The immigration thread

[Rewind]

The 2018 National Climate Assessment was released last week. Drawing upon the research of 13 federal agencies and more than 1,000 scientists, it details the dire effects of climate change on our health, on wildfires and hurricanes and on our nation's economy, infrastructure and natural resources. Donald Trump refuses to believe it -- so he likely will not believe this story, either:

A new report finds the number of immigrants in the US illegally to be the lowest since 2007

https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na...127-story.html

[Rewind]

The Central American migrants thought the United States would be a warm, welcoming, friendy, caring, compassionate country. Yeah, well, welcome to Donald Trump's America.

'I'm done with the United States': Many migrants in Tijuana regret joining the caravan

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...BBQc0EP#page=2

[Rewind]

I understand our immigrant-hating President is planning to change the plaque on the Statue of Liberty to read: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses learning to breathe free. On second thought, don't."

Asylum denials hit record high in 2018 as Trump administration tightens immigration policy

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigra...-report-today/

[Rewind]

In June, we were outraged to learn that hundreds of immigrant children were separated from their parents and being kept in cages. A Massachusetts church has turned that outrage into a thought-provoking nativity display.

Baby Jesus placed in cage in church's immigration-themed nativity scene
CBS News, Dec 6 2018 10:38 AM

Baby Jesus is in a cage and the wise men are closed off by a wall in a nativity scene at Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts. The display is meant to be thought-provoking. "We try to take a picture of the world as it is and to put it together with a Christmas message," said Father Stephen Josoma. This year, Jesus represents migrant children being held at the southern border, separated from their parents. The wise men represent a caravan of migrants behind the border wall. Those at the church believe it's very much the message of Jesus. "Jesus was about taking care of one another. This is not the way to take care of one another," said Josoma.

Josoma said the scene is not necessarily a dig at the Trump administration. Instead of political activism, he prefers to call it gospel activism. Parishioner Phil Mandeville said Jesus was no stranger to politics. "Christ was political. He was hung on a cross for making political statements and bucking the authority, and that's exactly why he died," Mandeville said. The nativity scene is meant to be a symbol of hope. At Saint Susanna Parish, the hope is that a conversation has begun.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/baby-je...am-2018-12-06/

[Rewind]

In November, Trump arbitrarily and unilaterally ended the DACA program. An appeals court ruled that he can not do that. Then Trump arbitrarily and unilaterally decided that illegal immigrants can not apply for asylum, even though Congress had decided they can. Today, once again, an appeals court has ruled against our immigrant-hating President.

Appeals court denies Trump's bid to reinstate asylum ban

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...EKbN?ocid=AMZN

[Rewind]

That ban on travel to the US from Muslim countries is really working out well, isn't it? We still have violence and mass shootings (committed by American-born men) -- and we have heartbreaking stories such as this one:

Yemeni mother unable to see her dying 2-year-old due to Trump's travel ban, advocates say
"My wife's calling me every day wanting to kiss and hold her son for that one last time," said the father, a US citizen whose son is in a California hospital.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...ld-due-n949096

[Rewind]

Once again, the judiciary has ruled that the executive branch of government does not have the power to arbitrarily make its own laws and rules. We can call today's ruling "Democracy in action."

Judge blocks Trump restrictions on asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence
CBS News, Dec 19 2018 1:47 PM

US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan today blocked restrictive Trump administration policies that prevented some immigrants from seeking asylum due to domestic and gang violence in their home countries. The new restrictions were denounced by immigration advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government over the policy.

The ruling applies to immigrants in expedited removal proceedings. The judge also ordered the government to return any of the deported plaintiffs back to the US and prevent their deportation.

In 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that domestic violence could be used as the basis of an asylum claim. Asylum can also be granted on grounds of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political affiliation or membership in a social group.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-b...gang-violence/

[Rewind]

The travel ban Trump imposed on Yemen and four other Muslim-majority nations was ridiculous and unnecessary -- but the Supreme Court upheld it. Waivers are granted on a case-by-base basis. Two days ago I posted the story of a Yemeni woman who would not be allowed to visit her two-year-old son who is on life support in a California hospital. Showing a tiny bit of compassion, the State Department has granted a waiver and she has obtained a visa so she can be with her son and husband.

Yemeni mother granted visa to see dying son in California

https://www.kcra.com/article/yemeni-...in-us/25617196

[Rewind]

Brett Kavanaugh, not surprisingly, sided with Trump but the Court refused to overturn lower court rulings that Trump cannot "rewrite the immigration laws" to deny asylum to illegal immigrants. The Immigration & Naturalization Act passed by Congress in 1979 says "any alien who is present in the United States" -- regardless of legal status -- may apply for asylum.

Supreme Court rejects Trump's plea to enforce asylum ban

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/su...htmB?ocid=AMZN

[Rewind]

"She brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." -- Luke 2:7. This Christmas Eve story has similarities with that verse:

ICE drops off 211 migrants at El Paso bus terminal
CNN, Dec 24 2018 11:33 PM ET

Immigration & Customs Enforcement officers dropped off 211 undocumented immigrants outside a Greyhound bus terminal in El Paso on Sunday night without an apparent plan for housing them, according to Sgt. Robert Gomez, spokesman with the El Paso Police Department. Police were first notified of the crowd at about 8 PM by officials at the bus terminal.

The waiting area at the bus terminal is small and many people were left standing outside in the cold. The group of 211 undocumented immigrants included some families and small children. Four buses later arrived for people to board and stay warm. Authorities eventually found housing for the migrants, including at a hotel and a nearby Catholic school, Gomez said.

Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas tweeted, "We're trying to ensure that ICE gives the community notice next time when they know that there's not going to be space in existing migrant shelters so we can find hotel rooms, beds, alternative shelters, food, volunteers -- everything these people will need to make sure that they are OK."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/24/us/el...ice/index.html