Tag: immigrants

Without immigrants, Trump’s jobs numbers would be much, much worse

During the second daily news briefing of 2019 on Monday, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, was asked how the administration rationalized adding trillions of dollars to the national debt despite President Trump’s repeated campaign-trail insistence that the debt would drop.

“He also came into office and had an economic recovery that was needed to put people back to work, get the economy going and to rebuild the military, and had historic levels of military at $700 billion and $716 billion in — in national defense dollars,” Vought said. He didn’t mention that the debt has also been driven higher by a decline in corporate tax revenue after the 2017 Republican tax bill or that Trump had repeatedly railed against the debt added under former president Barack Obama when Obama also aimed to get Americans back to work. Continue reading “Without immigrants, Trump’s jobs numbers would be much, much worse”

When Trump declared national emergency, most detained immigrants were not criminals

Credit: David J. Phillip, AP

Before President Trump declared a national emergency on the U.S. southern border on Feb. 15, he cited concerns that the United States was being flooded with murderers, kidnappers and other violent offenders from foreign countries.

According to new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement figures obtained by The Washington Post, the nation’s immigration jails were not filled with such criminals. As of Feb. 9, days before the president’s declaration, nearly 63 percent of the detainees in ICE jails had not been convicted of any crime.

Of the 48,793 immigrants jailed on Feb. 9, the ICE data shows, 18,124 had criminal records. An additional 5,715 people had pending criminal charges, officials said, but they did not provide details. ICE also did not break down the severity of the crimes committed by or attributed to detainees.

View the complete February 22 article by Maria Sacchetti on The Washington Post website here.

Donald Trump, The Migrant Caravan and a Manufactured Crisis at the U.S. Border

The migrant caravan now consists of nearly five thousand people, about a third of whom are under the age of eighteen. Credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas, The New Yorker

Since last week’s midterm elections, Donald Trump has spoken less frequently about the migrant caravan, but the subject is still plainly on his mind. On Friday, he signed a Presidential proclamation (“Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States”), which suspended the possibility of asylum for anyone entering the country between officially designated ports of entry. By U.S. and international law, migrants are allowed to seek asylum “whether or not” they do so at an official checkpoint along the border; Trump’s measure, which was immediately challenged by advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, aims to override explicit provisions of an existing federal statute in order to thwart the entry of tens of thousands of Central American migrants. As Lee Gelernt, the A.C.L.U.’s lead litigator in the case, told me, “It would mean the President could literally sit down with a copy of the immigration act that Congress wrote and cross out any provision he didn’t like.”

The night before the President issued his proclamation, members of the caravan gathered in Mexico City, where they’d paused for a week of rest, to vote on a final destination for the group. Of the big border cities in northern Mexico, Tijuana was considered the safest—the route skirts territory controlled by violent cartels—but it was also the farthest away. The caravan now consists of nearly five thousand people, about a third of whom are under the age of eighteen. An estimated three hundred of them are younger than five. Because of the punishing physical toll of the trip, the group has tried, with mixed success, to arrange van and truck transportation the rest of the way. Hundreds of them have either turned back or have been deported by Mexican authorities, while some twenty-six hundred others, according to the Mexican government, have received temporary legal status to remain in Mexico.

The relative success of the group, coupled with the continued desperation of residents in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, has prompted a string of smaller caravans, consisting of several hundred people each, to travel in its wake. In recent years, under pressure from President Barack Obama, Mexico has redoubled its efforts to intercept Central Americans heading north, earning its own reputation for aggressive immigration enforcement. At the same time, the U.S. has invested about seven hundred million dollars in an aid package, called the Alliance for Prosperity, to try to address the corruption and rampant crime that are seen as the root causes of emigration from the region. “The caravans are not the problem,” Tonatiuh Guillén López, the incoming head of Mexico’s National Migration Institute, said this week. “The issue is the movements we do not see, those who are not in the caravan, that is the big issue.”

View the complete November 14 article by Jonathan Blitzer on The New York Times website here.

Will Violent Criminals Be Released If Minnesota Becomes A Sanctuary State?

Minneapolis (WCCO) — Three weeks before the election, Minnesota Republicans are warning that dangerous criminals will come to the state if Democrats win the election.

It is part of a TV ad campaign from an outside group called Freedom Club, linking Democrats to illegal immigration and sanctuary cites.

In one ad, a woman in her kitchen shows frustration and trepidation about the Democrats running for governor and attorney general.

View the complete article by Pat Kessler on the WCCO website here.

The Myth of the Criminal Immigrant

The following article by Anna Flagg was posted on the New York Times website March 30, 2018:

The Trump administration’s first year of immigration policy has relied on claims that immigrants bring crime into America. President Trump’s latest target is sanctuary cities.

“Every day, sanctuary cities release illegal immigrants, drug dealers, traffickers, gang members back into our communities,” he said last week. “They’re safe havens for just some terrible people.” Continue reading “The Myth of the Criminal Immigrant”

Sessions says immigrants should apply for asylum at ports of entry, where many have been turned away

The following article by Rebekah Entralgo was posted on the ThinkProgress website June 18, 2018:

“They can go to our ports of entry if they want to claim asylum and they won’t be arrested,” he claimed.

