The horse trading based on this terrible policy continues: https://www.npr.org/2018/06/18/621103396/house-gop-immigration-bill-would-modify-but-not-end-child-detentions

This is classic Trump. Apparently the "Art of the Deal" is taking or threatening a wild position on an issue in a gross attempt to get your way. I'm sure it works on occasion, but at what cost?

6/19/2018 2:09:33 AM

WTF how is this legal???

Footage Shows ICE Agents Harassing Passengers At Bus Station In Maine
https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/2101491256549020

ICE agents going around a bus station asking people if they are US citizens?

One of them says you gotta be a US citizen to ride the bus . Have they no shame left?

Trump's presidency has openly brought out all the closet-KKK members into the open, both among the public and among the authorities/politicians.

6/19/2018 3:57:19 AM

Governors won't send Guard units to border if family separation continues
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/governors-send-guard-units-border-family-separation-continues/story?id=55983188

tl;dr:
Maryland has withdrawn it's 4 people and helicopter
Rhode Island has not been asked to send units but said they will not deploy any while separation continues
New York will not send anyone
Massachusetts will not send anyone
California will not send anyone (previously declared)
Colorado will not use any state resources
Nevada clarified that their national guard is not to be used for any civilian law enforcement

no big changes

6/19/2018 12:55:15 PM

Quote :

"You can call it a “policy” (Jeff Sessions) or you can call it a not-policy (Kirstjen Nielsen) or you can call it a “law” (Sarah Huckabee Sanders). You can say that yes it’s a policy but nobody likes it (Kellyanne Conway) or you can say it’s a “zero-tolerance” enforcement of a Democratic law (Donald Trump) or a zero-tolerance enforcement of an amalgam of various congressional laws (Nielsen) or a zero-tolerance enforcement of the Department of Justice’s own preferences with respect to enforcing prior laws (Sessions). You can say the purpose of the Justice Department’s family separation policy is deterrence (Stephen Miller, John Kelly) or you can claim that asking if the purpose of the policy is deterrence is “offensive” (Nielsen). You can claim in your legal pleadings that the family separation policy is wholly “discretionary” and thus unreviewable by any court, meaning that only the president can change it (Justice Department in Ms. L v. ICE). Or you can claim that only Congress can “fix loopholes” (Nielsen) or you can say that Congress as a whole can’t fix anything because congressional Democrats are entirely to blame (Trump, Mike Huckabee). You can blame all this newfound “loophole” action on a consent decree from 1997 in a case called Flores (Sessions, Paul Ryan, Chuck Grassley) or on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that interpreted Flores (Nielsen) or on a 2008 law called the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (Nielsen). Better yet, you can fault some magical mashup of “the law” that forces you to defend every statute to its most absurd extreme (Sanders). By this logic, you can also claim that Korematsu—the case authorizing the removal and detention of Japanese Americans during World War II—is still on the books and thus needs to be enforced because it’s also “the law,” but that would be insane. Oh, but wait. Trump proxies made that very claim during the campaign (Carl Higbie). You can pretend that by turning every adult who crosses the border into a presumptive criminal your hands are tied, so you need to jail children to avoid jailing children (Nielsen). You can insist that the vast majority of children who cross the border are being smuggled in by gang members (Nielsen) or that all asylum-seekers are per se criminals (which they are not) or that lawful asylum-seekers should just come back at a better time (Nielsen). You can claim you never intended your policy (if it is in fact a policy) to have any impact on asylum-seekers at all (Nielsen) but of course it would turn out you were lying and this has been the plan all along (John Lafferty, Department of Homeland Security asylum division chief). You can say the Bible wants you to separate children from parents (Sessions). You can say again, incredibly, that the Bible wants you to separate children from parents (Sanders). But that would be pathetic (Stephen Colbert). You can blame the press for the photographs they take (Nielsen) and for the photographs they don’t take (Nielsen). You can suggest that the children in cages are not real children (not linking to Ann Coulter) or that the cages are not in fact cages (Steve Doocy) even though government officials admit that they are cages. You can claim that the detention facilities are “summer camps” or “boarding schools” (Laura Ingraham). You can take umbrage that the good people of DHS and CBP and ICE are being maligned (Nielsen). You can say that separating children from their parents is a strategic move to force an agreement on Trump’s wall, which would make the children purely instrumental (Trump). Or you could say that this is a way to protect children by deterring their parents, which would also make the children purely instrumental (Kelly). Or you can instead say you are protecting the children from all the harm that happens to children transported over borders by doing untold permanent damage to them as they scream in trauma (Nielsen). Because the best way to deter child abuse is through child abuse. You can fight to the death about comparisons to Nazis or you can celebrate a candidate (Corey Stewart) who is a hero to Nazis or you can merely show a staggering lack of comprehension about what Nazis actually did (Sessions). You can fact check and fact check and fact check these claims and it won’t matter that they are false. And the fact that nobody in this administration even bothers to coordinate their cover stories at this point reflects just how pointless it is to fact check them anyhow. It’s an interactive game of choose your own logic, law, facts, and victims, but every single version of this story ends with screaming children in cages, sleeping under foil blankets as strangers change their diapers. The trick is twisting and dodging and weaving until you get to that final page. It is very sad (Melania Trump). Something should be done (Ted Cruz). If only there were some mechanism to stop torturing children. If only there were some way to stop litigating why we’re doing it and who is doing it and just stop doing it. "

