mike.editor@midpush.com, updated 190417
Recently the number of migrants attempting to come across the border has increased greatly. The official number for March 2019 was 103,492 people. The largest number in many years. With the holding camps full. And rulings that state, families with children can only be held for 20 days. The US Border Patrol is in a legal bind. Where do you put the people? Most every key democrat has stated the border crisis is not a crisis. Both Nancy Pelosi(Speaker of the House), Chuck Schummer(Senate Minority Leader have stated that this is a “Manufactured Crisis” by Trump.
Previously they were just dropping migrants off at the nearest Greyhound stations via their Catch and Release program. But after crowding became too great in the Greyhound stations, Greyhound stated, on March 15, 2019, they could not stay in the station unless they had a ticket go somewhere on Greyhound. So now they wait outside until an advocacy group buys them a ticket. But the advocacy groups, in certain areas have been strained and migrants end up waiting a long time outside, or go elsewhere.
So what is the Border Patrol to do? Dropping them off in the middle of the desert would be considered inhumane. What town really wants them? The camps are full? What is the best option?
Ah, California, New York, Washington. They have a stated desire to protect immigrants. California for sure has a large budget surplus, $20B+, that it could surely find it within its heart to spend a token amount of funds assisting and placing these travelers. California in addition has a mild climate that is easier on travelers. California has many older National Guard facilities such as Camp Roberts where many thousands can find a home while they wait for their hearings. California needs to find it in its heart to assist and place these migrants somewhere.
A number of cities have stated publicly that they have open arms in accepting all. Who are these jurisdictions? A number of them have a stated, “Welcoming City Ordinance” which in general means they are open to all. But are these cities and politicians willing to “walk their talk“?
A few key democrats are starting to change their minds regarding the existence of a crisis, they are:
- Mark Morgan, US Border Control Chief under the Obama administration stated, “this isn’t just a crisis, this is a crisis like we’ve never experienced in the history of this country since we started tracking numbers”. He also supports the idea of sending migrants to sanctuary cities.
- Senator Corey Booker (democrat, candidate for president), on April 16, 2019, appeared to have changed his position. He actually made a trip to a border town to survey the situation. He stated that “we do have a problem at the border and democrats should not deny this”. He also stated, ” there is no need for a wall coast to coast”. (Trump has proposed an additional 260 miles. Coast to coast, the border length is 1,954 miles.) So, given mincing of words, do Trump and Corey agree?
- Jeh Johnson, former Obama Homeland Security Secretary stated in an interview with MSNBC, “On Tuesday there were 4,000 apprehensions. I know that 1,000 overwhelms the system. I can’t imagine what 4,000 a day looks like. So, we are truly in a crisis”.
Ideally Congress and the President would get together and set some numbers, targets, and limits, and update the country’s immigration policy.
Until then California can probably improve on the care presently provided by the Federal government. Californians as a rule, have a better heart, and better funding, than the other states. Gavin has already promised to expand MediCal to include free medical care to minors living in the country illegally. So he is willing to dig deep into the California’s taxpayers pockets to fund part of this. But is he limited this funding to new arrivals? Which states does he want them to go to instead?
A number of key Californians have stepped up to plate and announced they are ready to welcome, accept, assist, and help place migrants.
- Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland, stated, “I’ve been consistent and clear: #Oakland welcomes all, no matter where you came from or how you got here.” https://t.co/KWl2P9ps3k. Libby Schaaf achieved some notoriety when she issued a public statement that an ICE raid was imminent.
- Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose, stated, “We welcome any families to the city of San Jose who have endured such incredible hardships and have endeavored to make a better life for themselves and their families and want to be a part of our great country.”
- Jenny Durkan, Mayor of Seattle, stated, “isn’t afraid of immigrants.”
- Jim Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia, also known as the city of brotherly love, stated, that his city “would be prepared to welcome these immigrants just as we have embraced our immigrant communities for decades.”
Instead of of helping to welcome, assist and place asylum seekers in safer and more-welcome locales, the following politicians have threatened legal action against Trump. Once again, none of the following have stated nor offered any counter proposals on where these people should go. Where should we place them??
- Gavin Newson, the Governor of California, stated, on the idea of assisting and placing asylum seekers in California as “unserious,” “illegal,” “asinine” and “sophomoric,” among other things. Gavin should remember open borders on the national front mean open borders for the states also. California is one of the best states to live in for migrants because of the benefits.
- Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City, threatened to sue the Trump administration if it sends illegal immigrants to New York City, a “sanctuary city.” He stated, “It’s illegal. It is just plain illegal. We will meet him in court. We will beat him in court,” de Blasio said, according to the New York Post. In typical New Yorker fashion, the courts are the answer.
- Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, on twitter he stated, “The Trump Administration’s latest hateful idea is nothing more than a needless distraction and a waste of time. We need real solutions that uphold our values — not disgraceful policies that demonize immigrants and will never become reality.”
- Rahm Emanual, ex Mayor of Chicago, stated, cities have been designating themselves as sanctuary cities “because of the abandonment of Americans values, ideals and cultural destiny” under Trump. Trump has only been president since 2017, but Chicago has been a sanctuary city since 2012? When he announced Chicago has a “Welcoming City Ordinance”.
Democrats in general have used the migrants as pawns in their war on Trump. Yet they have not been willing to deal with him on this issue. On the other side, Trump has been combative on the issue, alienating people who respect political gentility. He could probably be more successful if he was a kinder and gentler president.
Basically, America today has an open border policy. By answering a few question correctly, regarding asylum, you’re in. And it may be years before you get your NTA (Notice To Appear). Switching lawyers a few times also helps extend the time.
With an open border policy Medicare for All, free college education for all starts becoming an expensive endeavor. Under the UN rules, migrants should be requesting Asylum in the first country they come to. That would be Mexico, not the US.
Trump has cut off aid from Honduras as he believes they have wasted the US Taxpayers money. It would be more effective, if he took half that money, bought food with it, and used the US Peace Corps to distribute it. Too much of America’s foreign aid is wasted on, …., does anybody know?? For FY2019, the aid budget for the Northern Triangle was slated to be, $45.7 million for El Salvador, $69.4 million for Guatemala and $65.8 million for Honduras. You could buy a lot of basic commodities for this amount of money, with the Peace Corps distributing. People need to see the face of helpful Americans in other countries. Not news media reports twisted in a 100 different ways by self-serving media organizations.
In March of 2018, there was a backlog of 690,000 open deportation cases with an average wait time of 1,000 days. New Jersey and California had the longest wait times, averaging 1,300 days (3 1/2 years).
Where should we release migrants while they wait for their cases to be heard?