Immigration Meltdown

The Trump administration continues to institute policy that dehumanizes people fleeing refuge and asylum who want to enter the U.S.

More and more reports show gruesome, terror-like practices at the Texas-Mexican border. Children, as young as one year-old, are being taken from their mothers. One reporter told of a child being ripped away from its mother as it was being nursed.

Reporters took to the White House briefing room on Thursday to ask about such border practices and were met with a non-chalant, empathetic-less response from Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Brian Karem, Editor of The Montgomery County Sentinel, took Huckabee-Sanders (a parent of young children) to task asking her if she any "empathy" for what was happening to the children at the border. What happened next had many shaking their heads in disdain.

Here is a readout of that exchange as prepared by Democracy Now!

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “Hey, Brian, I know you want to get some more TV time, but that’s not what this is about.”

Brian Karem: “It’s not that! It’s not about that. It’s about you answering a question, Sarah. Honestly, answer the question. It’s a serious question. These people have nothing. They come to the border with nothing. And you throw children in cages. You’re a parent! You’re a parent of young children. Don’t you have any empathy for what they go through?”

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “Jill, go ahead.”

U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions (powered by the Trump administration) used the Bible to justify the actions of border patrol agents' practices and has recently issued a 'zero tolerance on illegal immigration. He also justifies the practice by referencing Romans 13.

“I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law,” Sanders said “That is, actually, repeated a number of times throughout the Bible.”

[See also: As Sanders states "it is biblical to enforce the law", former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manifort has been ordered to prision.]

Unfortunately, America has seen this kind of treatment of those it deems ,the least of these,. As they saying goes, we've seen this movie before.

Let us not forget that children were ripped away from parents during slavery, all the time. Children were sold off by slave holders to other slave holders - a practice that was legal throughout the United States. Slave holders used the Bible to justify this practice as well.

This go 'round, it's the war on illegal immigration and that is almost, always against people of color: Mexicans and Latinos, Africans, Muslims.

Lady Liberty/New York's Ellis Island where many European immigrants
found solace in America, with little conflict, or being called 'illegal'.
Above quote by Emma Lazarus.

These so-called illegal immigration practices do not occur with immigrants coming into the U.S. from European countries. One will be hard pressed to find such inhumane treatment of immigrants coming to the U.S. - illegally - from Norway (the country the president upholds), or the country of origin for the president's wife, Melania (aka Melanie), who hails from Novo Mesto, Slovania, or even immigrants from Trump's beloved country of Russia.

Tough immigration policies are placed upon those who are feared will 'take over' the country. They are the people who cause radical groups to stage rallies like those in Charlottesville, Virginia in an attempt to save what they believe is a country beholden only to them. (See what Jorge Ramos had said about that.) They are the people who prompted an American presidential candidate to run on a promise to 'make America great again', and they are the people who inspired the 1990 Public Enemy hit song, Fear of A Black Planet.

They are also the people who continue to spawn articles like The Browning of America to show that America, in as little as two decades, will look very different.

Is the browning of America, illegal?

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making. The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks -- when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop...

Congressional Black Caucus Week Tackles Tough Issues: Among Them Youth Unemployment and Education

Congressional members convene at today's Congressional Black Caucus Town Hall Meeting. Photo/CD Brown Mark your calendars to attend this year's Congressional Black Caucus events at the Washington Convention Center. This year's theme Vision, Journey, Mission will address many topics concerning Americans including jobs and education (especially for youth), and economic advancement. In today's Town Hall meeting titled 'Educating Our Way To Prosperity' members on the panel that included Congressman Elijah Cummings, Representative Dianne Watson (D-CA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), and author of The Other Wes Moore talked about educating youth for green jobs, and to think entrepreneurial instead working for someone else. "We must develop entrepreneurial opportunities", said Fattah. "In many cultures it's a common discussion to educate youth to think about starting a business." Congressman Elijah Cummings who sits on the Joint Economic ...

President Obama Meets Muslim Leaders

from the White House press office. THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2015 Readout of the President’s Meeting with American Muslim Leaders The President this afternoon met with American Muslim leaders to discuss a range of domestic and foreign policy issues. The President thanked the participants for their work in a variety of fields and for coming together to offer views on issues of importance to their communities, noting that his regular interactions with different faith communities provided him with valuable insights and feedback. Among the topics of discussion were the community’s efforts and partnerships with the Administration on a range of domestic issues such as the Affordable Care Act, issues of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination, the 21 st Century Policing Task Force, and the upcoming White House Summit on Countering Violence Extremism. The President reiterated his Administr...

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