Hey, Kristi Noem! If America is enjoying a “tidal wave” of economic growth, why can’t America afford to support its own values and international reputation by giving shelter to more refugees?
The Trump administration is proposing a cap of 30,000 refugee admissions in the 2019 fiscal year, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in what would be the lowest cap ever set in the refugee admissions program’s 43-year history.
The current lowest cap was last fiscal year’s ceiling of 45,000 refugees, but the U.S. is on track to admit less than half that number [Conor Finnegan, “Trump Admin Proposes Lowest Cap Ever for Refugee Admissions amid Historic Global Need,” ABC News, 2018.09.17].
Trump’s proposed refugee cap would have us admit fewer refugees than we did during the years of the economic recession years of 1980, 1981–1982, 1990–1991, 2001, and 2007–2009. And whatever our current economic conditions, admitting refugees at the historical average rates ultimately makes our economy stronger:
“From a purely economic or security perspective, resettlement is not an issue that warrants topping even an immigration skeptic’s priority list,” noted a new report from the International Crisis Group. “Resettled refugees tend to be solid contributors to the economy over the medium and long term. They do not come in sufficient numbers (an average of 80,000 annually since 1980) to generate meaningful job competition for existing American workers” [Ishaan Tharoor, “How Trump Has Sunk the Hopes of Refugees,” Washington Post, 2018.09.14].
Michele Bachmann says we’re living in a “golden time” of a good Christian Presidency, but Trump’s ever-increasing rejection of refugees doesn’t sound very Christian, say Christians:
“This harmful action goes against the deep beliefs and faithful traditions of American Lutherans,” said LIRS Vice President for Programs Kay Bellor in a statement. “We have welcomed refugees because Lutherans were once refugees, too. We are called to love our neighbor and welcome the stranger. The administration’s actions are putting lives at risk when we stand ready to welcome those who seek refuge into our communities.”
“A cap of 30,000 jeopardizes the safety of future refugees, including persecuted Christians, who will no longer be able to find refuge in the U.S., nor does it reflect the actual capacity or willingness of Americans to receive and resettle refugees,” said World Relief President Scott Arbeiter in a statement. “This decision contradicts the administration’s declared commitment to helping persecuted Christian and religious minorities in dangerous and oppressive countries” [Richard Gonzales, “U.S. to Limit the Number of Refugees Allowed Entry to 30,000,” NPR, 2018.09.17].
The Trump Administration is ignoring not only Christian ethics but the law, acting on its own without consulting Congress, says Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley:
“While I appreciate the administration’s commitment to protecting national security and public safety by proposing a refugee cap, which accounts for the need to conduct adequate and thorough screenings of all who seek this benefit, it is imperative the agencies abide by their statutory mandate to consult with Congress before any number is proposed,” Grassley said in a statement.
“Yet, for the second year in a row, the administration has willfully ignored its statutory mandate to inform and consult with Congress, including designated members of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, about the number of refugees to be admitted during the next fiscal year” [Rafael Bernal and Mike Lillis, “Grassley to Administration: You Must Consult Congress on Refugee Cap,” The Hill, 2018.09.18].
The Trump Administration is also ignoring its own internal review that found we can admit all sorts of refugees with little expense and no unique national security risk. Cutting refugee admissions may actually make Americans less safe:
The Pentagon is concerned that not providing safe haven to more of the Iraqis, many of whom interpreted and did other key tasks for U.S. forces, will harm national security by dissuading locals from cooperating with the United States in Iraq and other conflict zones, the officials said.
…As of Aug. 15, just 48 Iraqis have been admitted to the United States this fiscal year through a special refugee program meant for people who worked for the U.S. government or American contractors, news media or non-governmental groups, according to data provided by the State Department. More than 3,000 came last year and about 5,100 in 2016 [Yeganeh Torbati, “Exclusive: Pentagon Raises Alarm About Sharp Drop in Iraqi Refugees Coming to U.S.,” Reuters, 2018.08.20].
As with so much of the rest of his policies, Trump isn’t following evidence or real economic or national-security imperatives. He’s just playing to his racist base:
Ultimately, the slow death of the United States’ refugee program must be seen as part of the larger project promoted by Stephen Miller and his ilk to foster the whitening of America. According to Reuters, “Refugees admitted to the United States from the small European country of Moldova, for example, now outnumber those from Syria by three to one, although the number of Syrian refugees worldwide outnumbers the total population of Moldova.” Because national security is not an issue, according to the government’s own internal review, the only other reason to suppress the number of refugees being resettled in the U.S.—and to do so disproportionately against Muslim refugees—is to pander to the racist elements of Trump’s political base and to realize his and his staff’s white supremacist views [Sonali Kolhatkar, “Trump Is Strangling the U.S. Refugee Program to Death,” Common Dreams, 2018.09.21].
