Taking Children from Their Parents Is a Form of State Terror | The New Yorker
Ayup.
Bigtime badguy move.
Category: Race,
Inside the Former Walmart That is Now a Shelter for Almost 1,500 Migrant Children
At least 13 deficiency citations have been filed against the shelter at the former Walmart in Brownsville, which seemingly overnight became a symbol of the housing scramble after a Democratic lawmaker, Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, showed up unannounced to take a tour but was turned away by police escort. Mr. Merkley’s attempt to gain entry this month, captured on Facebook Live by a member of his staff, put national attention on the shelter, which is run by a nonprofit group that contracts with a federal agency.
…The shelter, called Casa Padre, is a world all its own, much of it invisible to outsiders. The few windows are covered in black mesh; in the parking lot, yellow-painted wooden barricades read, “Keep Out.”
…The industry for sheltering young migrants had run into trouble here even before the latest boom. Hundreds of shelter workers in the Rio Grande Valley were laid off at the end of March, after several sites run on contract to the federal government by a private organization, International Educational Services, suddenly shut down. The organization, known as I.E.S., lost its federal financing and shuttered its shelters and other facilities, for reasons that federal officials have yet to publicly explain.
hmmmm
Ecuadorean Dad Has Deportation Suspended After His Arrest During Pizza Delivery
Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was among a handful of politicians who called for an investigation into the case and an emergency stay, stating that “his arrest and detention raise serious legal and policy concerns.”
“There is absolutely no legitimate reason to proceed with an expedited removal and to do so would be inhumane,” Cuomo said in a letter addressed to Thomas Decker, field office director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs Enforcement.
Ecuadorean Dad Has Deportation Suspended After His Arrest During Pizza Delivery | HuffPost
hmmmmm
In Historic First, Nebraska Farmer Returns Land to Ponca Tribe Along “Trail of Tears” |
a href=”http://boldnebraska.org/in-historic-first-nebraska-farmer-returns-land-to-ponca-tribe-along-trail-of-tears/”>In Historic First, Nebraska Farmer Returns Land to Ponca Tribe Along “Trail of Tears” | Bold Nebraska
cool
Jeff Sessions all but slams asylum door on migrant survivors of domestic, gang violence
Tens of thousands of people who are currently waiting for their asylum cases in the US to be resolved — or waiting for their chance to apply — just got the door all but slammed on them.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a ruling Monday in an immigration case, Matter of A- B-, that will make it hard or even impossible for Central Americans fleeing gang violence in their home countries, and women fleeing domestic violence, to get asylum in the US — or even be allowed to stay in the US to seek asylum instead of being summarily deported.
…Because immigration courts aren’t fully independent courts, the decision Sessions just issued is now law for all immigration judges in the US — and everyone else considering asylum cases. Jeff Sessions “basically is the Supreme Court of the immigration courts,” in the words of Sarah Pierce of the Migration Policy Institute.
Federal circuit courts can attempt to challenge the decision, but even if they fully overrule Sessions — and he doesn’t issue a clarification that sets an equally restrictive standard — their rulings would only apply within the geographic scope of that circuit. And if this case somehow made it to the Supreme Court, the Court would probably have serious reservations about overruling a well-established administrative process — above and beyond its own ideas about what ought to count as a “particular social group.”
…Sessions isn’t just raising the standard for who can ultimately get asylum. He’s raising the standard for who can pass the initial screening at the border to apply for asylum, as opposed to simply being deported as an unauthorized immigrant. In other words, any Central American migrants who are currently en route to the US are going to be met with a higher bar to entry than the one they thought was in place when they left. Thousands of people who already arrived in the US but have been sent to criminal court to be convicted of illegal entry before they can make an asylum claim may now find themselves unable to pass a screening they would have passed when they arrived. That includes hundreds if not thousands of parents whose children have been separated from them.
Parents may now have very little time at all to locate their children and be reunified with them before getting deported. And even if they can figure out where their children are, they may have to make a choice between being deported as a family and allowing the children to attempt to stay — with a lower chance that they will succeed than they might have had before, but a chance nonetheless — while the parent returns home, deprived of any chance at all.
Jeff Sessions all but slams asylum door on migrant survivors of domestic, gang violence – Vox
Aghhhh!
