Tag: immigration

While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that weren’t about domestic abuse

The following article by A.P. Joyce was posted on the mic.com website February 9, 2018:

This week’s news was dominated by the resignation of White House staffer Rob Porter, who was accused by both of his ex-wives of having physically abused them.

The fallout over Porter’s past — including accusations that other senior Trump officials including White House chief of staff John Kelly knew about the abuse allegations months in advance — eclipsed a lot of other news stories that might have roiled any other administration.

Here are five important stories you may have missed. Continue reading “While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that weren’t about domestic abuse”

Christians were once aliens, too

In Exodus Chapter 22:21, the Bible states “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.”

This verse reminds all United States citizens that at one time or another, we were all aliens in this country. Even Native American ancestors came from Asia. It is our moral duty to welcome the strangers to the United States no matter how they came to our country.

According to a poll released by CBS News, “nearly nine in 10 Americans (87 percent) favor allowing young immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children to remain in the U.S.” Continue reading “Christians were once aliens, too”

Melania Trump has been given a powerful platform. It’s time for her to use it.

The following column by Petula Dvorak was posted on the Washington Post website February 5, 2018:

First lady Melania Trump acknowledges the the crowd prior to President Donald J. Trump’s delivery of the State of the Union speech. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Nope, ladies. No more mulligans for Melania.

Thanks to a recent report of her husband’s alleged affair with an adult film star years ago, a bipartisan sisterhood is coming to the first lady’s side. She has been defended and protected. Even a “Saturday Night Live” skit over the weekend gave her the closest thing to sympathy that merciless crew can muster.

The truth is, Melania Trump is not a delicate flower or a victim.

She is a grown woman, an immigrant who made it in a cutthroat industry.

She is capable of tackling tough issues, of respecting the responsibility and opportunity she’s been given. Continue reading “Melania Trump has been given a powerful platform. It’s time for her to use it.”

The immigration bills in Congress aren’t perfect. That’s okay.

The following commentary by the Washington Post Editorial Board was posted on their site February 5, 2018:

© Getty Images

BY TRYING to solve every problem related to America’s immigration system, Congress has repeatedly failed to solve any of them. It’s time to end that legislative dysfunction, which has played on a loop on Capitol Hill for years. Why not sidestep the most incendiary disagreements and target the two main areas on which there is broad bipartisan acceptance: protecting “dreamers” brought to the United States as children and beefing up border security?

The contours of such a deal, if not the details, are within lawmakers’ reach. Similar bipartisan bills to that end now have been introduced in both houses of Congress — this month, by John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) in the Senate and, last month, by Will Hurd (R-Tex.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) in the House. Each deserves a hearing and a vote. Continue reading “The immigration bills in Congress aren’t perfect. That’s okay.”

Trump’s Attack on Immigrants Is Breaking the Backbone of America’s Child Care System

The following article by Leila Schochet was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 5, 2018:

Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez,  Getty/Los Angeles Times

“If Congress pulls the Dream Act, I would lose seven staff members. It’s huge.”

—Nancy*

Nancy is the director of a rural Midwestern Head Start center. Like many people across the country, she is concerned about the fate of nearly 800,000 young immigrants protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. Nancy’s Head Start program employs seven teachers who are protected by DACA. She worries about how her program will continue to operate if she loses those teachers. Continue reading “Trump’s Attack on Immigrants Is Breaking the Backbone of America’s Child Care System”

Republican Retreat Heavy on Boasting, Short on Strategy

The following article by Joe Williams was posted on the Roll Call website February 2, 2018:

Divisions within ranks threaten progress on immigration, government spending

Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and South Dakota Sen. John Thune conduct a news conference at the media center during the House and Senate Republican retreat at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Thursday. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Republicans leave the Greenbrier resort on Friday buoyed by their reflections of the accomplishments of the past year. But they also depart with little consensus on how to address the long to-do list awaiting them in Washington, D.C.

Much of the public portion of the GOP retreat was spent touting the recent tax overhaul, cuts to federal regulations, a record number of judicial appointments and an optimistic economic forecast. But the silence on contentious lingering issues such as health care, government spending and immigration was deafening.

What was meant to serve as a time for Republicans to hone their message and come away with a unified position on their 2018 agenda gave way to contradicting answers and vague statements of optimism. Continue reading “Republican Retreat Heavy on Boasting, Short on Strategy”

Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about chain migration, NYC terror suspect

The following article by Miriam Valverde was posted on the PolitiFact website January 24, 2018:

Credit: Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that more than 20 people have migrated to the United States due to family ties to a terror attack suspect.

A man drove a truck onto a bike lane and pedestrian walkway in Manhattan on Oct. 31, killing eight people and injuring 12 others. The suspect, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, is an Uzbek national whom Trump has singled out as a reason why “chain migration” and a visa lottery program should end. Continue reading “Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about chain migration, NYC terror suspect”

Border Wall ‘Off the Table,’ Schumer Says, as Immigration Progress Unravels

The following article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website January 23, 2018:

<em“The wall offer’s off the table,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday.CreditEric Thayer for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators found themselves back at Square 1 on immigration on Tuesday, as the Senate Democratic leader withdrew the biggest gesture he had made to strike a deal: an offer to fully fund President Trump’s proposed wall at the Mexican border.

“The wall offer’s off the table,” the leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, told reporters at the Capitol a day after senators overcame an impasseto end a three-day government shutdown. Continue reading “Border Wall ‘Off the Table,’ Schumer Says, as Immigration Progress Unravels”

Graham: Stephen Miller makes immigration deal impossible

The following article by Jordain Carney was posted on the Hill website January 21, 2018:

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) warned on Sunday that the White House staff is undercutting President Trump and Congress’s ability to get a deal on immigration.

“Every time we have a proposal it is only yanked back by staff members. As long as Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration, we’re going nowhere,” Graham told reporters as he headed into a closed-door negotiation with a bipartisan group of senators. Continue reading “Graham: Stephen Miller makes immigration deal impossible”