This will work....until it doesn't.
July 1, 2018 // June 20, 2018
Taking the hard way out, AKA:
Fixing a law...instead of subverting it.
We’ve been patiently waiting for this to become Two Weeks Ago News, and it simply will not. And it probably shouldn’t; one of the very few topics we believe has some legitimacy in terms of national incredulity, if not outrage. With gratitude for everyone who messaged or inquired about our POV on the immigration stories, here you go. Although this comes with a warning: It may not be exactly what you anticipated.
Here’s what we plan to do, regarding the facts and figures surrounding immigration into our country, specifically into the southwestern and western states via Mexico. First, we believe that to make an argument, you need much more than passion on your side. Passion helps, no question about it, but passion will get you soundbites; facts will get you further once the cameras are turned off. So we’ll begin this with a number of links. We admit we had little information on the details of how immigrants – legal or illegal – were processed at our borders. You may know a great deal already but if not, feel free to peruse them at your leisure and educate yourself further on the history of immigration and immigration law in this country.
Here’s a good place to start : The US Customs and Border Protection website, and their statement about the Zero Tolerance Immigrations prosecutions. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/zero-tolerance-immigration-prosecutions-family-fact-sheet
And here are the FAQ’s about this policy. For added insight, you may want to go to their archives tab and read stories from years ago. Or click on the Stats and Summaries to educate yourself a little more about the trends and the numbers surrounding immigration, regardless of the administration in the Oval. Fascinating stuff. Customs and Border Patrol has been at this for decades. God bless.
And here’s another good place to start: the law. The link takes you to the text of the law regarding improper entrance by an alien into the United States: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325
Pretty straightforward stuff as these things go. In reaction to the outrage that ensued over the family separations and arrests, the President issued his Executive Order; even as he continues to claim that Congress is not addressing the concerns and consequences of the law as it stands, that they are not proposing and ultimately passing a longer term solution.
So now we have information from two government sources, showing us the law and how the law is being enforced by the agencies and the administration, including the EO executed on June 20. If you’ve read all this before, congratulations. You’re already much more informed than most.
But what about that law? The one that the President kept saying needed changing? For context – not for purposes of blame – here’s another link with some details that are relevant to today’s situation, going way back to the 1980's and President Ronald Reagan. https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11515132/iirira-clinton-immigration
For further context and more about policies and what they mean, let’s go back to the early days of the current administration with this next link from The New York Times. Note the date: February, 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/trump-immigration-policies-deportation.html
But hey, we’re not the only nation in this part of the world with borders, are we? What do our neighbors to the North and South do about people entering their countries? Maybe we can learn more from them. TWAN note: Let’s just say neither Canada nor Mexico seems to have found an answer. https://www.npr.org/2016/12/21/505538964/police-and-illegal-immigration-what-our-neighbors-do
TWAN wondered why people leaving Central American countries, especially those seeking asylum in order to escape violence and innumerable threats to a peaceful lifestyle, don’t make the journey into Mexico and simply stop there. Well, some of the troubling answers came to light in the NPR story linked above. We found others here, when we checked on the laws and regulations about immigration to Mexico: https://www.mexperience.com/lifestyle/living-in-mexico/visas-and-immigration/
We wanted to find a source that was looking for solutions, not trying to place blame or shirk responsibility. We found The Migration Policy Institute. Before the current headlines on this topic consumed us, we had never heard of nor read anything from The Migration Policy Institute. We don’t really have a sense of their politics, although they claim to be a non-partisan think tank. We can only judge them based on what we’ve read, including this story: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/crisis-border-not-numbers
If you’ve stuck with us so far, thank you. Sincerely, thank you. But even with these links, from varied sources, presenting different aspects of the immigration debate, there is so much more we don’t know. People in the border states, including those working in social service agencies, local law enforcement, and in hospitals and clinics serving this population, know much more about the circumstances the law needs to address. They know that the subject is complex and the solutions to the challenges it presents need to be made up of something substantial; not a collection of more placards and platitudes and protests.