Racism isn’t just immoral; it’s bad practical policy, standing contradiction to economic and national-security facts. Cutting instead of expanding America’s assistance to refugees shows the world a rich superpower hoarding its wealth for evil instead of using that wealth for good.
Controlling Congress (and it’s power to set the numbers of refugees welcomed) is but one reason it’s imperative to VOTE DEMOCRATIC from state legislatures to Governorships to Washington. Enough is enough, racist Trump!!
By turning away refugees, we turn away the people we need to make America great again… and we ensure that, as they remain trapped in their homelands or find refuge elsewhere, they’ll tell their friends and neighbors, “America ain’t as great as it pretends to be.”
Russia needs Christian farmers! “KOSYAKOVO, Russia — Leon du Toit slowly inhales the late summer breeze off fields belonging to a dairy farm not far from Moscow. “Smells just like home,” the 72-year-old South African said.
That’s just what one Russian political figure hopes to hear.
He is leading something of a charm offensive in South Africa with a very particular goal: hoping to lure white South Africans to move 8,000 miles away to rural Russia.
The selling points are abundant farmland, relative safety and a country that holds tight to traditional Christian values.” Washington Post 09/23/2018
All the refugee has to do is know how to be praise the Queen in merry ol’ London and there ya go, in baby, as an Anglican. Grow soybeans, sell to China, make some rubles and be like that very Christian Putin.
Jerry … Russia tried that ploy in the late 18th century with white, Christian Germans. By the early 20th century Russia changed it’s mind about the promises it had made to these former Deutschlanders and they all ended up in South Dakota … skeptical, contrary and stubborn. :0) (just kidding – not ALL)
Yep, what is amazing is that this is the same Putin that shot down a jet liner full of Dutch nationals a couple of years ago. Same guy. Yet these fools think that Putin is a Christian because he keeps the immigrants out so much the Russian’s are dying out and need new white blood. Germans have already been down that road and see just how Christian the Russians are. So now, it is the Boers who are getting the call. If I were the Boers, I would make sure that I would have some poison antidote before I went.
Same will happen here if we keep up the same path. You have to keep bringing in new people as the old ones get tired and die with no one to take care of them. Now the trumpers have fed their base beast with the latest on the immigrants, they are being screened to see if they need social programs. Duh, that has always been the case except now they tossed some red meat to their dim witted base.
What’s the best kind of economic activity? The kind that happens here – in the US. How much more economic activity would be created letting 100,000 refugees in as opposed to 30,000?
Nailed it Mr. Rorschach! Remember then the new myth of Republicans being the party of business? Or how about national security and the protection of American citizens from the threat of foreign intrusion? All myths that we can now openly see. This bunch does not know how to make money, they only know how to spend it..on themselves!
Deport Kavanaugh and trump, increase quotas of immigrants.
“Racism isn’t just immoral; it’s bad practical policy, standing contradiction to economic and national-security facts.”
And calling everyone racist, wearing pussy hats, screaming instead of discussing, accusing without facts and just being downright nasty is why the democrats will not continue to win elections. A campaign of hate and discourse is not a winning voters. You are all doing this to your own party.
You’re correct Russian, Ann Coulter needs to be deported as well to save your party.
Get off your knees, ClownBrain. In 38 days your party’s brief flirt with success will come to a screeching halt as we hold you down with our boots on your neck until your Fuhrer is either impeached (an act I won’t condone) or replaced as an embarrassed, one term President with no real accomplishments. November is coming and the voters are so engaged they might just vote twice.
“Racism isn’t just immoral; it’s bad practical policy, standing contradiction to economic and national-security facts.”
and is now standard equipment intalled/instilled in every stoopid freaking wingnut out there.
The Trump administration has gone a step further: it hopes to restrict legal immigration/green cards to those who are less fortunate FOR BEING LESS FORTUNATE.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/now-trump-administration-wants-limit-citizenship-legal-immigrants-n897931
Porter “we hold you down with our boots on your neck”. Are you serious? This is what you have become? How could you even post such a thing? You should ask Cory to take that down. It is really beneath you.
OldMssLindseyGrahamSarge- playing the victim again. Need a fainting couch, as well?
mike, you can get stronger meds.