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/how-the-trump-administration-is-defending-its-indefensible-child-separation-policy.html

6/19/2018 3:49:20 PM

https://www.rt.com/usa/430330-peter-fonda-twitter-trump/

6/21/2018 12:21:20 AM

I've stayed out of the amnesty/political asylum/illegal immigrant discussion for the most part. But I am curious - what do the folks making so much noise about the situation want as a solution? I've heard tons of complaints about what is currently going on, but not many solutions. Now that families are being detained as a whole, it seems like the detention itself is at the center of the argument.

And "better treatment" is too vague of an answer. That could be anything from handing out bottles of Dasani water over water in cone cups from orange igloos to putting people up in houses vs large detention centers.

6/22/2018 10:55:39 PM

What was wrong with the way it was handled before the change in policy by the trump administration? Please, feel free to explain why it was necessary to change our existing policy. How about we start there instead of your “what’s the solution” line of logic

6/22/2018 11:07:36 PM

I'm not inside the head of the current administration, I wasn't an advocate to change the way things were being done, so I can't answer your question. But it sounds like going back to "the way things were" isn't an option anymore because "the way things were" was just an unofficial policy of non-enforcement. That too, is kinda vague.

6/22/2018 11:21:56 PM

It’s still an option. Just not the one that this admin wants to consider, so how about you assume that that’s the “better solution” since it didn’t involve separating kids from their parents as a matter of policy. I don’t accept that things “had to change” so I’m okay with what was the status quo.

The law didn’t change
The Supreme Court didn’t make any rulings regarding the law

Therefore, this was not a “necessary” change.

[Edited on June 22, 2018 at 11:50 PM. Reason : .]

6/22/2018 11:46:25 PM

Quote :

"But I am curious - what do the folks making so much noise about the situation want as a solution?"

The best solution, as I've often said, would be to gut existing immigration law and allow residency for anybody who clears a basic background test. The bar for citizenship can remain higher, fine; but saying "you can't come in" hasn't worked; in fact, it leads to horrific consequences for the immigrants and major pains in the ass for the rest of us.

Failing that, the status quo ante was - while not acceptable, given the staggering numbers of migrant deaths by every informed estimate - at least better than "putting kids in concentration camps."

