It seems the world of politics has become more about fighting the president and his administration than trying to solve the problems of our nation. Neither logic nor a legitimate cause seem to be prerequisites for liberals to sound the battle horn. Such is the case in the newest bid to sue the president over some perceived slight, racist act, or God-only-knows what else.
The City of Baltimore’s lawsuit was filed over welfare requirements and named President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the State Department as defendants. It “accuses the government of violating the Constitution's equal protection guarantees,” namely in regard to immigrants and what constitutes “public charge.”
The mayor’s office accused the president of unlawfully and secretively changing the definition of public charge to make it more difficult on immigrants to receive welfare upon entering and residing in the U.S.:
“…as part of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to expand the definition of 'public charge,' and thereby further restrict the admission of otherwise eligible individuals to enter the U.S., the State Department amended the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) in January 2018 to allow consular officers to consider whether visa applicants or their family members, including their U.S. citizen family members, had received noncash benefits.”
However, as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) noted:
“Public charge has been part of U.S. immigration law for more than 100 years as a ground of inadmissibility and deportation. An individual who is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible to the United States and ineligible to become a legal permanent resident. However, receiving public benefits does not automatically make an individual a public charge.”
Changes to the FAM booklet include adding some noncash benefits to the public charge definition such as free lunches, health programs, and Head Start. Baltimore city officials claim they already see drastic changes since implementation, saying, “the city's Head Start program has virtually ceased among the city's African immigrant population since the start of the 2018 school year.”
Children Are Our Future
Liberals claim it’s all about the children and starving families and how those in favor of stricter immigration laws are cruel and racist. They paint us in horrific profiles as heartless heathens sacrificing children at the president’s alter. But we all know what utter hogwash that is.
The parents are the ones who put their own children into danger, dragging them across countries with little or no food, medical care, proper clothing and so on. They are blindly taking their offspring to a country that is fraught in turmoil. Yet, here they come, demanding entry, food, shelter, medical care, education, and anything else they can bleed from us.
They know that we will provide them basics, including health programs and free lunches for their children, so perhaps the risk is worth it to them. By taking these incentives off the table, we may be able to discourage some of those just looking for a free ride while not dissuading those who really are seeking asylum or who wish to become productive participants in our nation.
The Illogical Left
But let’s take a logical look at the situation. We have a caravan of migrants marching toward our borders, demanding entry and acceptance, yet, how many of those “law abiding” people will become a productive part of our country, and how many are coming here just for the freebies the bleeding heart left are so determined to hand out? Are they not now receiving aid on their trek to the U.S.? What will they do when they arrive? How will they support themselves and their families? Do they have jobs waiting? How about housing, food, or clothing? Who is going to pay for their medical needs – of which there will probably be tons just with blisters from walking so many miles?
And the million-dollar question: Does this not automatically make them a “public charge” according to the USCIS even before the definition changes made this year?
USCIS defines “public charge” as an individual who is likely to become “primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance, or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.”
The USCIS guidelines clearly define three top cash assistance programs that automatically deem an immigrant as “inadmissible” and subject to deportation. They are:
Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
State or local cash assistance programs – “general assistance” programs.
Perhaps many of the migrants won’t be receiving SSI upon entry, but how many of the thousands marching here will receive TANF and other general assistance programs? These rules were not challenged or considered unconstitutional or racist until Trump became president. Now, when we have a horde of people threatening our borders, demanding that people seeking to enter our nation be “of a moral character” and productive part of society is a bad thing? That’s liberal thinking for you – as Spock would say, it’s illogical.
Oh, but of course we mustn’t forget that this change is race-motivated, right? This is the thinking of the Baltimore mayor’s office as they arrogantly professed, "The change was motivated by the Trump Administration's well-known hostility towards certain immigrant groups – most notably Hispanic, Asian, and African communities – and is a violation of the federal laws governing administrative agencies, including the Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection.”
The immigration control efforts are definitely targeted at a group, but it’s not as racist as the left would like to make it out to be. Immigration reform targets one very specific subset: Illegals. The majority of migrants just happen to be Hispanic, Asian and other nationalities that the liberals like to label as races to push their own misguided agenda.
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