ROOKE: Illegal Immigrant Seems To Understand American Politics Better Than Half The Country

In a March CNN documentary segment, correspondent Omar Jimenez reported from southern Mexico on the real-world effects of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement changes.

One of the immigrants he interviewed was Cecilia Zouk from Guatemala. She had traveled to Mexico with her husband and two children. She had used the Customs and Border Protection app, CBP One, to schedule an asylum appointment at a U.S. port of entry. About 15 days after she submitted it, the appointment was canceled. When Jimenez asked whether she still planned to go to the U.S., Zouk said, through a translator, that they were waiting for Trump to go.

“We’re waiting for that president (Trump) to go,” Zouk responded to a question about whether she still wants to get into the U.S.

“A dream of mine, when I leave my country, is to do something with my children, and I don’t plan to return until I succeed,” she said.

“And why? Why can’t you do it in Guatemala?” Jimenez asked.

“Well, because there is a great shortage of work,” Zouk said.

The exchange was actually incredible.

“We’re just waiting for that president to go.”

In southern Mexico, I met a woman who initially tried to get to the United States but had her CBP One appointment cancelled when President Trump took office. Now she’s waiting. “After that, we’ll try again.” pic.twitter.com/H8Q36HZtDX

— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) March 30, 2026

Zouk seems to understand how the U.S.’s immigration policies work better than most Americans do. A vote for Democrats is a vote for people like Zouk who abuse our kindness. She is a typical “asylum” seeker. She isn’t suffering for her religious or political views. There is no genocide happening in Guatemala. It’s just a poor country. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

The problem is that the U.S. is also suffering economically in large part because of illegal and legal immigrants. Housing shortages have caused housing prices to skyrocket. They fill jobs that should be going to Americans. The downstream fiscal impact is clear when you examine welfare usage rates. The most recent data from the Center for Immigration Studies, based on the 2024 Survey of Income and Program Participation, released in February, shows the pattern in stark terms.

Households headed by all immigrants (naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal immigrants) used one or more major welfare programs at a rate of 53 percent. Households headed by U.S.-born Americans used those same programs at 37 percent. For non-citizen households, the rate rises to 59 percent. For households headed by illegal immigrants, it reaches 61 percent.

Mass immigration has aided in the erasure of the American middle class almost more than any other political policy.

This crisis doesn’t change how immigrants feel about coming to the U.S. Zouk will simply wait until the tides turn, because she knows the American system is set up for her success, that the political pendulum will swing again.

She represents a growing group of economic immigrants who treat U.S. border policy as a predictable swing between administrations. Democratic presidents expand entry pathways like the CBP One app and parole programs. Republican presidents cancel appointments and push enforcement.

The people already in the pipeline, like Zouk, did not pack up and head home. They settled into shelters and public spaces in southern Mexico and are waiting. Jimenez’s reporting captured this reality. When a Democratic administration returns, the appointments will resume, the processing will restart, and they will cross or schedule once more. This waiting strategy turns temporary policy into permanent demographic and fiscal change.

🚨 BREAKING: In a psychotic decision, Leftist Judge Allison Burroughs just ruled President Trump must RESTORE 900,000 MIGRANTS’ legal status who were told to leave through the CBP Home App

This is a traitor to this nation, facilitating invasion. Impeach and APPEAL.

The migrants… pic.twitter.com/HqMymKbz8v

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 1, 2026

The cycle is America’s future. Each Democratic administration adds millions of immigrants to the population. Each Republican administration cancels some backlogs and deports a portion of recent arrivals, but never enough to reverse the net gain. Court backlogs, sanctuary city policies, and family ties slow enforcement. The population of non-citizens and illegal immigrants grows steadily. More U.S.-born children enter the system. Tax burdens on native-born American workers rise to cover the difference. School districts and hospitals in affected areas face chronic strain. Political divisions harden, but the underlying flow continues because migrants have learned the game.

Zouk’s approach is the perfect example of this adaptation. Her dream is tied to success in the U.S., not at home. Thousands, like her, share that view. They see the U.S. as the economic endpoint with no permanent barrier. (ROOKE: Defeating The Horde Of Invaders)

This cycle will ultimately break the country and erase what makes us the shining beacon on the hill; and while the Trump administration has had some success in deportations and wants to make permanent change in U.S. immigration policy, the cycle is the one our ruling class has generally chosen.

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