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Please read The Democratic Candidates Are in a Bubble on Immigration New York Magazine, by Andrew Sullivan Original Article FTA: The Democrats want to raise the cap on refugees from Central America to 100,000 a year and propose no tightening of asylum law. But it’s the asylum law that needs to change. Since 2014, there has been a 240 percent increase in asylum cases. As Fareed Zakaria has pointed out, the number of asylum cases from Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela has soared at the same time as the crime rate in those countries was being cut in half. Take the tragic tale of Oscar Ramirez and his young daughter Valeria, the father and daughter captured in death in that heartbreaking photograph. Ramirez’s widow explained to the Washington Post why her husband wanted to move to America: He wanted “a better future for their girl.” This is an admirable goal, but it is classic economic immigration, and it would appear, based on what we know, that it has absolutely nothing to do with asylum. Here again is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services definition: “Refugee status or asylum may be granted to people who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group or political opinion.” But somehow the courts have decided that you qualify for asylum if there is simply widespread crime or violence where you live, and Ramirez was also going to use that argument as well. A government need not persecute you; you just have to experience an unsafe environment that your government is failing to suppress. This so expands the idea of asylum, in my view, as to render it meaningless. Courts have also expanded asylum to include domestic violence, determining that women in abusive relationships are a “particular social group” and thereby qualify. In other words, every woman on the planet who has experienced domestic abuse can now come to America and claim asylum. Also everyone on the planet who doesn’t live in a stable, orderly, low-crime society. Literally billions of human beings now have the right to asylum in America. As climate change worsens, more will rush to claim it. All they have to do is show up. Last month alone, 144,000 people were detained at the border making an asylum claim. This year, about a million Central Americans will have relocated to the U.S. on those grounds. To add to this, a big majority of the candidates in the Democratic debates also want to remove the grounds for detention at all, by repealing the 1929 law that made illegal entry a criminal offense and turning it into a civil one. And almost all of them said that if illegal immigrants do not commit a crime once they’re in the U.S., they should be allowed to become citizens. How, I ask, is that not practically open borders? The answer I usually get is that all these millions will have to, at some point, go to court hearings and have their asylum cases adjudicated. The trouble with that argument is that only 44 percent actually turn up for their hearings; and those who do show up and whose claims nonetheless fail can simply walk out of the court and know they probably won’t be deported in the foreseeable future. Much More at the link: .

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Caravan Contradictions. “A ‘caravan’—the euphemism for a current foot-army of more than 10,000 Central Americans—of would-be border crossers has now passed into Mexico. The marchers promise they will continue 1,000 miles and more northward to the U.S. border, despite warnings from President Trump that as unauthorized immigrants they will be turned away. No one has yet explained how, or by whom or what, such a mass of humanity has been supplied, cared for, and organized. Once at the border, the immigrants further predict that they will successfully, but illegally, enter the United States, then claim refugee status, and finally rely on sympathetic public opinion—and progressive political activism—to avoid deportation. If past experience is any guide, they are quite right in thinking they can melt into the population, ignore future legal summonses, and count on the de facto amnesty that currently protects 22 million illegal aliens, the vast majority from Mexico and Central America.” .

Trump is right again. Mexico’s ambassador to U.S. claims there are very violent migrants in caravan Original Article Mexico’s U.S. Ambassador — Geronimo Gutierrez — is blasting Democrats for saying everyone in the migrant caravan are all peaceful refugees seeking asylum. On Tuesday, Gutierrez explained there have been multiple instances where migrants have been “very violent,” while rebelling against border authorities .

Seems somewhat organized for 'refugees' . .

