Trump Immigration Policy Veers to Evil

Unless one is of 100% Native American descent, everyone of us in America is an immigrant and our ancestors often came to the New World to escape danger, discrimination, or religious persecution.  In a sense they were refugees seeking safety and better opportunity. Sadly, the ancestors of many, if not most, African Americans were forcibly brought to America, their families torn asunder in the process and then they faced being treated as chattel property.  This, combined with the genocide against  Native Americans are the two original sins of America - the ugly underbelly that flag waving self-anointed "patriots" conveniently forget.   Now, the Trump/Pence regime is adding another chapter of evil to America's record through its treatment of refugees arriving at the southern border.  Disturbingly, his strongest supporters are white Christian nationals who underscore just how hideous conservative Christianity has become. Trump is not only committing daily lies but he and the always reprehensible Jeff Sessions are killing America's soul and basic human decency.  A column in the New York Times takes a look at what is being done in the name of every American citizen.  It is ugly and it is evil, plain and simple.  Worse yet, I believe racism against non-whites is the lynch pin behind it all. "Christians" who support this ought to save all of us from the display of hypocrisy of them parking their despicable assess in church pews on Sunday mornings. Here are column excerpts:  

We as a nation have crossed so many ugly lines recently, yet one new policy of President Trump’s particularly haunts me. I’m speaking of the administration’s tactic of seizing children from desperate refugees at the border.

“I was given only five minutes to say goodbye,” a Salvadoran woman wrote in a declaration in an A.C.L.U. lawsuit against the government, after her 4- and 10-year-old sons were taken from her. “My babies started crying when they found out we were going to be separated.”

“In tears myself, I asked my boys to be brave, and I promised we would be together soon. I begged the woman who took my children to keep them together so they could at least have each other.”

This mother, who for her protection is identified only by her initials, J.I.L., said that while in El Salvador she was severely beaten in front of her family by a gang, and she then fled the country to save the lives of her children.

J.I.L. noted that she had heard that her children might have been separated and sent to two different foster homes, and added: “I am scared for my little boys.”

Is this really who we are? As a parent, as the son of a refugee myself, I find that in this case Trump’s policy has veered from merely abhorrent to truly evil.

Family separations arise in part because of the new Trump administration policy, announced last month, of “zero tolerance” for people who cross the border illegally. That means that parents are jailed (which happened rarely before), and their kids are taken away from them.

Mirian, a Honduran woman who arrived in the U.S., broke no law. She simply followed the established procedure by presenting herself at an official border crossing point and requesting asylum because her life was in danger in Honduras — nevertheless, her 18-month-old was taken from her.

“The immigration officers made me walk out with my son to a government vehicle and place my son in a car seat in the vehicle,” Mirian said in a declaration accompanying the A.C.L.U. suit. “My son was crying as I put him in the seat. I did not even have a chance to comfort my son, because the officers slammed the door shut as soon as he was in his seat.”

Likewise, Ms. G, a Mexican in the A.C.L.U. suit, went to an official border crossing point and requested asylum with her 4-year-old son and blind 6-year-old daughter. None of them had broken American law, yet the children were taken from their mother.

But even for those parents who commit a misdemeanor by illegally entering the U.S. — because they want to protect their children from Central American gangs — the United States response seems to be in effect to kidnap youngsters.

If you or I commit a misdemeanor, we might lose our kids for a few days while we’re in jail, and then we’d get them back. But border-crossers serve a few days in jail for illegal entry — and after emerging from criminal custody, they still don’t get their kids back soon, said Lee Gelernt, an A.C.L.U. lawyer. In one case, he said, it has been eight months and the child still has not been returned.

It’s true that immigration policy is a nightmare, we can’t take everyone and almost no one advocates open borders. . . . Yet none of that should be an excuse for brutalizing children by ripping them away from their parents.

So what’s next, Mr. President? Minefields at the border would be an even more effective deterrent. Or East German-style marksmen in watch towers to shoot those who cross?
We as a nation should protect our borders. We must even more assiduously protect our soul.

When the husband and I travel to Europe in September, we will likely have to explain repeatedly that (i) we opposed Trump's election, and (ii) the majority of Americans oppose the immorality of his regime's brutal policies.  Right now, I am ashamed to be an American. 

House Judiciary Committee Approves Asylum Bill for Homeschoolers

America does not need any more reality denying, creationists and far right Christians - the ones we already have are doing far too much damage to the country through their embrace of ingnorance and extremism.  Yet, the political whores on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee have approved a bill that would grant homeschoolers asylum in this country.  Meanwhile, the bill makes it more difficult for those fleeing gang violence to gain asylum.  Who is backing this batshitery?  The hate group Family Research Council and its white supremacist leader Tony Perkins (also note the comments of certifiable nutcase, Mike Farris who once ran for office here in Virginia).  And in due course, Republicans fell in line with FRC's craziness.  USA Today looks at this very bad bill.  Here are highlights:

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill Wednesday that would allow people to seek asylum in the USA if they are persecuted by their governments for homeschooling their children. At the same time, the bill would make it tougher for children fleeing gang and drug violence in Central America to gain refuge here.

"Shouldn't children who are fleeing child abuse and violence be afforded the same protection as a child who is denied homeschooling?" said Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill. "If we're going to have this unprecedented carve-out for homeschooling, we should put at the same level children fleeing abuse, rape, gangs and murder."

The Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, would make it more difficult overall for refugees to win their asylum cases, while opening a category of relief for families who live in countries that outlaw homeschooling. The bill would allow up to 500 grants of asylum per year to families fleeing persecution for homeschooling their children.

