--- title: Ben Rhodes: America’s Story Must Win Out description: Rhodes served as Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications during the Obama Administration and is the author of The World As It Is. Barack... canonical: https://time.com/5318236/americas-story-must-win-out/ author: Ben Rhodes article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-21T10:58:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:38:30.507Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Ben Rhodes: America’s Story Must Win Out og:description: Amidst the Trump Administration's cruelty og:url: https://time.com/5318236/americas-story-must-win-out/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cbb3fce7cccf8bc/6989338197cdff1e076b58c2/immigration-mother-daughter-detained-americas-story-must-win-out.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Immigration Mother Daughter Detained og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Rhodes: America’s Story Must Win Out twitter:description: Amidst the Trump Administration's cruelty twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cbb3fce7cccf8bc/6989338197cdff1e076b58c2/immigration-mother-daughter-detained-americas-story-must-win-out.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Rhodes: Amidst the Trump Administration’s Cruelty, America’s Story Must Win Out > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=967a7385-ff7a-4a1b-9720-b8899a52cf46&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Ben Rhodes](https://time.com/author/ben-rhodes/) ## Ben Rhodes Jun 21, 2018 10:58 AM UTC  A Honduran mother holds her two-year-old daughter while being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers were detained before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants. A Honduran mother holds her two-year-old daughter while being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers were detained before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants. John Moore—Getty Images by [Ben Rhodes](https://time.com/author/ben-rhodes/) ## Ben Rhodes Jun 21, 2018 10:58 AM UTC _Rhodes served as Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications during the Obama Administration and is the author of_ The World As It Is. Barack Obama used to tell me that the job of the President was to tell the best possible story about who we are as a country—through our words _and_ deeds. After the separation of children from families seeking to join the United States. was embraced as the official policy of our government, we should ask ourselves what story we will tell. President Trump’s story is one of cruelty—that we may do something unfathomable to deter families from coming to America. To prevent them from seeking refuge that may help them survive, be it from political persecution, gang violence, drug cartels or domestic abusers. History suggests that Trump’s policies will fail. Downturns in migration almost always prove temporary, as people adjust to changes in American enforcement. What doesn’t change is the basic human impulse to pursue a better life, in a place where they believe it’s still possible. No deterrent can erase that desire—and for those whose lives are at risk in their home countries, nothing can cure that desperation. Any country must establish control over its borders. That is essential to sovereignty and the security of our citizens. But America, at our best, has balanced that political, legal and social objective with an appreciation for the benefits of immigration, and a sense of respect for the dignity of all human beings. U.S. leadership has been rooted not just in our own belief in American exceptionalism, but in the faith of others around the world. By so wantonly discarding that principle, the Trump Administration has done incredible harm to the families they have separated through the state-sponsored child abuse that has been carried out in our name. Trump has also proposed slashing the $750 million budgeted under the Obama Administration in 2016 to help Central American nations improve the poor security, governance and economic conditions that cause people to flee—assistance that required crackdowns on corruption, migration and human trafficking. That may sound like a lot of money, but it’s a fraction of what Trump wants to build a wall, not to mention the costs of implementing an enforcement policy that goes far beyond simply enforcing the law. Trump also has not backed the kind of common-sense legislation pursued by Presidents Bush and Obama — a balance of border security, enforcement and a path to citizenship, particularly for those who were brought here as children. Instead, he has chosen to demagogue the issue, simultaneously appealing to supporters who are comfortable with his actions, while trying to avoid the responsibility that comes with his office. As our government engages in the type of authoritarian practices that we used to criticize abroad, we are darkening the beacon we should shine for oppressed peoples everywhere. It is one of many ways to measure the price of this cruelty. Yet still, people in need turn to us. Instead of ruining lives and risking our social cohesion at home, we should choose to be worthy of their belief in who we are. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5318236/americas-story-must-win-out/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5318236/americas-story-must-win-out/"},"headline":"Ben Rhodes: Amidst the Trump Administration’s Cruelty, America’s Story Must Win Out","datePublished":"2018-06-21T10:58:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:38:30.507Z","description":"Rhodes served as Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications during the Obama Administration and is the author of The World As It Is. 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