The unsettling incident of the too-quiet Native teens
We’ve heard of cops being called for a number of reasons, but never because teenage boys were too quiet at college, in this case, Colorado State University. The incident took place last week in Fort Collins when two Santa Cruz teenagers — using money they had saved — drove themselves to visit the university. Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, 19, and Lloyd Skanahwati Gray, 17, wanted to attend college together. Thomas is a student at Northern New Mexico College, while his brother is a senior at the Santa Fe Indian School. The brothers are from the Mohawk tribe.
They had taken a day off from school for that most American of rites, the college visit. They never completed their tour. Campus police interrupted; someone on the tour with the teens had called in a complaint. The brothers made a woman in the group “nervous” because she decided they were too quiet. They wore dark T-shirts. They joined the tour a bit late and declined to answer her nosy questions. They simply did not belong on a college tour, the woman believed. (The tour guide, by the way, said the boys’ behavior was nothing out of the ordinary.)
…It is not OK.
Yet here we are, in 2018. About the only bright spot we can see is that maybe, if people become more open about such widespread prejudices, society can confront and overcome them.
Overcome them we must, or the United States of America and its promise of liberty and justice for all will be lost.
The unsettling incident of the too-quiet Native teens | Editorials | santafenewmexican.com
Agggggggggggggggh!
CSU Police Body Cam Video Released, 911 Call: ‘Hands In Pockets’ Caused Concern « CBS Denver
“Thomas called me frantic, (saying) ‘Somebody called the police on us, because we were quiet,’” Lorraine Gray said.
Lorraine said she was confused, especially since the university was so highly respected by her children.
…“All year, (Thomas) kept talking about how he wanted to go. His dream school is CSU,” Lorraine Gray said. “He, and his brother whose graduation is in a few weeks, decided to take a campus tour together. Kind of a brother bonding thing.”
The boys would never finish the tour, after being separated from the group by police.
…The woman who called police, only identified by the university as a 45-year-old white woman, told 911 dispatch she was suspicious of the way the Gray brothers looked, and their mannerisms. She told dispatch she believed at least one of the brothers was Mexican.
CSU Police Body Cam Video Released, 911 Call: ‘Hands In Pockets’ Caused Concern « CBS Denver
Becky, this is why we can’t have nice things.
Dancing college grads dragged off stage, school apologizes for being ‘inappropriately aggressive’ – ABC News
The University of Florida’s apology has fallen short for some of the 21 graduates whom a school staff member yanked off the stage this weekend as they danced to celebrate their achievements during a spring commencement ceremony.
…Another student, Nafeesah Attah, told “GMA” the dances were symbolic gestures of joy that had meaning rooted to their fraternities and sororities. She said the response of the white university staff member who grabbed her and the others and shoved them off stage “was not arbitrary.”
“It was definitely contingent on your race … other white students who were dancing were not perceived as a threat,” Attah said.
…”I want to personally apologize for us doing that on behalf of myself and also the University of Florida,” [University of Florida President Kent]Fuchs said.
…But [graduates] Attah and Telusma said Fuchs was on stage at the time of the incident and did nothing to stop the usher from ruining their milestone moment.
Agggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!
Migrants, young and old, are not always related. Border Patrol says fear of child trafficking forces separations
Since October, more than 700 migrant children have been taken from adults claiming to be their parents, including more than 100 children under age 4. U.S. officials said they were trying to protect children who may be victims of trafficking or exploitation, but migrant advocates argue it’s the latest attempt by the Trump administration to stop migrant families from seeking asylum.
A “zero tolerance” border enforcement policy that took effect last week and was announced Monday by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions may result in families who illegally cross the border being separated after their arrest, with parents going to adult detention facilities and youths going to juvenile shelters.
…It’s difficult for migrants to assert parental rights. Many cross the border with their children’s birth certificates tucked in pockets or plastic bags. Agents often call local consulates to check families’ documents. But the documents can be faked, agents said. Even if consular staff verify them, agents may still challenge migrants’ claims to their children.
…Sometimes the adults are relatives — an aunt, grandparent or step-parent, she said.
…Maria Ramirez said the Border Patrol questioned her about her children, ages 17, 15 and 5. Agents didn’t believe she was their mother, even after she produced Honduran birth certificates, Ramirez said.
“They said they were fake,” she said. “They gave me the impression I would be deported and told me I had to sign the papers.”
Ramirez, 37, saw other parents at the processing center who were told the same thing. Unlike her, they had signed the paperwork and were deported.