ARRIAGA, Mexico — Several thousand Central American migrants turned down a Mexican offer of benefits if they applied for refugee status and stayed in the country's two southernmost states, vowing to set out before dawn Saturday to continue their long trek toward the U.S. border. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced what he called the "You are at home" plan, offering shelter, medical attention, schooling and jobs to Central Americans in Chiapas and Oaxaca states if they applied, calling it a first step toward permanent refugee status. Authorities said more than 1,700 had already applied for refugee status. But after one of the caravan's longest days of walking and hanging from passing trucks, the bulk of the migrants were boisterous Friday evening in their refusal to accept anything less than safe passage to the U.S. border. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/migrant-caravan-members-reject-offer-stay-mexico-n925171 Migrant caravan members reject offer to stay in Mexico. This has nothing to do with refugees fleeing a humanitarian crisis. These people are pawns in a pre-midterm political stunt funded by leftists to damage Trump.

wretchardthecat‏ @wretchardthecat 20h20 hours ago Erdogan currently lacks the forces to take more than an a narrow sliver of border. He may be reliant on proxies for infantry. Air will be his most potent weapon. https://amp.dw.com/en/explained-why-turkey-wants-a-military-assault-on-syrian-kurds/a-50731834?__twitter_impression=true … wretchardthecat‏ @wretchardthecat 20h20 hours ago Erdogan's biggest long term stick are the millions of refugees he threatens to settle on the to be conquered zone who he alternatively threatens to send to Europe. But this is likely to be the seed of future war. wretchardthecat‏ @wretchardthecat 20h20 hours ago We may be watching the end of Erdogan not the end of the Kurds. The Turks may dent the border but how will they hold It?

A SENSIBLE TAKE ON SYRIA Liberals’ foreign policy views are inconsistent, but entirely predictable: whatever a Republican president does, they oppose. Thus, Democrats applauded when President Obama prematurely withdrew American troops from Iraq, enabling the rise of ISIS. But when President Trump pulled a few hundred out of Syria, it was: OMG! The Kurds! James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation and the Institute of World Politics gave an interview to the Daily Signal that gives the best take I have seen on Trump’s recent Syria move. You really should read it all, but here are some highlights: When President Trump came in office, he actually expanded the U.S. footprint in Syria, because military advisers made the argument that … you couldn’t take down the caliphate—in other words, destroy the physical state that the terrorist had—if we didn’t actually have forces in there working with indigenous groups that were fighting ISIS, chief among them, the YPG, which is an armed Kurdish group. And so President Trump actually increased the U.S. footprint in Syria. Then subsequent to that, after the caliphate was destroyed, the president wanted to withdraw U.S. troops. The military advisers and several allies, including Israel, said, “Well, look, there’s still concerns that need to be addressed.” So we’ve maintained a small footprint in Syria for the last year or so. *** [W]e estimate it’s a relatively small print of a few hundred Americans in uniform that are spread around the areas that are not controlled by the Syrian government. *** Let’s start by what the Turks are doing. They’re not invading Syria. There is a portion of Syria which borders Turkey, which right now is kind of uncontrolled. Nobody really controls the port. The Syrian government doesn’t control the border. There are Kurdish groups in that area and the Turks wanted to control that area. It’s several kilometers wide, so it’s really a small chunk of Syria. Why do they want to control it? Well, one, they don’t want it to be a platform for Kurdish terrorist groups, not the Kurdish people. There’s a difference, right? There are Kurds all over the region. There are Kurds in Iran. There are Kurds in Iraq. There are Kurds in Syria. There are Kurds in other places. So when you say the Kurds, that’s a lot of people spread all over the Middle East, but there are Kurdish groups which are affiliated with specific terrorist groups, like the PKK, which is a terrorist group [that] … focuses on attacking Turkey. So they don’t want terrorist groups to use that area as a platform to attack Turkey. They want to control their border and they would like to create a space because they have probably a million refugees or more from Syria that are living in Turkey. The Turks would like to create a space so those people can move back into Syria. It’s a relatively limited objective that the Turks have outlined. *** What did the U.S. do? Well, if you actually read the statement of the Department of Defense, which actually explains this, we didn’t give permission for the Turks to do this. They didn’t ask permission. And the reality is we can’t stop them from doing this. We have a couple of hundred soldiers in the entire country. We don’t have enough … to prevent the Turks from doing anything unless we’re going to start bombing the Turkish military, which I don’t think we’re going to do. MORE AT THE LINK:

