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asylum seekers

Equality

Biden's 'fair and humane' immigration plans are a breath of fresh air

Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash

"It is a moral failing and a national shame when a father and his baby daughter drown seeking our shores. When children are locked away in overcrowded detention centers and the government seeks to keep them there indefinitely. When our government argues in court against giving those children toothbrushes and soap. When President Trump uses family separation as a weapon against desperate mothers, fathers, and children seeking safety and a better life. When he threatens massive raids that would break up families who have been in this country for years and targets people at sensitive locations like hospitals and schools. When children die while in custody due to lack of adequate care.

Trump has waged an unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants.

It's wrong, and it stops when Joe Biden is elected president."

These are the opening lines of the Biden campaign's immigration platform, and for fans of compassionate—or even just basically decent—immigration policies, they are a soothing balm for the soul.

Of the many things to take issue with over the past four years, the Trump administration's cruel immigration policies surely rank toward the top. There was no excuse for the zero tolerance family separation policy that tore children—babies, even—from their parents arms without even putting into place a plan to reunite them. There was no good reason to slash our refugee ceiling to historically low levels when the world is facing a historically large refugee crisis and when study after study shows that refugee resettlement is actually good for the country economically. There was no reason for Dreamers to fear being sent back to countries many of them don't even remember, when they have lived their lives as Americans and had no say in their parents' actions.

Immigration is not a simple issue, but some aspects of it should be a no brainer. You don't traumatize children on purpose, no matter who they are or where they come from. You help as many people as you reasonably can when the need is great. You don't punish people for choices their parents made when they were kids. You treat human beings like human beings, balancing wisdom and security with kindness and compassion.

Biden says he is committed to a "fair and humane" immigration system. That doesn't mean unsafe or insecure, but rather smart and strategic in addressing threats while also maintaining our identity as a nation that welcomes immigrants with open arms.

Take the "big, beautiful" wall, for example. Super expensive and not very effective. As the Biden website states, "Most contraband comes in through our legal ports of entry. It's estimated that nearly half of the undocumented people living in the U.S. today have overstayed a visa, not crossed a border illegally. Families fleeing the violence in Central America are voluntarily presenting themselves to border patrol officials. And the real threats to our security–drug cartels and human traffickers–can more easily evade enforcement efforts because Trump has misallocated resources into bullying legitimate asylum seekers. Trump fundamentally misunderstands how to keep America safe because he cares more about governing through fear and division than common sense solutions."

One specific change Biden has committed to is raising our refugee ceiling back up to 125,000, which is around the number we had been resettling prior to Trump's election. In the past four years, Trump has dropped that number more than 80%—completely unprecedented—and there were rumors that a second term would drop the number to zero.

Biden's site also explains briefly how the humanitarian crisis we've seen at our border during the Trump administration could be tied to his administration freezing the funds that a bipartisan aid package for Central America secured during the Obama administration was designed to curb:

"Critically, the Obama-Biden administration recognized that irregular migration from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America cannot be effectively addressed if solutions only focus on our southern border. The better answer lies in addressing the root causes that push desperate people to flee their homes in the first place: violence and insecurity, lack of economic opportunity, and corrupt governance. As Vice President, Biden spearheaded the administration's efforts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras–bringing high-level attention to these issues and securing bipartisan support for a $750 million aid package to help the Northern Triangle countries implement critical, concrete reforms. These efforts were beginning to deliver results and reduce migration rates until Trump froze the majority of the funding, began his campaign to terrorize immigrants and assault the dignity of the Latino community, and created the current humanitarian crisis at our border with his irresponsible and inhumane policies."

The site includes a summary of policies that Biden will "forcefully pursue" which will "safeguard our security, provide a fair and just system that helps to grow and enhance our economy, and secure our cherished values."

He will:

- Take urgent action to undo Trump's damage and reclaim America's values

- Modernize America's immigration system

- Welcome immigrants in our communities

- Reassert America's commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees

- Tackle the root causes of irregular migration

- Implement effective border screening

It's refreshing to not only to see a reasonable, humane approach to immigration, but also to see paragraphs of detail about Biden's approach. The Trump campaign's one-page bullet list of a second-term agenda briefly addressed immigration, and only in terms that were entirely negative and fear-based. The contrast could not be more stark.

It will be wonderful to again see America as welcoming home for people from around the world, who help make our society so richly diverse. With immigration policies based in fairness and decency over fear and distrust, we will renew that aspect of our national identity with pride.

From Your Site Articles

On July 17, Tucker Carlson aired an inflammatory segment entitled "Gypsies: Coming to America," about rising tensions between residents of California, Pennsylvania —a small borough near Pittsburgh — and a group of Roma who recently settled there.

Carlson noted that about 40 "gypsies" are "seeking asylum, saying they suffered racism in their native Romania," and they were placed in the town "by the federal government," only to spurn local culture by engaging in "public defecation" and slaughtering chickens in view of residents.

It was an ugly segment, recalling some of the worst of anti-Roma propaganda. Unsurprisingly, it was based on a wildly ungenerous reading of the facts.

Carlson could have spoken to actual residents of California, Pennsylvania. He could have asked some of the recently arrived Roma about their struggles to communicate and integrate. He could have brought on an immigration expert to weigh in on the pros and cons of resettling members of a vulnerable population inside a different small, insular community.

Instead, he interviewed George Eli, a documentarian of Romani descent, who told Carlson that he "just learned of [the situation] through your producers."

"Immigration and immigrants are one thing," Eli said, admitting he was speculating. "But these people, they seem to be a little bit of not following the law."

Meanwhile, three days earlier, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette actually went to the borough and interviewed both locals and recent arrivals about the conflict.

