All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[hyped78]

Clearly, Qpublicans dismissed the border issue, mainly because Trump told them to so he'd have something to campaign against Biden on.

They are playing the typical "party first, country last" games the GOP always plays.

But the border issues didn't start in 2024. This is the fourth year of Biden's term and a lot of Democrats are criticizing him on this topic.

It's obviously fair to point to the GOP on this, at least partially. But that's not going to win votes for the Dems in November. Actually fixing the border is.

Or, another position is to say "there's actually nothing wrong with the border" (I don't agree with that, but it's a valid stance nonetheless).

[WestPhillyPunisher]

They are playing the typical "party first, country last" games the GOP always plays.

But the border issues didn't start in 2024. This is the fourth year of Biden's term and a lot of Democrats are criticizing him on this topic.

It's obviously fair to point to the GOP on this, at least partially. But that's not going to win votes for the Dems in November. Actually fixing the border is.

Or, another position is to say "there's actually nothing wrong with the border" (I don't agree with that, but it's a valid stance nonetheless).

The issues at the border don't begin there, not even close. It's all about problems neither Democrats or Republicans can deal with, much less fix, that being the unimaginable poverty and rampant drug war violence that forces desperate people to flee north because, in most cases, their lives LITERALLY depend on it. At least Democrats are trying to fix the border situation while Republicans do nothing except kill bipartisan legislation because they're hopelessly beholden to an obese, orange skinned sociopath who doesn't want solutions, only chaos which benefits him. Oh, sure, inhumane Republicans can kick out immigrants 24/7, but, guess what? That doesn't work! Those poor unfortunates just turn right around and try again, and keep on trying since they have no other options. We should demand that South American governments step up and deal with the poverty and violence that forces frightened people to pack up and leave. THAT'S the real solution!

[Tuck]

They are playing the typical "party first, country last" games the GOP always plays.

But the border issues didn't start in 2024. This is the fourth year of Biden's term and a lot of Democrats are criticizing him on this topic.

A lot of stuff that people hang on the President (now, or any time in the past) is really in control of Congress. The immigration quagmire is one of them.

This also goes for protesters complaining about "Biden" sending aid to Israel. Even if he didn't support Israel, Congress is who decides on sending aid.

[hyped78]

The issues at the border don't begin there, not even close. It's all about problems neither Democrats or Republicans can deal with, much less fix, that being the unimaginable poverty and rampant drug war violence that forces desperate people to flee north because, in most cases, their lives LITERALLY depend on it. At least Democrats are trying to fix the border situation while Republicans do nothing except kill bipartisan legislation because they're hopelessly beholden to an obese, orange skinned sociopath who doesn't want solutions, only chaos which benefits him. Oh, sure, inhumane Republicans can kick out immigrants 24/7, but, guess what? That doesn't work! Those poor unfortunates just turn right around and try again, and keep on trying since they have no other options. We should demand that South American governments step up and deal with the poverty and violence that forces frightened people to pack up and leave. THAT'S the real solution!

It's not just South America. Obviously it's mostly South America but there are large cohorts coming from other countries, including China:
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-re...e-end-of-2023/

"There has also been a sharp increase in encounters with citizens of China, despite its distance from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Patrol reported nearly 6,000 encounters with Chinese citizens at the southwestern border in December 2023..."

Right or wrong, there is an image that you can easily cross into the US and that you won't get kicked out. Folks from China, Vietnam, etc. are making a long trip to the US southern border.

Republicans have no solutions and they don't want to help the country. But it's for the Biden administration to fix the issue, it's on their watch, and it's the 4th year of the administration.

Agree that fixing the situation in Venezuela or Haiti is impossible. That's a given and, because it can't be fixed, it's not even up for debate, I think.
But you can create pathways for legal migration while cracking down on illegal migration. It's incredibly hard to legally claim asylum in the US, and that's part of the problem.
The US NEEDS migration, IMO, but it should be legal rather than illegal migration.

[hyped78]

A lot of stuff that people hang on the President (now, or any time in the past) is really in control of Congress. The immigration quagmire is one of them.

This also goes for protesters complaining about "Biden" sending aid to Israel. Even if he didn't support Israel, Congress is who decides on sending aid.

Partly agree. But then why is Sen. Ossoff and various others asking Mayorkas to fix the border, even with the GOP caveat?

When Congress wasn't playing ball, Obama solved various issues by using Executive Orders. And aja_christopher referred to Obama's removals numbers, which show impact.

And, again, the record numbers of illegal encounters/crossings did not start in 2024.

If Democrats campaign on "we didn't fix the border because the GOP didn't support the bill", they're gonna win votes.

