Archive for June, 2017

Mayors to Trump: immigration orders meddle with cities – ABC News

Mayors are warning President Donald Trump that toughening immigration enforcement meddles with U.S. cities' affairs.

More than 250 mayors are meeting at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami Beach to take a stance on issues from climate change to the federal budget and health care. They are reviewing resolutions that would strongly oppose Trump's crack down on illegal immigration.

Mayors were struck a blow in January, when Trump ordered to cut funding to jurisdictions that deny in some way cooperation with federal immigration agents. Most cities have defied the order, and a federal judge blocked it in April, at least temporarily.

"Some of us are proud to be places of sanctuary, to protect immigrants, but this idea that we're in violation of something, I think is a big charade," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Garcetti argued that all he wants from immigration officials is that they conduct enforcement in a "lawful, constitutional, court-ordered way," referring to policies where sanctuary cities demand warrants to turn over suspects to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Police officers in Los Angeles do 20,000 to 30,000 requests for warrants from judges every year in the middle of the night when the judges are probably in their pajamas," Garcetti said. "The idea that ICE can't do the same thing seems ridiculous."

Mayors from big cities say they fear the increased enforcement will push immigrant communities into the shadows, deterring them to report crimes or cooperate as witnesses. The police chief of Los Angeles, Charlie Beck, said in March that sexual assaults and domestic violence reports by Latinos had dropped.

Miami-Dade County, which houses 34 municipalities including the conference host of Miami Beach, heeded Trump's January order and changed its policy so the corrections department honors all requests by ICE. Authorities have turned over 124 people to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since Jan. 27.

But GOP-identified mayors from states such as Indiana and Florida disagreed this weekend on targeting non-criminal immigrants solely for being in the country illegally.

Kent Guinn, mayor of Ocala, Florida, says that although he is against offering a pathway to citizenship to the 11.5 million immigrants who are in the country illegally, most immigrants he sees are "good."

"I don't think people realize there are some bad people that are here that need to leave," Guinn said. He referred to the 2015 shooting death of a San Francisco woman often highlighted by Trump when attacking sanctuary policies because the man charged with her death was in the country illegally and had been released by local law enforcement. "But the ones that we encounter on a day-to-day basis, they're very hard-working individuals that do the things that they need to do and participate in the economy. They work on horse farms, in restaurants. We see them. They're good people. We're not going around looking for them."

The Republican Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, Jim Brainard, who is also bucking his party on the climate front, says he opposes Trump's immigration views.

"Punishing cities makes no sense," Brainard said. "Everyone who has come to this country, regardless of whether it was illegal, ought to have a pathway to legalization and then we can move to issues that really can help make our country better."

Besides opposing the order on sanctuary cities, several mayors propose extending a deportation reprieve granted by former President Barack Obama to young immigrants who arrived illegally. Trump had vowed to end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, calling it "illegal executive amnesty" but has not yet decided whether he will revoke it.

ICE said it arrested more than 41,000 people on immigration charges in Trump's first 100 days in office, an increase of nearly 40 percent from the same period a year earlier. Nearly 11,000 had no criminal convictions, more than double the number of immigrants without criminal convictions that were arrested during a comparable period last year.

Adriana Gomez Licon is on Twitter http://twitter.com/agomezlicon

Marcos Martinez is on Twitter http://twitter.com/marcosmchacon

See the original post:
Mayors to Trump: immigration orders meddle with cities - ABC News

Analysis: Mike Pence Works the Trenches – Roll Call – Roll Call

Donald Trump and Mike Pence are the most effective pitchers in the Republican bullpen. The president has the starpower and gets the headlines, but the vice presidents emerging role could be just as valuable.

Trump is the flame-throwing closer with one pitch: his signature sharp rhetoric that metaphorically is his political fastball. But Pences recent public appearances showcase his role as the in-the-trenches long reliever who huddles with GOP members and reassures key constituent groups, and could be even more valuable.

The pairs recent schedules show a stark contrast that brings their roles into focus.

Trump on Friday entered the ornate East Room of the White House to sign a bill tailored to help military veterans get better care. In doing so, the commander in chief claimed a major personal achievement. It was carried live by cable news networks.

[Trump Boasts Tapes Bluff Forced Comeys Truthful Testimony]

On Wednesday night, Trump was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he, for over an hour, attacked his foes, made bold promises and listed the achievements of what he views as the most productive presidency at this point in U.S. history. The campaign-style rally lit Twitter on fire, made the front pages of all the major newspapers, and is still being replayed in soundbyte form on every network.

The same cannot be said of Pences recent public speeches.

The vice presidentquietly goes about the methodical business of delivering Trumps often searing populist message and governing vision in a friendlier, more conservative package.

That certainly was the case Friday, when Air Force Two landed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Penceaddressed a conference put on by Focus on the Family, the self-describedglobal Christian ministry that provides help and resources for couples to build healthy marriages that reflect Gods design.

Its just the kind of conservative group with which Trump, a thrice-married Manhattanite who appeared often on Howard Sterns then-raunchy radio show and has made caught-on-tape remarks that made many religious peoplecringe, has an unlikely and shaky alliance.

The same cannot be said of Pence, who is very much at home with Christian conservatives.