Dear Democrats, It's Only a Matter of Time Before the Machine Turns on You by Brandon Morse FTA: But perhaps you’re a Democrat still and you’re reading this because my headline sparked something in your brain and resonated with something you’re worried about. Perhaps you’re looking for the door after the party, as Reagan once said, left you. And why wouldn’t you be? It’s become a radicalized mess of extremist views and indefensible beliefs. You were always pretty socially liberal but perhaps you never signed up for drag queens in schools and CRT infecting every corner of society. Perhaps you’re still financially suffering thanks to a mixture of residual problems after the lockdowns and inflation and all you’re getting from the Democrats is lies about how everything’s great. Perhaps you’re worried that the left’s hubris has grown so thick that they’re actively going after their political enemies by using the law and you’re wondering if that could happen to you or someone you love. You’re right to be worried. This isn’t normal. The Democrats are not the party you once knew. They are indeed something completely different now. It’s adopted all the worst qualities of political movements of the past while wearing a mask of modernized American “care” and “acceptance.” It’s a skinwalker, pretending to be something you once knew and cared for to get close to you but that thing you knew has been long dead. This sounds dramatic but if you’re a Democrat reading this, you probably feel it too. Like the aforementioned monster, it looks familiar but you no longer feel comfortable around it and you want to pull away. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Politicians and voters alike are leaving in droves. {snip} But notice the reaction from Democrats when someone started thinking for themselves. This isn’t uncommon. Look at the way a black person is treated when they distance themselves from the Democrat Party which thinks they own them. Look at the way gay people are treated when they decide to sign on with Republicans. Look at the way transgender people who detransition or support Republicans are ignored and/or silenced by mainstream culture and viciously attacked by their own leftist activist community behind the scenes. Look at the way illegal immigrants aren’t at all stopped from streaming across the border but refugees from places like Cuba, which create staunch Republicans once they establish themselves in America, are expressly rejected. Look at how women who reject the feminist cause are treated by leftists. Each of these groups receives some of the most vile treatment from the left, the same left that claims to be the party of the people and oppressed groups. This isn’t the behavior of a free-thinking party. This is fascistic. You are to stay in line and not step out of it lest you face the wrath of the body politic. It’s important to remember that the Democrat machine doesn’t have friends, just useful tools that eventually run out of usefulness. These are the kind of people that are doing everything they can to be in charge and they will do whatever it takes to stay in charge. You’re witnessing this happen now between a New York DA and Donald Trump. If you’re experiencing doubtfulness, it’s only a matter of time before it’s sniffed out by people in your personal circle and/or online mobs and you’re either intimidated into compliance or made an example of. It’s happened to many people before you. It’s time to ditch the Democrats. They aren’t the party of welcome and warmth. They’re infested with radicals who do not take “no” for an answer and will punish anyone who defies them. The best thing you can do is help them lose power by no longer standing with them. Just make the switch. https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2023/04/05/dear-democrats-its-only-a-matter-of-time-before-the-machine-turns-on-you-n726847 https://redstate.com/sister-toldjah/2020/05/22/wow-the-longer-video-clip-from-joe-bidens-you-aint-black-interview-was-actually-much-worse-n137882 https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/09/21/paypal-venmo-and-google-cut-off-group-fighting-to-protect-children-from-groomers-n630856 https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2022/06/14/how-the-transgender-community-uses-cult-like-tactics-and-unmitigated-fear-to-seduce-and-destroy-n578391 https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2021/07/15/biden-administration-finally-comes-down-hard-on-illegal-immigration-against-cubans-n411231 https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2023/03/14/theres-a-growing-trad-wife-trend-thats-making-feminists-furious-n716251

