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Part One:
We speak with Kerri Talbot, Director of Federal Advocacy at The Immigration Hub, about the nightmare that is U.S. immigration policy under Pres. Trump. The problem is not exclusively Trump’s diversion of federal budget funds to build his wall, nor his holding refugee children in cages. Though not as high-profile issues, Trump has proposed stricter limitations on immigration (including sealing off the border) while, *at the same time*, he wants to issue up to 30,000 additional H-2B visas over the next 9 months (through Sept. 30). This is almost a 50% increase over the normal number of such visas (66,000). These visas provide legal status for immigrants in temporary nonfarm jobs such as landscaping, housekeeping in hotels, back-room work in restaurants, and the like. Not coincidentally, many such jobs need to be filled (at low wages and without health insurance benefits) in Trump’s own properties. Are his policies intended to be in the best interests of the United States, or merely of Donald Trump and his businesses?
Adding to the chaos is the way in which this Administration sets its policies. Stephen Miller appears to be the puppeteer, pulling the strings of the other players. At the same time, the White House “advisor” Jared Kushner is pushing his own immigration plan, while a group of Republican senators is trying to undermine Kushner’s plan and introducing their own legislation. Even Trump loyalists like Kirstjen Nielson (and many of her subordinates) are getting fired simply because they refused to take the extra step of breaking the law in order to accomplish the President’s goals.
Part Two:
We check in again with Steffen Schmidt, Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University, about the latest developments in politics, including:
— whether Mayor Pete Buttigieg is as progressive as we thought he was. As he writes more ideas onto his hitherto blank slate, he appears to look more like a centrist Democrat.
— whether the strongest advocates of progressive policies will, in fact, be a liability for the Democratic presidential ticket; or whether pivoting again toward the center will leave voters with no good reason to vote for the Democrats, resulting in Trump’s reelection.
— when, without any evidence at all, Attorney General William Barr accused the Obama administration of “spying” on the Trump campaign, did Barr disgrace his oath to enforce the law and uphold the constitution, or was he merely playing hardball politics (within appropriate bounds)?