Ramirez refused to sign deportation papers, insisting her children’s birth certificates were real. She and her 5-year-old son were held separately from her older daughters for five days, but were ultimately reunited.
Sigh..,
Who is Michael Curry? The minister who told royal wedding ‘love is the way’ | UK news | The Guardian
Curry is the first African-American to serve as presiding bishop of the predominantly white US Episcopal church, and has recounted his family history as slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama in his autobiography Songs My Grandma Sang.
He told the New York Times in 2016 that when he was training for the priesthood, “the expectation at the time was that if you were a black priest or seminarian, you were going to be serving in black churches. There was a black church world and a white church world. That was the given-ness of racism, not that anybody said anything.”
…His appointment in 2015 as presiding bishop came soon after the Episcopal church decided it would permit its clergy to conduct same sex marriages, a move which led to de facto sanctions by the Anglican communion the following year.
Curry said: “For many who have felt and been rejected by the church because of who they are, for many who have felt and been rejected by families and communities, our church opening itself in love was a sign of hope. And [the decision to impose sanctions] will add pain on top of pain.”
In January this year, he responded to the #MeToo movement, saying the church “must examine its history and come to a fuller understanding of how it has handled or mishandled cases of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse through the years.”
Who is Michael Curry? The minister who told royal wedding ‘love is the way’ | UK news | The Guardian
hmmmm
The Sojourner Truth Project
Most people are familiar with the popular version of Sojourner Truth’s famous, “Ain’t I a woman” speech but they have no idea that this popular version is not Sojourner’s speech and is vastly different from her original 1851 speech.
This popular but inaccurate version was written and published in 1863, (12 years after Sojourner gave the “Ain’t I a woman” speech), by a white abolitionist named Frances Dana Barker Gage. Curiously, Gage not only changed all of Sojourner’s words but chose to represent Sojourner speaking in a stereotypical ‘southern black slave accent’, rather than in her distinct upper New York State low-Dutch accent. Frances Gage’s actions were well intended and served the suffrage and women’s rights movement at the time; however, by today’s standards of ethical journalism, her actions were a gross misrepresentation of Sojourner Truth’s words and identity. By changing Truth’s words and her dialect to that of a stereotypical southern slave, Frances Gage effectively erased Sojourner’s Dutch heritage and her authentic voice. As well as unintentionally adding to the oversimplification of the American slave culture and furthering the eradication of our nations Northern slave history. Frances Gage admitted that her amended version had “given but a faint sketch” of Sojourner’s original speech but she felt justified and believed her version stronger and more palatable to the American public then Sojourner’s original version.
The most authentic version of Sojourner Truth’s, “Ain’t I a woman,” speech was first published in 1851 by Truth’s good friend Rev. Marius Robinson in the Anti-Slavery Bugle and was titled, “On Woman’s Rights”. This website is dedicated to re-introducing the original transcription of the speech and Sojourner’s authentic voice.
hmmmm
Busboy who cradled dying Robert F. Kennedy remembers horror of 1968 assassination
For Romero, the photo was shattering on a very personal level. He spent decades averting his eyes when confronted by the snapshot. To him, it was a grotesque reminder of the shocking slaying — one that stoked a confusing mix of anger, guilt and unwanted attention.
…“About five years ago, I finally looked at the picture and really studied it. I could finally see what a lot of other people saw. Here was a senator who tried to help minorities, people who couldn’t help themselves, and in the moment when he needed help, here was a Mexican-American busboy trying to comfort him,” Romero told The News.
Romero, now a father and grandfather working in the construction industry in San Jose, Calif., recalled immigrating to the U.S. from Nayarit, Mexico, when he was 10.
“It felt so great to be in America. But as I grew older, I heard grownups say all we were good for was selling tacos,” he recalled.
“At 15 to 16 years old, you start to feel the hate, and you start to internalize it,” he said.Romero said it was a big deal when he heard how Kennedy’s brother John F. Kennedy praised Mexican people as hardworking and family-oriented.
…“I wanted to go and help serve that night because I really wanted to see if what I had heard and seen and felt in my heart was true. And it was beyond real for me. When he looked at you, he looked at you,” Romero said.
…Romero said that by sharing his memories on the anniversary of Kennedy’s death, he hopes to reach at least one young person today who might be feeling the same way he did as a teen.He said in the era of President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, it’s especially important to honor Kennedy’s legacy.