I don’t call everyone racists. I call racists racists.
Cory,
Muslim isn’t a race.
The US has laws regarding immigration which Trump has followed.
Nobody cares who you call a racist because you think Muslim is a race which is false.
Democrats are the most racist people on Earth right now due to their racism against white people.
When you party can’t say all lives matter, you have a racist problem.
That’s why Bill Sutton will not be elected until he disavows the racist Democrat party.
Little Russian hates our troops in the Mid East and proves it with his Russian trolling. We have only allowed about 4 dozen Iraqi’s into the US. These are the same Iraqi’s that work with our soldiers and sailors for the last 15 years in a war zone. The little Russian hates the troops and supports his Russian masters that have him on their paytroll.
Colluding with Russia on our immigration policy continues to undermine the United States security as well as her standings in the world, it also causes more unrest with our NATO alliance in general. The more Mueller drills, the more collusion and corruption with Russia he finds. Check this out”
” A former top White House official has revised her statement to investigators about a key event in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, after her initial claim was contradicted by the guilty plea of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to people familiar with the matter.
K.T. McFarland, who briefly served as Flynn’s deputy, has now said that he may have been referring to sanctions when they spoke in late December 2016 after Flynn’s calls with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, these people said.
When FBI agents first visited her at her Long Island home in the summer of 2017, McFarland denied ever talking to Flynn about any discussion of sanctions between him and the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, in December 2016, during the presidential transition.” Washington Post 09/22/2018
Ol’ K.T. has been up to here eyebrows with corruption since she was a wee gal.
Have you had enough yet? Why on earth would you even consider sending Johnson to Washington knowing he would just be another crooked spoke in the wheel?
Jason makes me think about this. Most racists think there is such a thing as “race,” but race is a social construct, not a biological one. In the United States, for example, southern Europeans were not considered “white” when they immigrated here. Greeks, Italians, even people from the Caucuses, where “Caucasians” probably began their journey into Europe, were not considered “white” in the 1800s. In many mining communities in Arizona Territory, for example, immigrant miners from southern and central Europe were segregated, just like blacks and Mexicans. They were paid less, though not less than blacks or Mexicans. They weren’t allowed to take some of the higher status positions. Those were left to “whites.”
“Race” is a flexible concept, and throughout US history it has been used, primarily, to define who gets access to the bounty of America, whether that is economic bounty or political bounty.
Jason says that Muslim is not a race, except that Catholics were once treated exactly the same as Jason would treat Muslims today. Catholics, even the Irish Catholics, were not considered “white.” It took a couple, three generations for Irish Catholics to become “white” in our nation’s social construct of “race,” and a few more for the Italian Catholics.
Sounds like Texas wingnuts are fixing to make room for moar immigrants- (might not be safe for work-salty langwidge)…..https://www.thedailybeast.com/those-motherfkers-are-dead-meat-far-right-militia-threatens-muslims-on-leaked-audio?ref=home
Donald Pay wrote:
except that Catholics were once treated exactly the same as Jason would treat Muslims today.
Exactly how am I treating Muslims Donald?
The past two years has been nothing but stressful and disappointing to Refugee communities all over the US and abroad. Refugees who were vetted and cleared for departure to US two years ago are still stuck in horrible conditions and feel hopeless. Where is the compassion? Where are the American values on the tradition of welcoming those in need of safety, food, get better education and the chance to contribute to the American economy. I feel like I am living in a twilight Zone.
Ms. Hart, what you are saying is true. These folks have been vetted and vetted again and again. I say again that what we have done to those citizens who have risked everything to protect American service men and women in some of the most grueling conditions, is the most dishonorable thing the United States has done..ever. When we begged them to help us with a promise of protection and then trump comes along and soils it, is not the America I defended.
It’s hard NOT to conclude that America has a White Supremacist in the White House. It’s little comfort to know that he indeed cheated to win but it’s some solace that he only represents the mindset of a third of Americans.
Exactly what Ms. Hart said.
“The Pentagon is concerned that not providing safe haven to more of the Iraqis, many of whom interpreted and did other key tasks for U.S. forces, will harm national security by dissuading locals from cooperating with the United States in Iraq and other conflict zones, the officials said.”
That’s got to be the absolute worst thing. They risked their lives and families to help us, based on the promise that they would be protected and brought to safety in the USA. Didn’t war criminals Lil Shrub and Darth Cheney do the same? If I lived in the Middle East I’d probably have a pretty low opinion of the US too.