The previous day, there was Pence, addressing a conference of contractors and builders in Washington. And he hailed them in terms that neatly aligned with core Republican principles.

You champion fiscal responsibility and individual freedom, Pence said. And I promise you, the American people are grateful that you are a champion for American values.

As he typically does when addressing an issue-specific group, the vice president a career politician and Washington veteran makes clear its importance to the Trump-Pence agenda.

This president has promised, simply put, in his words, to rebuild America, Pence said in his radio-trained voice. And its businesses like yours that are going to play such a leading role in doing that. Ahead of schedule and under budget, right?

The same was true on Tuesday, when the former Indiana governor and congressman spoke to a National Association of Manufacturers summit, just the kind of voters that went for the Trump-Pence ticket in November in key Rust Belt states that helped put the GOP ticket over the top.

[Trump Says Senate GOP Health Care Holdouts Are Four Good Guys]

Since your founding more than 120 years ago, the National Association of Manufacturers has fought tirelessly for the time-honored American principles of free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty, and equal opportunity, Pence said.

And not only do you advocate for the businesses in this room, you really advocate for America itself. American manufacturers are the beating heart of our national life and always will be, the vice presidentsaid to applause before delivering the line designed to tie the group directly to his and the presidents agenda ahead of their expected 2020 re-election bid.

To borrow a phrase, Pence said, manufacturers make America and they make America great.

Michael Steel, a former aide to 2016 GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, said Penceis a natural choice for such targeted outreach because he possesses a deep background dealing with a range of individual interest groups across a spectrum of issues.

Jerri Ann Henry, a GOP political strategist, said the vice president provides a calming presence to groups who are inundated with speculation about Trumps plans and loyalties. Pence calms those concerns.

He has a lot of credibility with some of the hard-right groups like Focus on the Family, credibility Trump doesnt have even if those groups supported him, Henry said. Through all of the chaos of this administration, I think it is safe to say Pence is without question the most valuable player.

Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.

Follow this link:
Analysis: Mike Pence Works the Trenches - Roll Call - Roll Call

Mike Pence officiates the wedding of Steve Mnuchin and Louise Linton – Washington Post

Knot, tied in style: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and actress/producer Louise Linton wed on Saturday night at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium.

The nuptials had a few flourishes beyond your typical rich-people-wedding drill Vice President Mike Pence officiated, while guests included President Trump and his wife, Melania, and first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband and White House adviser, Jared Kushner.

[The best quotes from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins fiancee on her jaw-dropping jewels]

The bride, 36, wore a full-skirted gown befitting a princess (albeit one who likes a neckline that plunges nearly to the navel) and heaps of diamonds. Its the third marriage for Mnuchin, 54, a former Goldman Sachs exec, and the second for the Scottish-born Linton, whose acting credits include a 2009 episode of Cold Case and the 2016 horror movie Cabin Fever.

Other VIP guests included Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his wife, Hilary Geary Ross; Secretary of Veteran Affairs David Shulkin; White House press secretary Sean Spicer and his wife, Rebecca Miller; and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

Here is the original post:
Mike Pence officiates the wedding of Steve Mnuchin and Louise Linton - Washington Post

‘Handmaid’s Tale’ protesters greet Mike Pence at Colorado speech – ABC News

Protesters outfitted in red robes and white bonnets -- the signature look of "handmaids" in the Hulu series "The Handmaid's Tale" -- greeted Vice President Mike Pence Friday outside a speaking engagement in Colorado at the conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family.

"The Handmaid's Tale" is set in a dystopian future, where fertile women are forced into sexual servitude and identifiable by their distinct wardrobe.

The robe-wearing protesters -- who were part of a larger group of about 100, according to Colorado Springs ABC affiliate KRDO -- carried signs that read "Abort Mike Pence," "Stop Targeting Women's Healthcare" and "Stop Teaching Hate."

"This organization believes being gay is a sin and that it's possible to convert people from being gay to straight -- it's ridiculous," robe-and-bonnet-wearing protester Nancy Stilwagen told KRDO of Focus on the Family. "So many people say we don't want Sharia Law in this country. People are pushing it. It's just not Islamic law. It's Christian law."

Stilwagen carried a sign that read, "The Handmaid's Tale is not an instruction manual. It's a WARNING."

Pence told the audience of 1,650 that the organization should rekindle its interest in politics, especially in light of the Trump administration's proposal to slash funding to Planned Parenthood.

"The time is now," Pence said, explaining that former President Barack Obama's health law is "dead."

And then to a roar of applause and approval, he said, "This is when we are going to defund Planned Parenthood once and for all."

See the article here:
'Handmaid's Tale' protesters greet Mike Pence at Colorado speech - ABC News

Mike Pence Sums up Trumpcare Perfectly: "No Money, No Healthcare" – The Daily Banter


The Daily Banter
Mike Pence Sums up Trumpcare Perfectly: "No Money, No Healthcare"
The Daily Banter
If you wanted to summarize the Trump Administration's priorities when it comes to repealing Obamacare getting their bastardized health care plan passed, Vice President Mike Pence did just that on his Twitter page. In what looks like an attempt to ...

Here is the original post:
Mike Pence Sums up Trumpcare Perfectly: "No Money, No Healthcare" - The Daily Banter