To try to learn first-hand from someone working on the problem, we found this interview, courtesy of Texas Monthly. It’s a Q&A with Anne Chandler, executive director of the Houston office of the nonprofit Tahirih Justice Center, which focuses on helping immigrant women and children. She assists the parents and has been traveling to the border and to detention centers, listening to the parents’ stories. Yes, it’s one woman’s point of view but she’s there: she’s hands-on with the circumstances most of us only shriek about after hearing from our favorite commentators (those who reside in our favorite bubble) or reading the latest memes on our facebook feeds daily. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/whats-really-happening-asylum-seeking-families-separated/
Finally – yes! – our favorite source of all: The White House. Here’s the read out of the press briefing that took place on June 25, featuring Sarah Sanders and the Press Corps. With one or two other topics mixed in, it centers heavily on immigration and the laws in place. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-062518/
As far as the photos go – those heartbreaking photos – we’re not going to touch that here. Photos are strong, influential, unforgettable images that drive a narrative. Those children! That jacket! Enough! We have little interest in squabbling over what was “legitimate” vs. those that serve to “represent” the story. Quite frankly, were tired of photos and captions – particularly those of children - that misrepresent the situation to invoke reactions from readers. Following a law that results in frightened children, alone in a foreign country is, on its face, an outrage. Manipulating our response to that situation by exploiting images of those children is also an outrage.
Second, we’re going on the record with this (backed up by our year+ worth of entries on this website as our proof): When your argument is based on little more than a repeated cry of “But he did it, too!”, your argument is specious. On the few occasions where we’ve invoked the activities of previous administrations on this site, we did so as a way to put forward some facts, not to feed an agenda. We’re not about to start doing the “he did it first” dance with this topic. Again, if you want to know how another president and his administration addressed immigration policies and activities (legal and illegal), click on the links. There’s lots to read there and links within them as well that will lead you elsewhere.
Third, we’re going on the record with these two statements. Depending on your point of view, one of them may prove aggravating. Here we go:
In either case, the message from the citizens of the United States to the President and the people who make the laws in this country should be of one mind: “Amend the existing law. Turns out – it’s a problem.” Because if we have a law but then get to choose when (or even whether or not) we enforce it as written, why have it?
We don’t write policy. We don’t draft legislation. We don’t appoint judges. But we elect the people who do those things. And voters in this country can vote for the people they believe will amend the law appropriately. Final thought on this: Surprise! They’re not all on one side of the aisle.
We may be insane – we probably are – but TWAN doesn’t see this as a partisan issue. Reasonable people should agree that somewhere between “catch and release” and “cages,” there is a solution.
Taking the hard way out, AKA:
Fixing a law...instead of subverting it.
We’ve been patiently waiting for this to become Two Weeks Ago News, and it simply will not. And it probably shouldn’t; one of the very few topics we believe has some legitimacy in terms of national incredulity, if not outrage. With gratitude for everyone who messaged or inquired about our POV on the immigration stories, here you go. Although this comes with a warning: It may not be exactly what you anticipated.
Here’s what we plan to do, regarding the facts and figures surrounding immigration into our country, specifically into the southwestern and western states via Mexico. First, we believe that to make an argument, you need much more than passion on your side. Passion helps, no question about it, but passion will get you soundbites; facts will get you further once the cameras are turned off. So we’ll begin this with a number of links. We admit we had little information on the details of how immigrants – legal or illegal – were processed at our borders. You may know a great deal already but if not, feel free to peruse them at your leisure and educate yourself further on the history of immigration and immigration law in this country.
Here’s a good place to start : The US Customs and Border Protection website, and their statement about the Zero Tolerance Immigrations prosecutions. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/zero-tolerance-immigration-prosecutions-family-fact-sheet
And here are the FAQ’s about this policy. For added insight, you may want to go to their archives tab and read stories from years ago. Or click on the Stats and Summaries to educate yourself a little more about the trends and the numbers surrounding immigration, regardless of the administration in the Oval. Fascinating stuff. Customs and Border Patrol has been at this for decades. God bless.
And here’s another good place to start: the law. The link takes you to the text of the law regarding improper entrance by an alien into the United States: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325
Pretty straightforward stuff as these things go. In reaction to the outrage that ensued over the family separations and arrests, the President issued his Executive Order; even as he continues to claim that Congress is not addressing the concerns and consequences of the law as it stands, that they are not proposing and ultimately passing a longer term solution.
So now we have information from two government sources, showing us the law and how the law is being enforced by the agencies and the administration, including the EO executed on June 20. If you’ve read all this before, congratulations. You’re already much more informed than most.