BTW, didn’t Tricky Dick let down the Vietnamese who worked on our side.
I’m sensing a pattern here and it’s extremely shameful and odorous.
I am not surprised Donald didn’t answer my question.
“Democrats are the most racist people on Earth right now”
You gotta be kidding me with this garbage.
Jason, in answer to your question to Donald, “how do I treat Muslims?” It seems in your language it is clear that the Muslims are “them” not “us.” That fundamental exclusion begins a process of larger exclusion that determines lines of reasoning and political process and policy. My objection to this President specifically, and the current GOP in general (a broad generalization, I know) is that so much rhetoric and policy seems aimed at a narrow definition of “us” and only “we” are worthy of respect, wealth, protection, happiness, security . . . and it is OK, maybe even good, for “them” to not have wealth, protection, happiness, security . . .
At the heart of it, I do believe (given tie immense wealth of the US) that we could do a lot more good for a lot more people; that begins with opening up who we view as “us” instead of excluding “them.” Consider: maybe “they” are not bringing “us” down; “we” are raising “us” up.
The melting pot of America is currently overloaded with the bitter flavor of angry, white males. Even though this ingredient is a minority component in our national stew, it’s overbearing nature is distorting our fundamental goals of benevolence and diversity.
o nails it again! He continues to take the words out of my mouth before I have a chance to articlute similar thoughts. Well done o!
I mentioned on another blog the discrepancy of fines meted out to residents of Ferguson, Mo and that the nearly all white police force singled out blacks for ridiculous charges and were balancing the city books on the backs of the poor.
So whitey wingnut shows up and says blacks committed the crimes and should pay a price for them.
That is not true. What is true is cities with majority minority citizens rely on money from fines from the poor class. And it isn’t just Ferguson, Mo as you can see for yourselves. https://www.google.com/search?q=+blacks+in+ferguson+pay+a+disproportionate+share+of+fines&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab
0 wrote:
Jason, in answer to your question to Donald, “how do I treat Muslims?” It seems in your language it is clear that the Muslims are “them” not “us.”
What language are you referring to?
As for exclusion,
When Democrats say black lives matter and don’t say all lives matter, that is exclusion.
Let’s worry about America’s homeless before we worry about other Countries.
How’s the homeless issue doing in California?
O’s language critique is spot on. America is about making one big US out of many thems.
Whatever the homeless issue in California, we have more economic resources now to deal with that problem and with helping more refugees than we did during the Recession, when the US still managed to give more refugees safety and freedom than stingy Donald Trump is willing to give.
All lives matter. Blacks are treated differently, as if their lives matter less. A silent protest to bring awareness is very American.
Trying to pit our homeless against whatever “other” is the target of the day is one aspect of a classic propaganda technique.
According to Dr. Eagleman’s series on PBS, “The Brain,” such a technique can affect the neuron development in each of our brains and create attitudes that allow us to look away when this so newly defined “other” is in harms way. Without such propaganda techniques, however, the neurons in our brains tend to empathize with all humans, which in turn would make such us/them attitudes unlikely and even repugnant.
The truth is that it is not an either/or dilemma. We have more than sufficient resources available to help the homeless and provide help to refugees and those in need, regardless of their place of birth or religion or race. The homeless and the refugees are, in fact, part of us, not some “other.”
Jason – Say Muslim lives matter.
I still can’t get over the insane “Democrats are the most racist people on earth right now.” How is that claim not facially absurd?
Dicta, “Democrats are the most racist people on earth right now,” is a very propagandistic sentence. Turn the truth around to its exact opposite. It’s Hitlerian, Stalinistic, Pootistic, Trumpelstilskinish.
Bill Blazar has been an official with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce for decades. He’s just retiring after serving as Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Business Development for the past 10 years.
The MN Chamber is no less conservative than its cohorts in SD or any other state. Yet, Mr. Blazar has spent a great deal of his working time, including his very last day on the job, speaking to a group expounding on the value of and need for continuing immigration. You can read all about him and his message explained here:
https://goo.gl/oCgpr9
South Dakota’s leaders should listen to the estimable and clear-eyed Mr. Blazar:
Immigration is a long-term investment in Minnesota’s future, in South Dakota’s future, in America’s future.
Cory,
What percentage of the 40% of Fortune 500 companies in MInnesota started by immigrants were either started by illegal immigrants or their children?
I’m going to assume zero.
All of them, widdle Russian. They all came here as immigrants. Even a Russian like yourself.