6/24/2018 9:02:44 PM

The other issue that does not make the news at all is Trump has cut off tons of people who were LEGALLY here on Visas for a very long period of time, like long enough to have kids, start businesses, buy homes.... They are being put in to deportation proceedings when they go to their immigration meetings, in some cases detained on the spot or sent home with an ankle monitor to self deport. I personally know someone in this situation who has 4 american citizen children, is a homeowner, and is married. This person works, pays taxes, etc. It is hard to explain this to any pea brained republicans but deporting this person would cause more disruption than just doing the right thing. (single parent left behind, possible foreclosure (bank loses money), traumatized american children...I could go on)

The party that used to be pro-business and pro-family values sure likes to inflict chaos on both.

6/25/2018 9:35:41 AM

https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/videos/1002276879934805/

7/1/2018 10:05:58 PM

KICK'EM OUT. TAKEN ARE JERBS. SHIP THOSE DIRTY KIDS BACK TO WHUR THEY COME FRUM! MAYKE MERICAH GRATE AGIN

7/1/2018 10:22:04 PM

The Violence Central American Migrants Are Fleeing Was Stoked by the US

We're still dealing with the aftermath of atrocities committed by US allies in Central America during the Cold War.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvnyzq/central-america-atrocities-caused-immigration-crisis

For example:

Quote :

"Oglesby spoke to me from Guatemala, which even today is still feeling the cumulative effects of US actions from over 50 years ago. In the 1950s, Guatemala attempted to end exploitative labor practices and give land to Mayan Indians in the highlands. The move, according to now-unclassified CIA documents, threatened US interests like the United Fruit Company, which controlled a good portion of land in Guatemala. But instead of citing economic factors, many in the US cried “communism,” saying the labor reforms were a threat to democracy. Wisconsin Senator Alexander Wiley, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee at the time, said he believed that a "Communist octopus" had used its tentacles to control events in Guatemala. In 1954, the CIA helped organize a military coup to overthrow Guatemala’s democratically elected government, and continued to train the Guatemalan military well into the 70s. “The war in Guatemala was really a genocide,” Oglesby said, adding that an estimated 200,000 were killed in the subsequent 36-year-long civil war, which stretched from 1960 to 1996. “The history is important because it went so far beyond anti-communism—the purpose was to destroy people’s vision of the future. It had a terrible impact on the country, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced.”"

Thanks Obama Trump 'Merica!

Set aside a day month:

United States involvement in regime change
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change

35 countries where the U.S. has supported fascists, drug lords and terrorists
https://www.salon.com/2014/03/08/35_countries_the_u_s_has_backed_international_crime_partner/

How the American Empire Is Destabilizing the Globe
https://medium.com/s/just-world-order/how-the-american-empire-is-destabilizing-the-globe-5d92e5da7bbd

Overthrowing other people’s governments: The Master List
https://williamblum.org/essays/read/overthrowing-other-peoples-governments-the-master-list

Mapped: The 7 Governments the U.S. Has Overthrown
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/20/mapped-the-7-governments-the-u-s-has-overthrown/

US Interventions Have Destabilized Central America
https://progressivevoicesofiowa.com/2017/10/10/us-interventions-have-destabilized-central-america/

7/5/2018 1:52:44 PM

1 year old appears in court

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/year-old-baby-appears-in-immigration-court_us_5b4290e3e4b07b827cc1e76c

gg murrca

7/10/2018 12:17:48 AM

Melania Trump's parents got citizenship today despite the fact they check just about every fear mongering conservative immigration talking point:
- chain migration
- presumably retired so "offer" nothing
- old, so will be eligible for Medicare in a few years without contributing
- were brought by someone who was originally illegal and took a job from a legal citizen

8/9/2018 5:39:14 PM

And Melania got her Green Card through some shenanigans, under the EB-1 category.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-1_visa

Quote :

"The EB-1 is a preference category for United States employment-based permanent residency. It is intended for "priority workers". Those are foreign nationals who either have "extraordinary abilities", or are "outstanding professors or researchers", and also includes "some executives and managers of foreign companies who are transferred to the US".[1] It allows them to remain permanently in the US. Therefore, Applicants who can demonstrate their extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim are not required to have a permanent offer of employment in the US and are eligible to self-petition, however, they must intend to work in the US in their field of expertise.[2]"

