Dem strategist says Americans see through Trump's 'manufactured' immigration crisis

Democratic strategist Juanita Tolliver said Wednesday that Americans "see through" what she called President TrumpDonald John TrumpGOP congressman slams Trump over report that U.S. bombed former anti-ISIS coalition headquarters US to restore 'targeted assistance' to Central American countries after migration deal Trump says lawmakers should censure Schiff MORE's "manufactured crisis" on immigration. 

"He is presenting major barriers and trying to rewrite immigration law to make it illegal for individuals to seek asylum when they're fleeing violence and persecution," Tolliver, campaign director at the Center for American Progress, told Hill.TV's Jamal Simmons on "What America's Thinking." 

"The American people are seeing just that, and they see through the manufactured crisis that he has created," she continued. 

Trump wielded the issue of immigration to energize the Republican base during the midterms, frequently highlighting the so-called migrant caravan of Central American asylum-seekers making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border. 

The issue has stayed in the headlines in the weeks since November's midterm elections. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on Sunday fired tear gas at migrants. CBP said its agents fired the tear gas after asylum-seekers tried to cross the border illegally, with some throwing rocks at CBP agents.

Trump tweeted on Monday that migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. would be forced to stay in Mexico while their claims are processed individually. 

Recent polling shows that, while Americans are wary of the caravan, they believe the migrants should be able to seek asylum in the U.S. 

A Monmouth University poll released earlier this month found that 54 percent of Republican respondents said they perceived the caravan as some kind of threat, while 70 percent of Americans said the migrants should be able to seek asylum in the U.S. if they meet certain qualifications.

— Julia Manchester