Credit: Screengrab

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions addressed the National Sheriffs’ Association Monday morning in New Orleans, Louisiana, delivering a speech riddled with misinformation about the nation’s immigration policies, particularly as they relate to asylum claims.

Sessions defended the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border and alleged that if immigrants simply waited their turn at ports of entry to claim asylum, they would not be arrested.

“We do have a policy of prosecuting adults who flout our laws to come here illegally instead of waiting their turn, claiming asylum at ports of entry. They can go to our ports of entry if they want to claim asylum and they won’t be arrested,” Sessions said. “We cannot and will not encourage people to bring their children or other children to the country unlawfully by giving them immunity in the process.” Continue reading “Sessions says immigrants should apply for asylum at ports of entry, where many have been turned away”

Dem tears into Kelly over immigrant comments: ‘He eats the vegetables that they pick’

The following article by Morgan Gstatler was posted on the Hill website May 11, 2018:

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on Friday tore into White House chief of staff John Kelly’s comments about immigrants being poorly educated and unskilled while lauding immigrants who take up agricultural work.

“You know the ones I was thinking about when he was saying that?” Gutierrez said on CNN. “The ones that probably came across undocumented to work in the fields. He eats the vegetables that they pick — that no American will go out and pick. He eats the fruit of their labor, literally and figuratively.” Continue reading “Dem tears into Kelly over immigrant comments: ‘He eats the vegetables that they pick’”

President Trump’s claim that ‘nearly 3 in 4’ convicted of terrorism are foreign-born

The following article by Salvador Rizzo was posted on the Washington Post website January 22, 2018:

Trump says a new report on terrorism shows the dangers of immigration. We dig into the facts, and find fishy math and misleading language. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“New report from DOJ & DHS shows that nearly 3 in 4 individuals convicted of terrorism-related charges are foreign-born. . . . [W]e need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based.”
— President Trump, in a pair of Twitter posts, Jan. 16

Making the case for tighter immigration controls, Trump cites a new report from the Homeland Security and Justice departments that says foreign-born people accounted for 73 percent of the convictions for international terrorism and related offenses from 9/11 through 2016. Continue reading “President Trump’s claim that ‘nearly 3 in 4’ convicted of terrorism are foreign-born”

Trump derides protections for immigrants from ‘shithole’ countries

The following article by Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website January 12, 2018:

The Fix’s Eugene Scott explains how Trump’s “shithole countries” comment is the latest example of his history of demeaning statements on nonwhite immigrants. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they discussed protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to several people briefed on the meeting.

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said, according to these people, referring to countries mentioned by the lawmakers.

Trump then suggested that the United States should instead bring more people from countries such as Norway, whose prime minister he met with Wednesday. The president, according to a White House official, also suggested he would be open to more immigrants from Asian countries because he felt that they help the United States economically.

In addition, the president singled out Haiti, telling lawmakers that immigrants from that country must be left out of any deal, these people said.

“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump said, according to people familiar with the meeting. “Take them out.”

In November, the Trump administration rescinded deportation protection granted to nearly 60,000 Haitians after the 2010 earthquake and told them to return home by July 2019.

Lawmakers were taken aback by the comments, according to people familiar with their reactions. Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) had proposed cutting the visa lottery program by 50 percent and then prioritizing countries already in the system, a White House official said.

A White House spokesman defended Trump’s position on immigration without directly addressing his remarks. White House officials did not dispute the account.

“Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement issued after The Washington Post first reported Trump’s remarks. “. . . Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.”

Trump built his candidacy and presidency around hard stances on immigration, vowing to build a wall along the Mexican border and cut legal immigration by half, among other positions. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security have increased immigration raids, including dozens this week at convenience stores across the country.

Trump’s comments Thursday also put further scrutiny on his long-standing tendency to make racially charged remarks — including attacks on protesting black athletes and his claim that there were fine people “on both sides” after neo-Nazis rioted in Charlottesville, Va. Trump falsely claimed for years that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and took out advertisements calling for the death penalty for members of the Central Park Five — four black youths and a Hispanic youth who were accused of a brutal rape in New York and later exonerated.

President Trump referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole” countries on Jan. 11. Here are other nations he has insulted. (Melissa Macaya/The Washington Post)

The president’s remarks were quickly met with scorn from Demo­crats and some Republicans and could throw another wrench into bipartisan discussions on immigration, which had shown promise in recent days, according to legislators.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said the comments “will shake the confidence that people have” in the ongoing immigration policy talks. Continue reading “Trump derides protections for immigrants from ‘shithole’ countries”

Why Attacking Immigrants Endangers Every American’s Economic Security

The following article by Nancy Altman was posted on the National Memo website September 6, 2017:

Donald Trump reportedly will announce on Tuesday that he will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the legal protection accorded to 800,000 young people, known as “Dreamers,” who have lived in the United States since they were children. Dreamers are contributing members of society who grew up here but happened to be born in another country to mothers who moved here without the proper papers.

So much for not being punished for the sins of our parents. And for not being arbitrary and capricious in our public policy. Two siblings, a year apart in age, could face very different circumstances simply because the younger one was born inside the United States and the older one outside. One would be, thanks to our Constitution, an American citizen, with all the rights and privileges citizenship grants. The other could be a demonized “other,” subject to the whims of Trump. Continue reading “Why Attacking Immigrants Endangers Every American’s Economic Security”