Martin O'Malley on Pres. Obama's refugee raids: 'What the hell have we come to as a country?'

[bigtree]

from Kerry Eleveld at Daily Kos:



This is not an immigration issue. This is a humanitarian issue, a refugee issue: people fleeing violence should be treated as such. But the Obama administration has nonetheless kicked off the new year with a series of raids to round up and deport Central American women and children.

Martin O'Malley summed it up best during this video (below) of a Q/A in Iowa Sunday:

"What the hell have we come to as a country that you're talking about rounding up women and children fleeing death gangs at Christmas time?"

Amen, Martin. In fact, both O'Malley and Bernie Sanders came out with strong statements opposing this misbegotten policy when it was first leaked to the Washington Post two weeks ago, just days before Christmas. Unfortunately, the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, was content to let a spokesperson note that the candidate had "real concerns" about the reports.

It's not nearly enough but, yes, Homeland Security Sec. Jeh Johnson's statement Monday is certainly cause for concern. He reports that 121 individuals, including children, were taken into custody this weekend for deportation.

If this is sounding a lot like someone else's immigration plan to you, you’re not alone. Donald Trump has also promised to round people up for deportation, an irony immigration lawyer David Leopold noted in a CNN piece Sunday:

This is something we would expect from a President Trump, not President Obama. It's morally repugnant to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into local communities to arrest and detain vulnerable families, including women and children, and deport them to places where their lives will be threatened by unspeakable violence; Reports such as one in the Guardian recount that undocumented immigrants deported to Central America have faced unspeakable violence, even murder, just days after their return.

read more: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/4/1466060/-O-Malley-on-Obama-s-refugee-raids-What-the-hell-have-we-come-to-as-a-country

watch:

Martin O'Malley's letter to the Dept. of Homeland Security

December 30, 2015
Secretary Johnson (DHS)—

I am deeply concerned by recent news reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning a series of raids to deport families who risked their lives to flee violence, drug gangs, and death in Central America. If these reports are true, they raise serious questions about due process for people seeking asylum, and these raids promise to needlessly rip apart more families and communities.

I am writing to respectfully request that DHS reconsider this approach and instead look for ways to humanely treat people seeking refuge and to greatly improve the legal due process necessary for asylum.

When, in 2014, tens of thousands of children made the journey to escape death gangs in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, we called on Marylanders to step up and help accommodate them. Maryland took action to safeguard more refugee kids on a per-capita basis than any other state in the nation. Thousands of families opened their homes as foster families. We recruited pro-bono legal help for case preparation. And we did all of this at minimal cost to the taxpayer.

Sometimes there appears to be only two speeds in government: on and off. When it comes to life and death matters—keeping families together and offering refuge to people fleeing violence—we need to take a more balanced approach- one that is guided by our values and character as a nation.

Forced deportations of unaccompanied refugee minors and refugee families should be a last resort when it comes to women and children fleeing violence. It is my sincere belief that our nation can handle this situation in a more rational, fair, and humane manner.

Thank You,
Governor Martin O'Malley

[NCTraveler]

1. Am I hearing that Obama might be backing off?

Great news if true. And Great on O'Malley for using his position to lead.

[bigtree]

2. if he is, he has the damnedest way of showing it

U.S. authorities begin raids, taking 121 illegal immigrants into custody over the weekend

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Monday that federal immigration authorities apprehended 121 adults and children in raids over the New Year's weekend as part of a nationwide operation to deport a new wave of illegal immigrants.

The families taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were living in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina, Johnson said in a statement. They are being held temporarily in federal detention centers before being deported to Central America.

"As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration," Johnson said. "If you come here illegally, we will send you back, consistent with our laws and values."

Asked about the removal operations, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that the administration has "prioritized the cases of recent arrivals, individuals who recently crossed the border without proper documentation. That is the nature of the operations carried out in the last several days."

Earnest said the efforts are "consistent with the priorities the president himself talked about, deporting felons, not families, with a focus on individuals who only recently crossed the border."

He added that those targeted for removal have gone through due-process legal proceedings and said that the effort will help discourage Central American families from sending their children on dangerous journeys to try to enter the United States illegally.

"People should take from this the understanding that the administration is quite serious when it comes to enforcing immigration laws," Earnest said.

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/ct-immigration-raids-20160104-story.html

[NCTraveler]

3. Thank you for sharing that. nt.

[elleng]

6. Haven't heard any such thing,

and if it's true, as bigtree said, he's got the damnedest way of showing it.

[NCTraveler]

7. I think I was wrong. I thought I had read where O'Malley might have gotten....

through to the President. Either way, love O'Malley on immigration. Heads and shoulders above the rest.

[elleng]

8. I wish I had read that and that it was true!

O'Malley certainly IS, HEADS and SHOULDERS above the rest!

[bigtree]

4. kick

[WillyT]

5. K & R !!!