The Babylon Bee beat you to it.....................? Texas Constructs Border Wall To Keep Out Unwanted Refugees From California August 3, 2018 AUSTIN, TX—The Texas legislature has approved construction of a border wall surrounding the state in order to keep out unwanted refugees fleeing the rapidly crumbling dystopia of California. The legislature has been faced with an increasing number of Californians seeking asylum after fleeing the unhinged, far-left state, and finally found a solution. Construction began shortly after the measure was passed. The wall will run around the entirety of Texas, with extra security measures on the west side of the state to ensure undesirable Californian immigrants can’t make it across. While low-traffic areas like the north and east sides of the state will be protected by a simple fence, the west side will feature a 10-foot-thick concrete wall with laser turrets, barbed wire, and a moat filled with sharks to stop residents of the coastal state from slipping in undocumented and undetected. A recent conversation about changing the name of the city of Austin to be more politically correct opened lawmakers’ eyes to just how many liberal California residents had come to the state in recent years, bringing their crazy ideas with them. “Far too many immigrants from California come here, take advantage of our pro-business, pro-liberty laws, and refuse to adjust to our way of life,” one Texas state rep said in an address to the assembly. “It is time for us to build a wall and make Governor Jerry Brown pay for it.” https://babylonbee.com/news/texas-constructs-border-wall-to-keep-out-unwanted-refugees-from-california/

Remember right after President Donald Trump was inaugurated and mobs of protesters packed JFK International in New York and other airports to protest the new administration’s so-called “Muslim ban?” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quick to welcome any and all refugees to head just a little bit further north. More refugees than Trudeau likely imagined took him up on the offer. In yesterday’s Vancouver Sun, however, there was an interesting piece claiming that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, formerly just the Immigration Department, hadn’t followed up in two years with a report on some 50,000 Syrian refugees in the country. Columnist Douglas Todd reports: “Integrate into Canadian society?” That sounds vaguely racist to us. What happened to celebrating diversity? https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2018/07/18/bureaucracy-at-work-has-canada-lost-track-of-50000-syrian-refugees/?utm_campaign=twitchywidget

WELL, GOOD: America is rapidly pulling troops from Afghanistan. “It was only in 2001 that American forces toppled the Taliban regime, when the mullahs who led the movement refused to hand over Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. But nearly two-thirds of the population is less than 25 years old, and so has little or no memory of the Taliban’s rule. They are having to brush up on their history, however, as they contemplate the prospect of the Taliban returning to power in some form. The American troops that have propped up the Afghan government and held the Taliban at bay for the past 19 years are on their way out.” If Kabul can’t make it after nearly 20 years of American blood and treasure, they never will and were never going to.

Europe Braces for 130,000 Refugees on the Move from Turkey by Rick Moran https://pjmedia.com/trending/europe-braces-for-130000-refugees-on-the-move-from-turkey/

GREEK TROOPS OPEN FIRE ON REFUGEES WHILE VIGILANTES ATTACK AID WORKERS AND THE MEDIA. “The situation in the no-mans-land between Turkey and Greece is becoming increasingly more violent and desperate for the refugees. Reporters on a tour heard gunshots despite the Greek government denying the use of anything except tear gas to stop the refugees.” .

GOOD NEWS ON IMMIGRATION Mother Jones has data on immigration that most people will consider good news. Mother Jones, of course, doesn’t see it that way. I sincerely hope that last assertion is true. Now, on to the data. Refugee admissions have dropped sharply: Other immigration categories have slowed as well. It took me a moment to understand the charts, but the lighter dot to the left shows the percentage denied in 2015, and the darker dot to the right shows the percentage denied in 2019. I am especially glad to see “family unity applications” being denied at a relatively high rate–still, only 19%–as these are rife with fraud. Ultimately, we need a merit-based immigration system like Canada’s, or the one that the new Tory government in the U.K. is proposing. Until we have a system that is designed to benefit us, not random citizens of third world countries, Trump’s pullback is the best we can do. .

Italy Threatens to Close Ports Due to Overwhelming Flow of Migrants http://legalinsurrection.com/2017/06/italy-threatens-to-close-ports-due-to-overwhelming-flow-of-migrants/ “11,000 refugees arrived on its shores in five days” THE BEST DEFENSE: Six held in Spain, UK and Germany in anti-jihadist raids. Of course, six isn’t even a speck at the point on the tip of the iceberg.