“Trump right now, he’s using immigrants, whether Muslims or Latin Americans, as scapegoats. He has brought a lot of hate toward immigrants and minorities,” Romero said.
“My hope is that my talking about (Kennedy) causes a young person to look back in history and listen to his words and pick up his way of thinking,” he said.
“I realized the best way to honor Bobby was to talk about what I saw in him.”
Busboy who cradled dying Robert F. Kennedy remembers horror of 1968 assassination – NY Daily News
hmmm
New Mexico’s Deb Haaland likely to be first Native American in Congress
New Mexico’s Deb Haaland likely to be first Native American in Congress – CNNPolitics
Honestly? I got a verklempt when these returns came in. So, so many things take so, so long.
The policing of black Americans is racial harassment funded by the state
These days 911 is dead serious. Anyone in the United States can dial those three numbers and summon people with guns and handcuffs to participate in their anti-black paranoia. It’s racial harassment, sponsored by the government and supported by tax dollars.
…This does not mean that it is acceptable: everyday racism is aggravating, health draining, and, for its survivors, labor intensive. Everyday racism requires a performance when a black person navigates white spaces. You conspicuously display your work ID. You look down on the elevator. You whistle Vivaldi.
The people who call the police can fill a black person with a productive rage or a corrosive kind of hate.
…The main problem is the response of the state. “We’ll send a squad over right away.” The caller has offered a short pitch for a white supremacist fantasia, and now the dispatcher green-lights it. She sends a crew over to the set identified by the caller and the spectacle is produced.
Black people are forced, by armed officers of the government, to justify their presence. They have the burden of proof; the person who called the police is assumed to be correct.
…The US criminal legal process is all about keeping people – especially African American men – in their place. Even when trespassing white space is not an arrestable offense, it can occasion a fraught encounter.
…When Public Enemy described 911 as a joke, they weren’t even talking about the police. Their complaint was that paramedics didn’t show up when they were summoned to the hood. Those were the first responders who the community would have welcomed.
The policing of black Americans is racial harassment funded by the state | US news | The Guardian
Sigh….
The Trump effect: New study connects white American intolerance and support for authoritarianism
Their study finds a correlation between white American’s intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy.
…Based on surveys from the United States, the authors found that white people who did not want to have immigrants or people of different races living next door to them were more likely to be supportive of authoritarianism. For instance, people who said they did not want to live next door to immigrants or to people of another race were more supportive of the idea of military rule, or of a strongman-type leader who could ignore legislatures and election results.
…In practice, the GOP has increasingly been embracing a politics of white resentment tied to disenfranchisement. “Since Richard Nixon’s ‘Southern Strategy,’ the GOP has pigeon-holed itself as, in large part, an aggrieved white people’s party,” Miller told me.
Trump’s nativist language made the GOP’s sympathies more explicit, leading to further erosion of support among non-white voters.
…The GOP, seeing their coming demographic apocalypse, has pushed voter ID laws and other barriers to voting to try to prevent black and other minority voters from getting to the polls. In Wisconsin, Republican Governor Scott Walker even attempted to delay elections for state seats that he believed Democrats would win.
…”Social intolerance isn’t just leading to GOP support as we know it and see it now,” Miller says. “It’s leading to preferences in favor of the kind of candidate the GOP ultimately nominated and supported for president.” In embracing the politics of white identity, then, the GOP made a Trump possible — and is likely to make more Trump-like candidates successful in the future.
hmmm
Trump Failed the Americans of Puerto Rico
It’s going to be difficult, perhaps impossible, to assess how much of it had to do with the federal government’s indifference and ineffectiveness; how much was the fault of current Puerto Rican government officials; and how much was the effects of long-term Puerto Rican poverty and structural conditions.
Even so, President Donald Trump’s reaction was awful. He picked fights with local government, and during his visit to the island he focused far more on congratulating himself than on doing something worth bragging about.
Worse, he didn’t follow up. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands simply disappeared from his public statements, and there’s no reporting to indicate that anything was different behind closed doors. There’s no record of FEMA officials or anyone else being summoned to the White House and urged to do more. No evidence of high-level White House coordination of the efforts, such as they were, from the various agencies involved. In fact, the best reporting on the government response, from Politico’s Danny Vinik, shows that it was botched from the get-go, with the government going all out to assist Houston but not Puerto Rico.
Trump Failed the Americans of Puerto Rico
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
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