The New York Times reported the following on August 10.

"A Russian cyberattack that targeted Democratic politicians was bigger than it first appeared and breached the private email accounts of more than 100 party officials and groups, officials with knowledge of the case said Wednesday.

The widening scope of the attack has prompted the FBI to broaden its investigation, and agents have begin notifying a long list of Democratic officials that the Russians may have breached their personal accounts."

See:

http://nytimes.com/2016/08/11/us/pol...tack.html?_r=0

The NY Times report continues:

"American intelligence agencies have said they have 'high confidence' that the attack was the work of Russian intelligence agencies. It has injected a heavy note of international intrigue into an already chaotic presidential campaign as Democrats have alleged that the Russians are trying to help tilt the election toward the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump."

Mr. Trump stunned Democrats and Republicans when he said last month that he hoped Russian intelligence services had successfully hacked Mrs. Clinton's email, and encouraged them to publish whatever they have stolen, although he said later that he was being sarcastic."

Intelligence and law enforcement officials, however are taking the issue seriously."

The NY Times report goes on to say that, according to a Congressional staff member who attended a Intelligence Committee staff briefing by the FBI last week:

"...American intelligence agencies have virtually no doubt that the Russian government was behind the theft."

What possible motive might the Russians have in allegedly attempting to swing this fall's election in favor of Donald Trump?

First, there is the fact that the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, has already been, at least indirectly, affecting the American election in another way by arguably doing more than any other single person on earth except Bashar al-Assad himself to prolong the Syrian refugee crisis, which Trump has been using as a campaign issue.

For a comprehensive New York Times analysis of Putin's role in propping up the brutal Syrian dictatorship, which, along with ISIS, has created four million Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East (plus a few thousand in the US whom Trump has promised to send back!) see:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/wo...awal.html?_r=0

Second, Putin has been pursuing an agenda of trying to weaken democracy in the West by openly supporting anti-immigrant, proto-fascist parties in Europe. Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael A. McFaul writes the following in the New York Times on July 16:

"Since returning to the Kremlin in 2012, Mr, Putin has consolidated his hold on power in Russia. With renewed vigor, he's weakened civil society, undermined independent media and scared off big business from supporting government critics. And he's made the United States and its senior officials unwilling elements of his malign strategy.

He also writes:

"...Mr. Putin extended his campaign to weaken democracy abroad...

"Many are impressed and aim to copy the Putin playbook...The leader of France's far right National Front, Marine Le Pen, has praised Putin and his policies; her party has taken a $10 million loan from a Russian bank and seeks another $30 million for next year's presidential election. Nigel Farage, the former leader of the anti-immigrant U.K. independence party, and Boris Johnson...have spoken fondly of Mr. Putin. So too, does Hungary's increasingly authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orban. The Republican party nominee for president, Donald J. Trump, has frequently praised Mr. Putin. 'He's a strong leader', Trump said in December."

See:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/op...book.html?_r=0

A great deal has been written on the subject of Donald Trump's commitment to upholding the principles of our Constitution and respect for democratic values, or lack of such commitment, and a discussion of this broader issue is beyond the scope of this post.

But one fact is clear, and few people who either support Trump or oppose him would dispute this: Trump owes his success in the primaries nomination by the Republican party in large part to his ability to rally and mobilize anti-immigrant sentiment among American voters, just as right wing authoritarian anti-immigrant leaders in Europe who have such great admiration for Putin and in some cases are being supported by him are doing.

There is now also evidence, which our intelligence officials are looking at very seriously, as the New York Times explains above, that Putin may be trying to subvert America's electoral process in order to install Trump in the White House.

Could Trump's relentless anti-immigrant rhetoric and his promises of draconian measures against both legal and illegal immigrants if elected be helping Putin accomplish his own objective of undermining democracy around the word, including the United States?

And who will have ultimate control over determing immigration policy in the United States? The American people, though a free, fair and un-hacked election process, or an aggressive, powerful, foreign dictator who is admired by and giving support to authoritarian anti-immigrant politicians overseas; and who has, arguably, done as much as anyone else on earth to help create and prolong the greatest humanitarian refugee crisis in the world today?
______________________________________
Roger Algase is a New York immigration lawyer and a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He has been helping mainly skilled and professional immigrants obtain work visas and green cards for more than 35 years. Rogers's email address is algaselex@gmail.com