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border December 26, 2018
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F*CK ICE! Federal agents leave hundreds of migrants stranded on Xmas eve

While many of us spent the final few days leading up to Christmas doing some last minute shopping and ending our nights by cozying up in the living room to watch TV, hundreds of Central American asylum seekers were left standing outside after ICE unexpectedly dropped off the group outside a Greyhound bus terminal in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday and Monday.

According to a spokesperson of the El Paso Police Department, Immigration Customs Enforcement released the asylum seekers without an apparent plan for housing them. Greyhound officials notified the police after individuals from the dispatched group were trying to board Greyhound buses without tickets.

In past instances, the federal agency communicates with shelters and local charities to ensure the community is prepared for the intake of people. Evidently, this wasn’t the case this time. The lack of notice prompted local non-profits to scramble to the scene to assist the asylum seeks.

Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, expressed frustration over the lack of communication between the federal agency and the local county, expressing,

“There’s no need for it. These are folks who are confused and don’t know where they are. Many haven’t bathed in days, many are hungry. We’ve seen cases in the past where people need medical attention.”

Local volunteers nonetheless came out to lend out a hand to those in need; distributing lunches, water and small toys for the children. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who helped pass out food to the asylum seekers, criticized ICE for not notifying the local community.

In an interview that O’Rourke later posted on his Twitter, he commented,

“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, to give the community 24 hours heads up so that we can find hotel rooms, beds, alternative shelters, food, volunteers — everything that these people will need to make sure that they are OK. We just need a little bit of a heads up so that folks aren’t … literally dumped at a bus station without money or on the street.”

When reached by CNN, ICE blamed the incident on the lack of action Congress has taken on the issue of immigration. In an emailed statement, ICE responded saying,

“To mitigate the risk of holding family units past the timeframe allotted to the government, ICE has curtailed reviews of post-release plans from families apprehended along the southwest border. ICE continues to work with local and state officials and NGO partners in the area so they are prepared to provide assistance with transportation or other services.”

The news comes in the wake of the death of two migrant children who were in the custody of Border Control. Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin, 7-year-old girl from Guatemala died from severe dehydration and septic shock whilst in detention earlier this month.

Her death sparked outrage from civil and human rights groups who cite her death as another example of how the nation’s immigration policies violate human rights. The tragic loss also prompted the reemergence of the #SAYHERNAME hashtag on Twitter. Her body was laid to rest yesterday on Christmas day.

https://twitter.com/JonLionFineArt/status/1074327410861056001

Sadly, yesterday, Felipe Gomez Alonso, an 8-year-old boy from Guatemala also died in government custody. In the days preceding his death, the young boy was sent to a hospital for cold and flu-like symptoms. But CBP says it does not know the cause of Felipe’s death.

The current administration’s “zero tolerance” policy at the border, has been under increased pressure from civil rights groups over the way migrants and refugees are treated both at the border and once in the custody.

These cases are emphatically indicative that we need to demand more language, representation, and policies that see immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers as human beings, and should, therefore, be treated with the dignity, care, protection and respect every person is entitled to.

border July 14, 2017
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Trump says transparent wall will protect people from flying drugs

Remember THE WALL?

One of Trump’s biggest campaign promises, to build a border wall along the southern border of the United States, has kind of fallen under the radar recently as Trump struggles to push through a new healthcare bill and tries his hand at international diplomacy.

While aboard Air Force 1 yesterday en route to Paris, Trump told reporters that the border wall is still very much on.

One brave reporter asked a question about Trump’s assertion that the WALL could include solar panels. The reporter asked, “you were joking about solar, right?”

What happened next was a very coherent and very normal response from our very stable president. Trump made sure everyone knew he was not playin’ about solar panels:

“No, not joking, no. There is a chance that we can do a solar wall. We have major companies looking at that. Look, there’s no better place for solar than the Mexico border — the southern border. And there is a very good chance we can do a solar wall, which would actually look good. But there is a very good chance we could do a solar wall.”

Trump is not only obsessed with the wall but also the aesthetic of it. He wants it to look good, but also be… see-through?

Wall Guy went on:

“One of the things with the wall is you need transparency. You have to be able to see through it. In other words, if you can’t see through that wall — so it could be a steel wall with openings, but you have to have openings because you have to see what’s on the other side of the wall.”

People, you GOTTA BE ABLE TO SEE THROUGH THAT WALL, OK? Really, what use is a wall if you can’t see through the damn thing?

Ah, you non-wall-experts are wondering, “but why must we be able to see through the wall?” The answer is rather obvious. Sacks. Of. Drugs.

You see, people throw sacks of drugs over the wall and they may land on top of someone’s head and then, um, well, uh, you know, let’s just let the president explain,

“And I’ll give you an example. As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over-“

Hate when that happens. Sorry, go on, Mr. President,

“And if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don’t see them — they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It’s over.”

OVER.

“As crazy as that sounds, you need transparency through that wall. But we have some incredible designs.”

THEY THROW THOSE SACKS OF DRUGS, WHICH ARE, LIKE, 60 POUNDS AND THEN THEY LAND ON SOMEONE ON OUR SIDE’S HEAD AND THEN IT’S FUCKING OVER, OK?

I don’t know about you guys, but having a president that will protect people that walk on the southern border of the United States from flying sacks of drugs makes me a gosh darn proud frickin’ American.

Keep your walls transparent and your sacks of drugs very much on the ground.