8/9/2018 8:26:55 PM

8/10/2018 2:01:57 PM

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351

8/13/2018 3:35:34 PM

My great great grandmother never became a citizen and apparently only spoke Hungarian. I think she passed in the 1930’s

/blog

8/13/2018 6:17:26 PM

https://www.wral.com/16-released-from-jail-after-wake-sheriff-ends-participation-in-immigration-program/18073661/

Quote :

"ICE has gone on record responding to Baker’s stance, saying his decision will not decrease its presence in Wake County. “In fact, residents should expect a more visible ICE presence in the Raleigh-Durham area, as ICE will now have no choice but to conduct more at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at worksites,” ICE said in a statement. ICE also said that collateral arrests should be expected as a result of increased arrests in neighborhoods and worksites."

Abolish ICE

12/18/2018 9:33:49 PM

I'm on it.

12/19/2018 12:30:41 AM

Oh my god

https://www.gofundme.com/TheTrumpWall

[Edited on December 19, 2018 at 1:00 AM. Reason : and obligatory fuck ICE]

12/19/2018 12:59:34 AM

^even though it was 2018 that post edit fits with mine!

Quote :

"This is bad. ICE just told students here on student visas that if their school is going online-only this fall, the students must depart the United States and cannot remain through the fall semester. https://t.co/8DteVzexLB https://t.co/OfkWRKFZZE"

7/6/2020 9:20:29 PM

This would force international students out of the elite universities and into red state universities (open ones) saving those state budgets at the expense of international students' COVID risk. Theres a petition going around to stop it and it will be challenged in court but probably fail because other countries have sent our students home without even the option to transfer.

Abolish ICE

7/6/2020 9:53:06 PM

^^this had now been rescinded

7/14/2020 5:02:50 PM

That rule was made within the general philosophy that immigrant value is only derived from the degree to which they can enhance our lives which is an awful trap I've let people suck me into. The spirit of this rule specifically was that international students would only enhance the education of native students if they were in class brick and mortar.

7/14/2020 5:30:50 PM

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trumps-claims-migrant-crime-wave-are-not-supported-national-data-rcna140896

2/29/2024 1:41:41 PM

This John Oliver segment from last week is worth sharing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axsgzg3RyF0

7/30/2024 9:25:57 AM

John Oliver is like the threads.com of late night TV

7/30/2024 12:27:27 PM

I don't really consider a once-a-week show to be "late night TV" along the same lines as a Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, etc. Also, threads kind of sucks but John Oliver rules.

7/30/2024 9:33:13 PM

Treetwista typed the words right out of my mouth

7/30/2024 9:34:20 PM

Well yeah, in the sense that it's more obscure, like threads.com, not in the sense that it sucks

7/31/2024 2:46:04 AM

A recent CNN poll seems to suggest that Americans, particularly Republicans, have grown more racist over the past four years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/25/republican-nativist-immigrant-threat/



I'm not really sure how "American culture" is being interpreted in these results other than as America having a white majority.

I feel like, even if Donald Trump loses this election, the Republican party is going to continue to lean more and more heavily toward playing into white voters' angst about the country's changing demographics.

9/25/2024 3:20:01 PM

That’s amazing how fast it switches. From trump just saying it over and over. Extra crazy that trump is a felon and rapist.

9/25/2024 10:14:52 PM

I'm getting pretty tired of white people and their imagined victimhood crap.

9/25/2024 10:30:44 PM

Quote :

"A recent CNN poll seems to suggest that Americans, particularly Republicans, have grown more racist over the past four years."

9/26/2024 1:40:14 AM

Have they grown more racist? Or just been more willing to say it out loud

9/26/2024 7:23:43 AM

It can be both.

9/26/2024 7:25:23 AM