Our
45th President swept into office with a foundation of racist claims.
First, the very basis of his political participation was his false
assertion (for which he has never apologized) that President Barack
Obama was not born in the United States. Using the “birther”
movement as a basis, 45 signaled to every random racist out there
that he was willing to ignore truth to attack President Obama.
Then,
he used horrible rhetoric to describe Mexican people as violent
rapist, followed by his usual “and some of them are very nice”.
He suggested that a federal judge could not do his job because he
was of Mexican descent. And much of his campaign was focused on
deporting people. The pace of deportations has increase in these few
months since he took office.
Now,
he has snatched the rug from under stable lives that a group of young
people called “dreamers” have built. These young folks
were brought to these United States by parents who came to this
country illegally. In legal limbo, thus unable to apply for jobs or
college admission, many of these young people lived shadow lives,
working under the table or not at all, piecing together livelihoods
as best they could.
President
Barack Obama grappled with this issue and, through executive order
(because Congress would not act), created the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals program. Attorney Generals in some states have
described the program as illegal and have threatened to sue for its
elimination. Attorney General J. Beauregard Sessions has said he
would not defend the program because President Obama “overreached”
in establishing it. So the camera hogging 45 actually allowed
Beauregard (who he very recently dissed) to announce that DACA will
be ended, although there is a “grace period” of six
months.
I
don’t think many understand how many hoops childhood arrivals
must jump through to attain “dreamer” status. They have
to pay almost $500 every two years and fill out more than a dozen
forms to qualify, including forms that detail income, expenses and
assets. They must have a work permit. If they move, they have to
inform the US Customs and Immigration Service. And they can’t
leave the country without permission, which is only sparingly
granted, and usually only for educational purposes. Requests to
visit relatives are rarely granted and even when permission is
granted there is no guarantee that dreamers will be allowed back into
the country.
So,
while President Obama did a great thing by creating DACA, the program
does not go far enough. Dreamers do not have the same privileges
that other citizens have, and they have more responsibilities. Their
status may be revoked if they have had any interactions with “law
enforcement” officers, and we all know how that one goes.
While
it appears that 45 has given dreamers some hope by delaying
enforcement of DACA elimination for six months, and by making nice
with Democratic leaders, the drama of dangling possibilities in front
of folks and then snatching them away is typical 45 showmanship and
irrationality. The fact that Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House
parrot, raised Black unemployment in a White House press conference
is further evidence of this administration’s racism. Has there
been any other time when these people have mentioned Black
unemployment?
Part
of the reason 45 is revoking DACA has to do with his anti-Mexican,
anti-immigrant, racist biases. But part has to do with his
administration’s attempt to eliminate anything Obama from our
government. It is pathetically appalling to watch the way that 45
and his minions are obsessed with President Obama and the work he
did.
As
an example, Education Secretary Betsey DeVoid (of good sense), has
decided to “examine” the Obama approach to campus rape.
She is more concerned, it seems, with those accused of rape or sexual
assault, than with the victims. FBI data shows that only 5 percent
of rape accusations are false. We should be more concerned about
those who won’t come forward than those who are unjustly
accused. But someone who works for a genital-grabber might well see
things differently.
Similarly,
an Obama-era regulation that would have EEOC collect data on pay
differences by race and gender in companies with more than 100
employees has been suspended and so-called woman’s advocate
Ivanka Trump has said that collecting such data really doesn’t
matter. As many as 800 Obama executive orders and regulations have
been reversed. We shouldn’t be surprised that DACA has met the
same fate.
Dreamers
aren’t going to simply slink back across borders to countries
they have never known as adults. Moments after Beauregard Sessions’
announcement they took it to the streets in protest. The are letting
45 and his sidekicks know that their dream won’t be deferred.
We should all be inspired by their activism and stand with them for
justice.
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