Undocumented Americans

This, unfortunately, isn’t a Trump or Obama problem. It’s a cultural problem that encompasses both ICE and the ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement):

When the Evil Keebler Elf announced the new border separation policy, I was of the opinion that with Trump’s deregulation push, treatment of undocumented minors would worsen. We know now that it did:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/26/politics/hhs-lost-track-1500-immigrant-children/index.html

But that ACLU report on rampant abuse of kids in ICE custody? That took place under Obama’s watch.

Separating minors from their parents is appears to be a ratification of existing rules. The Trump administration has other, worse ideas in the queue, like stripping asylum status from undocumented minors who are released to the custody of close relatives:

Trump is an idiot, but there’s no shortage of people who want to be Goebbels to his Chauncey Gardener. It’s not an accident that those people are in power; abusers seek power because it allows them to abuse with impunity, and some of them have been abusing for longer than any of us would like. ICE, and maybe the ORR, need to be cleansed with fire if this is how they do their jobs.

1 Like

Things are getting worse, yes.

But they’ve been bad for a long time. The ACLU report (1) relates to the Obama era. And while the HHS story about “1,500 lost kids” is Trump-era, there is no reason to believe that they weren’t also “losing” kids at similar rates during the Obama era (2).

And then we get to things such as “who created the chaos in Central America that drives the refugees here?”, and “how about the kids in Libya/Iraq/Afghanistan/Yemen?”.

This isn’t about Trump or Obama. The problem is the empire.

.

(1) This one:

(2) For example:

2 Likes
1 Like

Corporate media letting the mask slip a bit…

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1000843619157364736?s=21

Good replies, though.

2 Likes

Thread:

1 Like

BTW, there are three main stories in the recent “lost/abused children” scandals.

  1. Children and adults being raped/abused while in detention. This has been going on since at least Obama, is still continuing, and is likely to get worse. This is covered in the ACLU report and VICE article.

  2. Children being separated from their parents at the border: this is a new Trump policy, but is only just starting to take effect. It is also an area where the Obama administration did some comparable things, albeit not as much.

  3. Children that ICE “lost”. This is the story from the HHS report, is the one that got the most attention, and is also probably the least serious of the three. And it’s one that demands a nuanced understanding if the response is not to play into the hands of the fascists.

There’s also a fourth scandal, that gets almost no attention: the Border Patrol routinely murders people.

5 Likes

https://twitter.com/rrrrnessa/status/1000775493879246850?s=21

image

1 Like
2 Likes
1 Like

2015:

Today:

1 Like

https://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/amp/texas-border-mass-trial-immigration-illegal-photo-12952189.php#click=https://t.co/2c4c60QgDq

3 Likes

And now, this:

Forcing America to look at this justifies Merkley turning tragedy into political theater… I guess. Fucking hell, there are just so many links in this thread that I can’t bring myself to click on.

2 Likes

A nice little detail…

Remember how a few years ago the right was screaming about imaginary FEMA camps in converted Walmarts? Jade Helm etc?

3 Likes

Once again, however, a nuanced understanding of the situation is required. See this thread:

https://twitter.com/nomasnomasno/status/1003830803036590080?s=21

2 Likes

My hesitancy to support Merkley was about precisely this. Yes, Americans need to see what our government is doing. No, the children put at risk by Trump’s policies don’t need to be further endangered by being turned into political footballs.

The White House has responded to the Merkley stunt. Rather than say anything substantive, they chose to blame Merkley for the crimes of undocumented immigrants in his district. Sigh

Head-Smash-Against-The-Wall-Anime-Reaction-Gif

I think I may need to take a break from the BBS for a while.

1 Like

https://twitter.com/gsiskind/status/1004463193396215813?s=21

Translated: the DOJ is expelling a woman as a “material supporter of terrorism” because she had been previously enslaved by the people who murdered her husband.

Or, from another case:

3 Likes

image

3 Likes
1 Like

That’s only the border, of course; ICE raids in the interior are another thing.

1 Like

An interview with the Senator from Oregon.

I wish CBC’d provide better random access to their shows (i.e. a link with a time code like YouTube).

Click on “Listen to the full episode” and set the time to 24:00.

Family Separation Senator
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley has visited a Texas border facility where minors are being held, apart from their parents — and he says he’s haunted by what he saw.

Oregon seems blessed with two Senators who don’t mind digging into the dirt.