Last year progressives cheered when then-President Obama loosened trade and other restrictions against Cuba. Obama celebrated in that country with Raul Castro. Today President Trump is in Miami announcing a re-tightening of those restrictions, to the cheers of many in Miami’s Little Havana Pres Trump revels in prolonged standing ovation as he takes stage to deliver speech on US-Cuba policy. President Trump says Obama deal with Castro regime was misguided, and enriched only the Cuban Government. "Now those days are over." He calls on Castro Regime to end abuse of dissidents, release all political prisoners, open Cuba to freedom & return US fugitives. Former Obama Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes was not only critical of Trump, but also those at his event supporting the move: How should Cuban refugees who fled Castro's regime be "held accountable" for opposing Castro, Ben? Be specific. Right Ben, what would this woman know about anything? https:// twitter.com/CNNPolitics/st atus/875771576226021378 Rhodes is in no position to be doing any legacy lecturing: So other than pallets of cash to gay-hating mullahs & leaving 4 Americans to die in Benghazi, how's that Legacy thing working out. https:// twitter.com/brhodes/status /875770884161773569 … Dissidents are STILL being carried away in #Cuba, and all your former boss (Obama) did was pose in front of a Che Guevara mural. Ass. https://twitter.com/brhodes/status/875770884161773569 … … Man who concocted false stories to feed idiot reporters to help terriorist sponsors go nuclear is whining about accountability. ....

Justice Kennedy issues Stay of 9th Circuit Travel Case Order As To Refugees Justice Roberts didn’t muck about. The speed of his stay probably tells you everything you need to know about the legal basis of the 9th circuit decision.

AFGHANS ENCOURAGED BY TRUMP SPEECH, PAKISTANIS STUNG BY CRITICISM: Well, providing safe havens for the Taliban rubs a lot of people the wrong way. RELATED: Mike Pence says Pakistan is on notice.

TRUMP’S NEW TRAVEL ORDER LOOKS BULLETPROOF President Trump rescinded his original travel order today, and replaced it it with a new one that is tailored to meet the legal objections that the first order encountered. The order is generally similar to the first one, but Iraq is now treated differently from the other six countries of concern. The order retains the 50,000 refugee ceiling for the current year. It adds language that explains the logic of the order, cites constitutional and statutory authority, and negates the criticism that it is directed at Muslims.

Somali Refugee Flow to Minnesota Slows Dramatically. It's a mystery..........

Swedish authorities say that everything is going swimmingly and the many thousands of refugees it has accepted are integrating well. Right. There is a reason why Sweden’s immigration-skeptic party, Sweden Democrats, is currently first or second in polling. Inconveniently, preliminary crime statistics for 2016 have just come out. With regard to the just-released 2016 numbers, you have to wade through some spin to get to the facts: The Swedish government’s response to the increased crime attendant upon mass Islamic immigration is along the lines of, Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes? The bottom line is that when it comes to Sweden and immigration, Trump was right. or are we done pretending he was talking about a Swedish massacre ?.....it's hard to keep up with the Left's make-believe stories .

Ami Horowitz Documentary: Sweden is Now Europe’s Official “Rape Capital”… President Trump’s reference was to an interview between Fox News Tucker Carlson and documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz that took place on Friday night, the night before the rally. The documentary is about the rape crisis in Sweden resulting from massive economic migration, aka “refugees”. There is even a horrible term for the current reality for women in Sweden called “rapeugees”. Horowitz appeared on Tucker’s show to discuss his latest documentary film of the issue titled “Stockholm Syndrome“- Rape and violence exploding across Sweden due it’s immigration policies.

