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Borderline Insanity
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/opinion/editorials/trump-border-shutdown.htmlBorderline Insanity
President Trump rained cruelties on immigrants and asylum seekers and now wants hundreds of millions of dollars to address the humanitarian crisis he caused.
By The Editorial Board
Jan. 7, 2019
As the government shutdown over President Trumps demand for border-wall funding moves through week three, the administration is looking to cut a deal with Democrats by emphasizing the deepening humanitarian crisis at the border a crisis caused in large part by this administrations inhumane policies, political grandstanding and managerial incompetence.
In a letter Sunday to lawmakers, the White House laid out its latest proposal for addressing the border tumult. The administration called for more immigration and Border Patrol agents, more detention beds and, of course, $5.7 billion to build 234 new miles of border wall. The White House also demanded an additional $800 million for urgent humanitarian needs, such as medical support, transportation and temporary facilities for processing and housing detainees.
Translation: Mr. Trumps mass incarceration of migrant families is overwhelming an already burdened system that, without a giant injection of taxpayer dollars, will continue to collapse, leading to ever more human suffering.
The situation is an especially rich example of the Trump Doctrine: Break something, then demand credit and in this case a lot of money for promising to fix it.
Late last week, frustrated by his standoff with Democrats, Mr. Trump even threatened to declare a national emergency in order to get his wall built without Congresss approval a move guaranteed to prompt a ferocious legal challenge.
Any attempt to sell Mr. Trumps cruel immigration agenda with a veneer of humanitarian measures should be viewed with skepticism. This administration has long held that the best way to deal with asylum seekers fleeing the horrors of their home countries is to increase their suffering upon reaching the United States to discourage others from even trying.
There is no question but that the administration remains ill equipped to cope with the fallout from its narrow fixation on deterrence. Migrant children are being piled into holding cells where they fall ill or worse. The number of detainees at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities has swelled to unprecedented levels, requiring periodic mass releases. Without preparation or planning, hundreds of migrants are simply dropped off at bus stations in border cities. The Times found that, in the final week of December, some 600 migrants were unceremoniously released onto the streets of El Paso.
Mr. Trumps spiteful choice to shut parts of the government is only making the situation messier. Immigration judges are being furloughed, further slowing the processing of asylum requests. Border Patrol agents are working without pay, eroding morale. In perhaps the choicest twist of fate, some $300 million in new contracts for wall construction cannot be awarded until the shutdown ends.
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Borderline Insanity (Original Post)
dalton99a
Jan 2019
OP
FirstLight
(13,368 posts)1. ...um, Borderline?
I'm sickened and feel so helpless to assist the people affected directly by this monster's BS...
IMPEACH the MF-ER!
underpants
(183,039 posts)2. Great title for this article
Very good article too.