'Election-year nightmare': WSJ freaks out that Trump's immigrant kid debacle will cost GOP both houses

In both a critical and panicky editorial, the editors of the Wall Street Journal frantically have called on President Donald Trump to end his "zero tolerance" policies at the U.S. border with Mexico that has resulted in immigration officials tearing children away from their amnesty-seeking parents -- outraging conservatives and liberals alike.

According to the Journal, the GOP is looking at an "election-year nightmare," if Trump doesn't call off the detention of immigrant children in camps along the border.

"Are Republicans trying to lose their majorities in Congress this November? We assume not, but you can’t tell from the party’s internal feuding over immigration that is fast becoming an election-year nightmare over separating immigrant children from their parents," the editorial began. "This is what happens when restrictionists have a veto over GOP policy."

"Children are put into tent encampments or other sites while their parents are processed for deportation. That can take several days, which is bad enough, though much longer if the adults challenge their deportation," it continued. "Trump officials are defending the policy as a deterrent to illegal entry, but surely they understand that separating parents from children is morally unacceptable and politically unsustainable."

"This episode underscores the larger GOP dysfunction as it debates how to deal with the former immigrant children known as Dreamers. The threat of Dreamer deportation isn’t imminent while the courts consider Barack Obama’s legalization order and Donald Trump’s revocation of that order. But it is sure to return with urgency next year," they added. "Former aide Steve Bannon riled up the restrictionists by blasting the compromise as 'amnesty.' The restrictionists don’t want anything to pass because they want to use immigration to drive conservative turnout in November.

According to the Journal, GOP conservative hardliners on issues like DACA -- combined with the video and audio of caged children crying for the mothers and fathers -- are setting up the party for a major disaster at the polls.

"This is self-destructive politics. This year is the GOP’s best opportunity for immigration reform in a decade. If Republicans lose their House majority, they will have less leverage when the Supreme Court rules on legalization for Dreamers. If the Obama program is upheld, Mr. Trump won’t have obtained money for his border wall or anything else," they wrote.

The editors concluded, "If Mr. Trump wants to lose the House and risk impeachment, he’ll take Mr. Bannon’s bad advice and keep giving Democrats a daily picture of children stripped from their parents."

You can read the whole piece here -- subscription required.