Immigration

By Aviva Rutkin | – Who gets to live in the United States? It’s a contentious question, particularly as the Trump administration works to limit entry to the U.S., through policies like 2017’s travel ban, as well as increased use of detention centers. Meanwhile, others continue their fight to keep the borders open. As I […]

Christianity

Would Refugee Baby Jesus have been Torn from Mary’s Arms by Trump?

Juan Cole

Revised Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) | – – In this political season in which refugees have become a political football, it is worthwhile remembering that baby Jesus is depicted by the Bible as being a political refugee not once but twice. NBC reports, “Officials at Customs and Border Protection, the DHS agency responsible for separating […]

Donald Trump

GOP Slammed Vindman as Immigrant: But Many Founding Fathers and Constitution Framers were Foreign-Born

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Republicans at the House impeachment hearings decided to try to smear Lt. Col. Alex Vindman as a foreigner and perhaps even double agent with dual loyalty on Tuesday. Zack Beauchamp at Vox analyzes this disgraceful performance and quotes a key exchange. Steve Castor, the Republican counsel, badgered Vindman about a […]

Donald Trump

Is Trump’s Visa Policy a Muslim Ban? The Numbers tell the Story

The Conversation

By Vahid Niayesh | – Did President Donald Trump’s travel ban – in place now for more than 22 months – become, in practice, a Muslim ban? The third version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban went into full effect on Dec. 8, 2017. The list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the […]

Donald Trump

MACA or Making America Crueler Again: Targeting Refugees and the Helpless

Arnold R. Isaacs

(Tomdispatch.com) – On September 26th, President Donald Trump’s White House announced that, in 2020, refugee admissions to the United States will be limited to 18,000, drastically lower than any yearly ceiling over the past 40 years. Along with that announcement, the White House released a separate executive order intended to upend many years of precedent […]

Displaced and Refugees

Trail of Tears: Refugees at Our Southern Border

H. Patricia Hynes

“There were many trails of tears all over North America of indigenous peoples who were forcibly removed by government forces. The indigenous peoples who are making their way up from the southern hemisphere are a continuation of the Trail of Tears.” – Joy Harjo (Informed Comment) – Children, families and caravans of brown-skinned people arriving […]

Displaced and Refugees

US Move Puts More Asylum Seekers at Risk: Expanded ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program Undermines Due Process

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch) – (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) –The Trump administration has drastically expanded its “Remain in Mexico” program while undercutting the rights of asylum seekers at the United States southern border, Human Rights Watch said today. Under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – known as the “Remain in Mexico” program – asylum seekers in […]

Immigration

The Problem with Policing US Borders is that they Extend throughout the Planet

Tomdispatch

By Todd Miller | – (Tomdispatch.com) – The driver of the passenger van pulled onto the shoulder of the road, looked back, and said, “There’s an immigration checkpoint up ahead. Does everyone have their papers?” We were just north of the Guatemalan border, outside the town of Ciudad Hidalgo in the Mexican state of Chiapas. […]

Donald Trump

At Height of Hurricane Disaster Season, Trump moves $100 mn. from FEMA to Jailing Immigrants

Jill Richardson

(Otherwords.org) – The Trump administration is moving money away from disaster relief to lock up more immigrants. Donald Trump discusses immigration as if the benefits of residence in the U.S. are a pie. When immigrants get more, the people who were already here get less. In general, that’s not true. When immigrants come here, they […]