"No one should be forced to flee their homeland in order to homeschool," said Michael Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association. "But that is what ... families have had to do in order to escape crushing fines, criminal penalties and even the seizure of their children in countries like Germany and Sweden."

Gutiérrez said he does not object to the provision in Chaffetz's bill but thinks it's unfair to help homeschool families without aiding children fleeing drug and gang violence and abuse in countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. . . . "Isn't fearing for your life at least equal to fearing persecution because of homeschooling?" he said. He offered an unsuccessful amendment that would have offered asylum to children fleeing violence in their home countries.

Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, said asylum has always been reserved for refugees persecuted by their governments.  "Asylum law is not there to protect crime victims, it is there to protect those persecuted by government," Labrador said.

"These bills are a conscious, premeditated attack against millions of American families and a direct blow at the heart of the Latino community," said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, a deputy vice president at the National Council of La Raza.

Only in the bizarre world of today's GOP would countries like Germany and Sweden be deemed oppressors while murder and mayhem in Central America be deemed unworthy of concern.  These people are frightening!

 

Scared for Their Lives

Meanwhile, in Iran - the country that seems to reflect the toxic intertwining of religion and civil laws sought by extreme Christianists in this country - things for gays are beyond bad. With the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran (who looks better all the time when contrasted to the theocrats now in power) gays have to literally fear for their lives under the hate driven, intolerant sharia law imposed on the population. When one considers how advanced the Persian Empire was more than 2500 years ago, it is amazing how backwards elements within the Iranian government have become fueled by religion in one of its most toxic forms. Unfortunately, even when they escape from Iran,gays often find themselves still subjected to discrimination and immigration/asylum policies that ignore the reality of what will happen to gays sent back to Iran. Here are some highlights of the situation on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the revolution tomorrow:

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The first of April 2009 marks 30 years since revolution in Iran resulted in the birth of the Islamic Republic and the adoption of sharia law. This strict penal code criminalized homosexuality and the gay community in Iran have subsequently suffered three decades of persecution. The punishment for lesbian sex is one hundred lashes, with the death penalty being imposed on the fourth offence. Sodomy, or lavat, between men is punishable by death on the first offence. The law is enforced by the Basij Secret Police and gay and lesbian Iranians live with the constant threat of being followed and arrested.

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‘It’s because of the Islamic revolution that people like me are here’ explains Ayra, an Iranian currently seeking asylum in Britain. ‘The revolution is a really bad memory for gay and lesbian people. Before, they were free but now they can’t live in Iran and have to escape.’

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Arrival in Britain is often the beginning of another long ordeal. . . . Access to support networks can also make a big difference in the process of applying for asylum in Britain, as illustrated in February this year when Iranian lesbian Pegah Embakash was finally granted refugee status. Pegah fled Iran in 2005 following the arrest, torture and imprisonment of her partner. In Britain she was initially refused asylum, arrested and detained in Yarls Wood Detention Centre. In August 2007 she was hours from being deported to her death but was saved by a last minute reprieve.

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‘Almost everybody from Iran is initially refused asylum by the Home Office on the grounds that they are not believed to be gay or lesbian,’ says Sebastian from The UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG). The only group of its kind in Britain, UKLGIG helps people to ‘prove’ their homosexuality by providing witness statements at the court of appeal and referral to specialist solicitors. However, even if they are believed to be gay, a large number of Iranians’ appeals are rejected on the grounds that they can go back to Iran and hide their sexuality. ‘To me, telling people to go back and hide their sexuality is persecution in itself,’ continues Sebastian.

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For gay Iranians like Behrouz and Ayra the anniversary of Iran becoming an Islamic Republic is a reminder of the persecution that forced them to flee their country. Having been refused sanctuary in Britain, it is also a reminder of their uncertain future and the suffering they will face if they are returned. Behrouz found a solicitor who believed he had a strong case and put in a fresh claim for asylum. However, 18 months later he still hasn’t had a response from the Home Office and is living in limbo. ‘I want to live, I don’t want to hide,’ he sighs. ‘I want to live like everybody else’.

Persecuted Gays Seek Refuge in U.S.- Foreigners' Abuse Increasingly Seen as Grounds for Asylum

Wow, Daddy Dobson at Focus on the Fascists (pictured at left) and his fellow Christianists are going to risk possible strokes over this story in the Washington Post. Here are a couple of highlights:

Harassment and abuse of gay men and lesbians is becoming increasingly accepted as grounds for legal asylum in the United States, even at a time of conservative judicial activism, fear about HIV/AIDS transmission and increased scrutiny of asylum seekers. The government does not disclose a breakdown of reasons for granting asylum petitions, but legal advocacy groups in several major U.S. cities said they have won dozens of cases.

Homosexuality, once a de facto condition for barring foreigners from entering the country, is now officially recognized by the U.S. government as a category that might subject individuals to persecution in their homeland, just as if they were political dissidents in a dictatorship or religious minority members in a theocracy.

One reason is that applicants face multiple burdens of proof. They must demonstrate that they were abused or harassed by authorities, not merely by angry relatives or drunken hooligans, or that the authorities failed to protect them. They must also prove that they were abused because they are homosexual -- and thus prove that they are, in fact, gay.

Hopefully, a major election disaster for the GOP in 2008 will prevent the USA from becoming a dictatorship or theocracy. Otherwise, these applicants might be wiser to consider apply to Canada for asylum. In fact, if Canada applies the same standards as cited above, based on my own experiences in Virginia, I might already qualify for asylum in Canada. See the complete story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902027.html?nav=rss_print/asection