RETURN TO SENDER/ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

[HairOfTheDog]

I fail to see how any parent, regardless of party affiliation, could be okay with having their own children taken by force for the crime of trying to flee violence or poverty or some sort of awful existence. I said as much during the Syrian refugee crisis (many of whom are now dead): this isn't about whether or not a person filled in the right forms or speaks the right language or was born with the right address. It's about basic human decency and whether we as a nation can claim that we are an honorable, noble people.

Right now, we cannot. We ARE not. And that is the true shame.

I get where you're coming from. It's terrible and sad that so many minors are fleeing their countries, with and without their families, because they are not safe at home. How to most efficiently, compassionately, and wisely handle it as incoming countries is complex for the U.S., Europe, Africa... It has been a challenge globally for a very long time.

In the U.S., President Trump wants to deter them from attempting to seek refuge in the U.S. in the first place and deport as many as possible who've already come to the U.S.

That's why he continually harps on the Salvadorian gang MS-13 -- which I don't object to anyone calling 'animals', personally, but is not a massive criminal organization comprised only of unaccompanied migrant minors or representative of the immigrant population.

That's why he refers to Mexican immigrants as rapists and publicly refers to some predominately black countries as 'shitholes'. That's why he makes false statements about immigrants (who actually commit crimes at a lower rate in the U.S. than natural born citizens) and threatens sanctuary cities. That's why he attempts to ban Muslims and has significantly reduced the number of Muslim refugee approvals. That's why he keeps beating the "Build that Wall!" drum.

Trump's administration and many in the Republican party are using branding to demonize refugees and immigrants and paint them as evil 'others' who want to come here to commit crimes, milk the system, take American jobs...even though those are false characterizations which only apply to a very small portion of the refugee/migrant population.

That branding appears to be effective with some people. It drives or bolsters some of his admirers to support the "fuck them" philosophy and scream "Build That Wall! at the top of their lungs, with pride. And, it's very polarizing, as reflected below.



That's how I see it anyway.

Let's hope that we get a Democrat House majority in 2018. Maybe, just maybe, with a split Congress there can finally be a bi-partisan focus on immigration law/policy reform that makes sense and reflects the values of most Americans.