Oh ...................and about the Left's latest fiasco, as parroted today by Gatorboy and others let's look a little closer. THE SILLY SWEDEN FLAP The liberal media’s war on the Trump administration has become comical in its monomania. The latest skirmish is over this riff from Trump’s triumphant speech in Melbourne, Florida: Trump said that in Sweden, “They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible.” He obviously was referring to the large numbers of refugees that Sweden has tried to absorb over the last several years. The passing reference to “what’s happening last night” wasn’t clear, but Trump has explained that he referred to a television news story about the problems Sweden has experienced with its large refugee population: Yes. Or, in other words, “having problems like they never thought possible.” Liberals pretended not to understand Trump’s point, and made believe that Trump was talking about a phantom terrorist attack on Friday night. The Swedish government even joined in the faux mirth. The linked AP story is deeply dishonest. It joins in the absurd misinterpretation of Trump’s remarks, and never even mentions what he actually said about Sweden: “Sweden, who would believe this. Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible.” But dishonesty has become a daily occurrence at the Associated Press. As happens so often, liberals think they are scoring points against Trump when in fact they are making fools of themselves. As Trump said, Sweden has imported too many refugees, and the results aren’t pretty. Most are living off the government, and some are committing crimes, especially sex crimes. As often happens, Trump has made a valid point that is of great concern to voters. His opponents, meanwhile, refuse to acknowledge his point, and instead pretend to misunderstand him. Then they chuckle to each other over how clever they are. Pathetic. Added: I still consider most of Trump's "act"......buffoonery, but I will happily point out liberals lies and desperation. Those simpletons here who don't read the articles and dismiss it as "apologizing for Trump" simply demonstrate their own inflexible thinking. .

The New York Times Magazine has published an extensive feature on the Middle East’s decent into chaos that is sure to be in the running for all the awards. Billed as “a story unlike any we have previously published,” the Times piece documents the lives of six individuals throughout the troubled region in order to paint a picture of “the catastrophe that has fractured the Arab world since the invasion of Iraq 13 years ago, leading to the rise of ISIS and the global refugee crisis.” As with many popular narratives of the existing crisis in the Middle East, there is scant mention of the role President Obama and his policies toward the region might have played in exacerbating the chaos. “Obama” is mentioned just once in the entire 40,000-word piece, in a section about the deadly terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012, nearly a year after the United States-led (from behind) military air campaign concluded.

Full speech: Trump goes nuclear on Hillary FTA: It’ll take you 40 minutes to watch it but the transcript will cost you only five. The big themes are predictable — she’s a globalist and an interventionist with terrible judgment who’s used government to enrich herself and her cronies while working Americans struggled — but some of the individual lines are lightning strikes. Numero uno: Populists on both sides will nod along to that one. That’s one of six uses of the word “rigged,” in fact, in the span of about eight sentences towards the beginning. In case it’s the least bit unclear to Berniebros that he wants their votes, Trump also name-checked Sanders (a.k.a. “Crazy Bernie”) multiple times. Another keeper: So she has, and he supports that case at length. Team Trump’s angle on Hillary’s corruption is smart in that they’re not content here simply to argue that she’s crooked. What Trump tries to do in the speech is draw a contrast between Clinton’s fortunes, political and financial, increasing over the past 20 years while the working class’s fortunes declined over the same period. Quote: “he has betrayed the American worker on trade at every single stage of her career.” The culprit, of course, is globalism, economic and military. Too much outsourcing, says Trump, and too many dumb, badly managed incursions into Middle Eastern politics. (He also claims that he was against the Iraq war from the very beginning, which isn’t true but Trump’s never going to let go of that useful lie.) And the populist centerpiece: That might not be a winning message if Americans decide they don’t trust him with nuclear weapons but it’ll give Ohio and Pennsylvania something to think about. Two curiosities from the speech, though. One: It was surprisingly light on Clinton personal scandals. I didn’t expect Trump to make that a major theme but he did a good job sidelining Bill a few months ago by hammering him on the sexual assault allegations made against him in the past. His overarching point here is that the Clintons look after themselves no matter what it means for “the little guy” suffering. Bill harassing women and Hillary covering up for him fits right into that. One of the reasons Trump’s temporary Muslim ban is popular on the right, I think, is because it flatters the suspicion that truly “peaceful” Muslims are much less common than the U.S. government would have you believe. The number of actual jihadis may be small but the number of deeply illiberal Muslims who recoil from pluralist western values isn’t. Trump seems to be drawing an Obama-esque distinction here between the tiny minority of extremists and everyone else — although he does say a few sentences later about his refugee policy, “I only want to admit people who share our values and love our people.” What percentage of peaceful Muslims does that include? Presumably not zero, in which case is he rethinking his ban? More at the link: