons and secretly armed Iran! Just kidding, that was Reagan!

The intent of this meme is to slam the Republican Party. However, the meme is misleading and includes false or misleading statements, all of which I want to deconstruct. The meme claims that the Reagan Administration did these three things, so lets look at them one at a time.

Full Amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants – First off it is worth pointing out that the meme uses racist and xenophobic language, referring to undocumented immigrants and illegal. Second, the meme wants us to believe that granting amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants was a bad thing, when in fact it was the last time that in recent decades that any US administration did something positive for undocumented immigrants.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was adopted to provide amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants, specifically those who had come to the US prior to 1982. This was not because of a sympathetic Reagan Administration, rather it was because the Central American Solidarity movement was so well organized with thousands of people doing fact finding missions to Central America, the creation of over 400 sanctuaries for people fleeing El Salvador and Guatemala, massive protests, the Pledge of Resistance and the Sister Cities Movement.

In addition, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 did adopt two other important policy positions. First, there was an increase in the budget and activities of the US Border Patrol, plus the policy imposed first time penalties for employers who hired undocumented immigrants.

Banning Assault Weapons – The Reagan Administration did not ban assault weapons, so this statement from Occupy Democrats is just plain false. However, if the Reagan Administration had banned assault weapons wouldn’t that have been a good thing? Don’t the Democrats like to think of themselves as having a more reasonable stance on gun control?

Secretly Arming Iran – The Reagan Administration did secretly provide arms to Iran, it what is best known as the Iran-Contra Affair. According to the group the National Security Archives:

Exactly thirty years ago, President Ronald Reagan announced to the nation – after weeks of denials – that members of his White House staff had engaged in a web of covert intrigue linking illicit U.S. support for a guerrilla war in Central America with an illegal and politically explosive arms-for-hostages bargain with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The revelation quickly led to a new phrase – “Iran-Contra” – which became synonymous with political hubris, government incompetence, and dishonesty in the public sphere.

You can read declassified documents regarding the Iran-Contra Affair at this link.

Thus, of the three claims in this meme, the first one is misleading, the second claim is false and only the third claim is true. Like most memes, this meme from Occupy Democrats doesn’t provide any sources to support its claims, rather it promotes misinformation and partisan bias.