[rebelmouse-image 19531027 dam="1" original_size="700x429" caption="Downtown California, Pennsylvania. Photo by VitaleBaby/Wikimedia Commons." expand=1]Downtown California, Pennsylvania. Photo by VitaleBaby/Wikimedia Commons.

What they found is, unsurprisingly, much more nuanced than the picture Carlson and Eli painted.

Yes, some residents are upset that many members of the few dozen Roma families have weak English skills and are "unfamiliar" with American culture. A few locals indeed claim to have witnessed some of the new arrivals' children defecating in public and others slaughtering poultry.
Nonetheless, there have been "no instances of violence or aggression" reported among the group of newcomers.
Vito Dentino, a local landlord who is renting properties to the asylum-seekers told the Post-Gazette they have been receptive of his advice. "They throw trash in their yards, but I’ve talked to them about that, and they clean it up. I think people around here are just overreacting."
Other locals are organizing education and outreach efforts to help integrate the Roma families into the town's culture.
Still others reject the idea that the asylum-seekers have been an issue altogether. "I have not had one problem with them," one lifelong resident told the paper. "I say hi to them. ... This is a community. Let's be human. This is not a fast process."
Others have already started making friends. "We sat on the porch and ate and I learned some words," said another, a 28-year-old local who joined some of the newcomers at their home for dinner. "And it was awesome."

Demonizing Roma people as "unclean" and criminal has a long and ugly history.

The fervor reached its apex under the Nazis, who subjected members of the ethnic group to forced labor, deportation, and eventually, murder. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates over 200,000 Roma were killed between 1939 and 1945.

Roma children in France, 1937. Photo by AFP/Getty Images.

A 2009 survey of European Union countries found that 1 in 4 Roma respondents had been assaulted, threatened, or harassed an average of four times within the past year.

Additionally, the Roma families were not settled in the town by the federal government, per Carlson's claim.

ICE told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the families who moved to the Pittsburgh borough were members of the asylum program, and the agency does not determine where they live.

Asylum-seekers are most frequently not detained, as many arrive in the U.S. on other visas. Most are allowed to remain and live freely while their application proceedings play out.

A civil debate on immigration and integration has to respect the desires and grievances on all sides.

Weighing the freedom of some to preserve a particular way of life against the freedom of others to live where and how they want is often — and understandably — challenging. But fear-mongering by reducing the behavior of an entire ethnic group to the most inflammatory acts of a small minority makes the integration process more fraught for all stakeholders.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

Hate crimes against Muslims in April and June increased over 90% over the same time period in 2016, according to a Council on American-Islamic Relations analysis, amid President Trump's attempt to ban citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the United States.

Rather than whipping up fear, we should be focused on finding solutions for all involved — citizens and immigrants alike.

Striking a balance between welcoming newcomers and preserving local traditions is not easy, and it rarely occurs without conflict. It happened during the wave of Irish immigration in the 1840s and the wave of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. It's happening now.

But history demonstrates figuring out how to live together is not only possible, in many ways, it's inevitable.

Despite Carlson's incendiary commentary, its seems at least some of the residents of California, Pennsylvania, are well on their way there.

Update 7/27/2017: In an interview, George Eli explained that he took the interview to "educate" Carlson's audience and dispel stereotypes about American Roma, and he disagrees with the segment's portrayal of the California, Pennsylvania, families.

The documentarian, who co-chairs an effort to increase representation of American Roma in media, believes that some of his message got through, even if Carlson expressed other negative views about the community, "He did say, on camera, in front of his millions of viewers, 'Yeah, the Roma are not violent,'" Eli says. "To me, that’s a win."

From Your Site Articles

"Hamilton's" Lin-Manuel Miranda is very excited about opening night of his musical in Los Angeles.

There's a reason, however, why this opening night — even more than the ones in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco — truly is "the big magillah," he said.

The Broadway star on Aug. 16 is raffling off a totally VIP experience for lucky fans who've expressed support for immigrants and refugees online.

As Miranda explained in the video above, you can win two tickets to the L.A. opening of "Hamilton" — as well as airfare, hotel stay, and access to a star-studded after-party — if you:

Donate $10 toward the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group created by the Hispanic Federation that helps unify efforts from various organizations fighting for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the U.S.
Create a video of yourself singing a song (or part of a song) from "Hamilton." In the video, challenge at least one friend to do the same.
Post the video online using the #Ham4All hashtag.

In the hours following Miranda's ask, the internet began to flood with fans pining for their shot to win. Among them were quite a few big names, too.

Eva Longoria blasted out the lyrics to "Alexander Hamilton."

Ben Stiller and his daughter, Ella, went all in on "Non-Stop."

Shonda Rhimes basically proved she should be in the actual cast of "Hamilton," honestly.

Kelly Clarkson gave us a taste of "It's Quiet Uptown" (and left us wanting more!).

NBA champ Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry, brought their rap A-game.

The Harlem Globetrotters made clear they're also not "throwing away their shot."

Matt McGorry's King of England was downright breathtaking.

As was Justin Baldoni's.

Gina Rodriguez used some backup vocals for an assist, and it came out beautifully.

And Sara Ramirez flaunted a nice set of pipes you don't normally hear on "Grey's Anatomy."

Celeb videos and Broadway tickets aside, the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition is a remarkable effort you should definitely support.

Uniting goals from "an all-star Avengers team of 12 organizations" (as Miranda described it), the coalition helps immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the U.S. by providing legal representation, fighting for changes in public policy, launching awareness campaigns to change hearts and minds, and more. These services truly are critical — especially under the threats of the current administration.

Donate $10 (or more!) at prizeo.com/hamilton, make a video using the #Ham4All hashtag, learn more about the coalition, and check out Miranda's newly released music video, "The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)," below.