But what about that law? The one that the President kept saying needed changing? For context – not for purposes of blame – here’s another link with some details that are relevant to today’s situation, going way back to the 1980's and President Ronald Reagan. https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11515132/iirira-clinton-immigration
For further context and more about policies and what they mean, let’s go back to the early days of the current administration with this next link from The New York Times. Note the date: February, 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/trump-immigration-policies-deportation.html
But hey, we’re not the only nation in this part of the world with borders, are we? What do our neighbors to the North and South do about people entering their countries? Maybe we can learn more from them. TWAN note: Let’s just say neither Canada nor Mexico seems to have found an answer. https://www.npr.org/2016/12/21/505538964/police-and-illegal-immigration-what-our-neighbors-do
TWAN wondered why people leaving Central American countries, especially those seeking asylum in order to escape violence and innumerable threats to a peaceful lifestyle, don’t make the journey into Mexico and simply stop there. Well, some of the troubling answers came to light in the NPR story linked above. We found others here, when we checked on the laws and regulations about immigration to Mexico: https://www.mexperience.com/lifestyle/living-in-mexico/visas-and-immigration/
We wanted to find a source that was looking for solutions, not trying to place blame or shirk responsibility. We found The Migration Policy Institute. Before the current headlines on this topic consumed us, we had never heard of nor read anything from The Migration Policy Institute. We don’t really have a sense of their politics, although they claim to be a non-partisan think tank. We can only judge them based on what we’ve read, including this story: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/crisis-border-not-numbers
If you’ve stuck with us so far, thank you. Sincerely, thank you. But even with these links, from varied sources, presenting different aspects of the immigration debate, there is so much more we don’t know. People in the border states, including those working in social service agencies, local law enforcement, and in hospitals and clinics serving this population, know much more about the circumstances the law needs to address. They know that the subject is complex and the solutions to the challenges it presents need to be made up of something substantial; not a collection of more placards and platitudes and protests.
To try to learn first-hand from someone working on the problem, we found this interview, courtesy of Texas Monthly. It’s a Q&A with Anne Chandler, executive director of the Houston office of the nonprofit Tahirih Justice Center, which focuses on helping immigrant women and children. She assists the parents and has been traveling to the border and to detention centers, listening to the parents’ stories. Yes, it’s one woman’s point of view but she’s there: she’s hands-on with the circumstances most of us only shriek about after hearing from our favorite commentators (those who reside in our favorite bubble) or reading the latest memes on our facebook feeds daily. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/whats-really-happening-asylum-seeking-families-separated/
Finally – yes! – our favorite source of all: The White House. Here’s the read out of the press briefing that took place on June 25, featuring Sarah Sanders and the Press Corps. With one or two other topics mixed in, it centers heavily on immigration and the laws in place. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-062518/
As far as the photos go – those heartbreaking photos – we’re not going to touch that here. Photos are strong, influential, unforgettable images that drive a narrative. Those children! That jacket! Enough! We have little interest in squabbling over what was “legitimate” vs. those that serve to “represent” the story. Quite frankly, were tired of photos and captions – particularly those of children - that misrepresent the situation to invoke reactions from readers. Following a law that results in frightened children, alone in a foreign country is, on its face, an outrage. Manipulating our response to that situation by exploiting images of those children is also an outrage.
Second, we’re going on the record with this (backed up by our year+ worth of entries on this website as our proof): When your argument is based on little more than a repeated cry of “But he did it, too!”, your argument is specious. On the few occasions where we’ve invoked the activities of previous administrations on this site, we did so as a way to put forward some facts, not to feed an agenda. We’re not about to start doing the “he did it first” dance with this topic. Again, if you want to know how another president and his administration addressed immigration policies and activities (legal and illegal), click on the links. There’s lots to read there and links within them as well that will lead you elsewhere.
Third, we’re going on the record with these two statements. Depending on your point of view, one of them may prove aggravating. Here we go:
- You can support open immigration and not be a Socialist.
- You can support regulated immigration and not be a Nazi.
In either case, the message from the citizens of the United States to the President and the people who make the laws in this country should be of one mind: “Amend the existing law. Turns out – it’s a problem.” Because if we have a law but then get to choose when (or even whether or not) we enforce it as written, why have it?
We don’t write policy. We don’t draft legislation. We don’t appoint judges. But we elect the people who do those things. And voters in this country can vote for the people they believe will amend the law appropriately. Final thought on this: Surprise! They’re not all on one side of the aisle.
We may be insane – we probably are – but TWAN doesn’t see this as a partisan issue. Reasonable people should agree that somewhere between “catch and release” and “cages,” there is a solution.