On Biden and Israel: https://www.wsj.com/world/biden-weig...srael-8b8607e4
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-04-1...wDqdRV6/p.html
He is requesting "more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel" (which I directionally agree with, btw).

[Tuck]

Partly agree. But then why is Sen. Ossoff and various others asking Mayorkas to fix the border?

To make it look like he's trying? My understanding is that Biden is doing what is possible within the law right now. The problem is how people claiming refugee status are processed. They have to be let in pending a review of their claim.

When Congress wasn't playing ball, Obama solved various issues by using Executive Orders.

Executive Orders are a dicey proposition. In theory, they're just a clarification on how the administration interprets the law as written. But they have a bad history of being expansive in their interpretation to the point of essentially being legislation.

If Democrats campaign on "we didn't fix the border because the GOP didn't support the bill", they're gonna win votes.

This is true, assuming they can get people to believe it. (Have to hammer on the deal Republicans walked away from).

[hyped78]

To make it look like he's trying? My understanding is that Biden is doing what is possible within the law right now. The problem is how people claiming refugee status are processed. They have to be let in pending a review of their claim.



Executive Orders are a dicey proposition. In theory, they're just a clarification on how the administration interprets the law as written. But they have a bad history of being expansive in their interpretation to the point of essentially being legislation.

This is true, assuming they can get people to believe it. (Have to hammer on the deal Republicans walked away from).

Pointing fingers at the GOP should be done but it will only take you so far, when you have Democratic Mayors like Adams in New York or the Mayor of El Paso saying that the situation is at 'breaking point' or saying that it will 'destroy' NYC:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americ...ys-2023-09-23/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/n...stroy-nyc.html
And when the GOP can say "what did you do in 2021, 2022 and 2023 when the situation was snowballing?"


The issue is that 'poverty' (like WPP referred to) isn't a reason to claim asylum, by itself (it's clearly a reason to try to move to the US to chase a better life!):
https://www.usa.gov/asylum

"Able to demonstrate that you were persecuted or have a fear of persecution in your home country due to your:
Race
Religion
Nationality
Social group
Political opinion"

How many illegal migrants crossing the border have a real claim to asylum as per above? And how many who have their asylum claims (which can take a long time to process) are actually removed from the US if/when the claims are deemed not eligible?

Again, why doesn't the US separate asylum vs. migration and allow a quota of XX migrants from South America to live and work, regardless of asylum.

[Tuck]

The issue is that 'poverty' (like WPP referred to) isn't a reason to claim asylum, by itself (it's clearly a reason to try to move to the US to chase a better life!):
https://www.usa.gov/asylum

"Able to demonstrate that you were persecuted or have a fear of persecution in your home country due to your:
Race
Religion
Nationality
Social group
Political opinion"

People are claiming fear of returning, not poverty. No doubt a lot of those are bogus claims, but under current law they're allowed to stay in the country while waiting to be heard. Which is backed up years right now.

[Mister Mets]

Explosions in Iran according to Iran Media. They are saying this is the Israel response to the attack from a few days ago. Just two days ago Iran said if Israel attacks them they would go after Israel with a full massive counter attack.

JUst how bad are things going to get in the middle east?

In some good news, the strike is considered muted and Iran is downplaying it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/w...l-strikes.html

[hyped78]

People are claiming fear of returning, not poverty. No doubt a lot of those are bogus claims, but under current law they're allowed to stay in the country while waiting to be heard. Which is backed up years right now.

Yeah, this is a warped system (and has been way before the Biden admin, of course). Asylum should be for real asylum seekers (e.g. people from Afghanistan) and, for the rest there should be planned, legal migration to fill in labor gaps etc.

In some good news, the strike is considered muted and Iran is downplaying it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/w...l-strikes.html

Both sides save face. These have been telegraphed and measured attacks from side to side, anyways (with the exception of the initial Israeli attack in Damascus)

[hyped78]

"The world needs to understand the only thing standing between the Gazan people and a ceasefire is Hamas", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday morning from the G7 summit in Capri, Italy.

[mortari]

Could he enforce such a thing? From the GOP, I mean

I was thinking that no one in the GOP could afford to use him in the ads. So he'll only be appearing in the attack ads.

[Tami]

I was thinking that no one in the GOP could afford to use him in the ads. So he'll only be appearing in the attack ads.

Would be funny if Trump tried to charge the DNC for using his name in attack ads.

[Mister Mets]

Could he enforce such a thing? From the GOP, I mean

It depends on how serious he is, and whether he even remembers the request.

Institutions within the party could penalize politicians who don't abide by a rule. He could also just tell his supporters to vote for a candidate, and he is the major politician most likely to intentionally damage his party's prospects for spite.

[hyped78]

Would be funny if Trump tried to charge the DNC for using his name in attack ads.

They can say "Dump" instead of "Trump"