Republicans don’t have any empathy unless they are personally affected. Then, they will have a hand out asking for help.
The other conclusion I drew from the article is that Republicans don’t want to witness their cruelty first-hand. The Republican woman who helped the pregnant immigrant injured by the concertina wire responded with compassion. They’ll do that when it’s right in front of them. But so long as the cruelty is happening far away, to people they don’t know and can’t see, it’s fine.