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We “rethink the week” with Dean Spiliotes, Professor and Civic Scholar at Southern NH University; and Ron Abramson, immigration lawyer in Manchester, NH. Our hearts are broken by the news of the two shootings this weekend, in El Paso, TX and in Dayton, OH. We hope — but are not optimistic — that these tragic events will spur our leaders and the public to take action to mitigate the gun crisis: including banning assault weapons, limiting, regulating, and monitoring access to guns; and possibly requiring people to turn in some or all of their weapons (as Australia did in the wake of the gun murders there).
We segued into a reflection on our country’s history of racism and whether we can change people’s prejudices, or whether it’s sufficient to prevent their biased harmful actions. And we discussed the 2020 election campaign, including which Democratic candidates for president are still viable after two debates. We agree that there is not much difference, on most issues, between the “progressive” candidates and the “centrist/moderate” candidates. Nor do we think there is much substance in the flap about whether Democrats should or shouldn’t criticize any of Pres. Obama’s actions. No president is perfect. All operate in a context that includes many competing forces: Congressional opposition to some or all of any proposed programs, the public’s reaction, the media’s spinning, and the sheer practicality of the federal budget. The Democratic candidates have engaged in a robust debate about various possible policy positions. That is simply what democracy looks like.
We also note the evolving developments regarding immigration policy. The government has closed the Homestead (FL) child detention center, and has removed all 3,000 chldren from that facility (busload by busload at 3:00 am). The closing of Homestead is, on the one hand, a testament to the power of ordinary people’s activism and persistent pressure on the Administration and on the many Democratic candidates seeking to replace them.
On the other hand, significant questions remain, such as: where were the Homestead children taken? Why were they removed in secrecy in the middle of the night? (I.e., what facts are being hidden from the public?) DHS says “many” of the children were sent to “sponsors,” but we don’t know whether “many” means 15 or 300 or 2,000, nor how many children were reunited with their parents or with their loving relatives (aunt, uncle, grandparents, cousins) or with family friends. How many kids were simply moved to a different child prison? What exactly is the government doing to find the kids’ parents and relatives, and to reunite these families?
So there is a lot of investigatory work to be done, by Congress, by Inspectors General, by investigative journalists, and by the public. At the same time, additional policy problems continue to develop. More and more people are fleeing violence in their home countries and seeking asylum in the U.S. Is the Border Patrol (CBP) still (illegally) refusing to let desperate families even file asylum claims, instead sending them back to “remain in Mexico” in dangerous violent conditions? How many more detention centers are being opened at different locations around the U.S.; how many people are being incarcerated in each; what are the conditions in those prisons? Is the government still separating children from their families, even after govt lawyers told the courts that they ended this inhumane policy, in the face of legal challenges?
