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Published Mar 12, 2020 at 8:00 am(Updated Mar 12, 2020 at 7:59 am)

Meeting place: There will be a meeting at the town hall tonight about immigration legislation (File photograph)

A town hall meeting will take place today to discuss new immigration legislation tabled in the House of Assembly.

People are invited to CedarBridge Academy for the meeting about amendments to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act.

National security minister Wayne Caines said the proposed intentions of the Bill would be detailed line by line, page by page.

The legislation, tabled by Mr Caines last Friday and scheduled for debate tomorrow, aims to solve the problems of mixed-status families and settle the status of children born overseas to Bermudian parents.

Further reform is planned that will also affect permanent residents certificates and Bermudian status, belongers, such as naturalised British Overseas Territories citizens and the spouses of Bermudians, and the status of job-makers.

Mr Caines told the House last Friday that the Government was committed to ensuring comprehensive immigration reform.

He said that progress requires time, resources, collaboration with stakeholders and strong leadership on this issue.

The meeting takes place in the schools cafeteria from 6pm to 8pm

Originally posted here:
Town hall meeting on immigration Bill - Royal Gazette

A large majority of Hispanic voters in battleground districts are "almost certain" to turn out to vote in November, according to research conducted for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus's (CHC) campaign arm, Bold PAC.

According to the research, 78 percent of Hispanic registered voters are "almost certain" to vote and 48 percent are "extremely enthusiastic."Pollstersalso noted that "with an average enthusiasm rating of 7.83 out of 10, there are still opportunities to further generate voter enthusiasm."

Latino Decisions polled Hispanic registered voters in battleground districts in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Texasand presented its finding in an internal memo reviewed by The Hill.

The stakes of Novembers elections are high and we are not taking anything or anyone for granted. Thats why the DCCC is building on our partnership with BOLD PAC to make aggressive investments to engage and earn the support of Latino voters in communities across the country, said DCCC Chairwoman Cheri BustosCheryl (Cheri) Lea BustosAnnual Congressional Dinner pushed back to June amid coronavirus concerns Internal Democratic research shows Hispanics energized to vote in November McCarthy blasts Democrats' campaign arm for ads against Republicans on coronavirus response MORE (Ill.) in a statement.

The memo shows Hispanic voters in those battleground districts are responsive to issues that Democrats traditionally emphasize, particularly health care.

Affordable, quality health care has consistently polled as a top issue for Hispanic voters.

According to the memo, "health care is the single most mobilizing message" for Latinos, who said they are equally likely to favor expansion of the Affordable Care Act or creating new plans to expand coverage.

And 65 percent of Hispanic voters see President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump faces toughest crisis of presidency in coronavirus House passes bill to help prop up economy from coronavirus White House physician: Trump doesn't require test after exposure to 2 people with coronavirus MORE's tax cuts as having mainly benefited the wealthy and corporations, according to the research, somewhat undercuttinghis economic message toward Latinos.

In 2018, Democrats overwhelmingly won Hispanic voters with record midterm turnout, in part by painting the 2017 tax cuts as benefiting only the rich.In that election, Democrats also promoted the message that Republicans are "hostile" toward Latinos, citing the administration's policies and rhetoric on immigration.

We cannot expect people to turn out if we do not put in the time to listen to them and address their top priorities. Our research investments will ensure that Latino voters are both heard and reflected in our strategy to protect and expand the most diverse House Majority in our nations history, said Bustos.

That message is likely to resonate again in 2020, according to the memo, which says "the Washington Republican brand is badly damaged in the eyes of Latino voters," but cautions there is still space for Democrats to actively engage Latino voters.

Rep. Veronica EscobarVeronica EscobarInternal Democratic research shows Hispanics energized to vote in November Trump to deploy 160 troops to border following court rulings Polls show big bounce to Biden ahead of Super Tuesday MORE (D-Texas) applauded the report, saying that investments in Hispanic voter research could help Democrats hold on to their House majority.

The road to ensuring we protect and expand our House majority will run through Latino voters and we must give them a reason to vote for us. Democrats presence on the ground is helping bolster the important work of a number of grassroots organizations and leaders who have long been engaging with the Latino community. This investment is vital to changing the electorate and flipping swing districts in Texas and across the country, said Escobar, who represents the freshman class in leadership.

The report found Trump's approval ratings among Latinos vary geographically, but overall 65 percent of Hispanics disapprove of the president while 35 percent approve. Among Nevada Hispanic voters, for example, Trump scored better with only a 56 percent disapproval rate, while that rate is 63 percent in Texas and 73 percent in Arizona.

The research also found that Latino voters are open to multiple messages on immigration reform, including a comprehensive immigration reform package.

The road to retaining and expanding our Democratic majority runs through the Latino community. Thats why CHC Bold PAC is proud to once again partner with the DCCC to conduct critical research on our nation's growing and diverse Latino community in key battleground states like Florida, Arizona, and Texas, saidBold PAC Chairman Rep. Tony Crdenas (D-Calif).

By making these investments on Latino voters early, Democrats are taking important steps to mobilize Latinos across the country and get them to the polls this November, he added.

The memo concluded that Democrats should focus on health care, immigration and the economy to keep Hispanic voters incentivized to vote.

"To generate further enthusiasm from Latino voters, candidates must be relatable to the working class, culturally competent, and use their presence to show Latinos that they care about the community," reads the memo.

Latino Decisions is a Democratic polling firm that specializes in researching Hispanic voter intent. The firm recently conducted polls that accurately predicted record Hispanic turnout in early primary and caucus states.

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Internal Democratic research shows Hispanics energized to vote in November | TheHill - The Hill

Rep. Mark Meadows, once a House member bucking his partys leadership and pushing the limits of conservatism on Capitol Hill, will join the new vanguard of the Republican Party as President Trumps chief of staff.

Mr. Trump tapped the retiring North Carolina Republican last week to join his administration, the latest development in their unwavering alliance over the past few years.

This nobody from nowhere has lived the American dream on the political sense, where you have influence but only because of the people, Mr. Meadows recently told The Washington Times Tim Constantine. Its their power; its not mine.

He often describes his rise in politics and in business as a journey from humble if not poor beginnings.

Mr. Meadows, 60, grew up in Florida and once described himself in an interview with The Tampa Bay Times as a fat nerd when he was in school.

He went on to spend nearly 30 years creating and running small businesses before he was elected to Congress in 2012.

In the 1980s, he opened a sandwich shop called Aunt Ds after moving to North Carolina.

He later sold the shop and turned to real estate, first opening a development company called Meadows Mountain Realty, which he later sold, and then Highlands Properties.

He and his wife, Debbie, have two sons and a granddaughter.

In 2014, he was one of the co-founders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which he headed from 2017 to 2019.

The group of tea-party-style hard-liners has a reputation for rebelling against House Republican leadership and occasionally the president.

Under Mr. Meadows, the Freedom Caucus posed a challenge to Republican leaders when the party had the majority, fracturing the party when moderate Republicans were willing to make deals on spending or immigration reform. In 2015, he was one of the leading lawmakers calling for then-House Speaker John A. Boehners ouster as head of the chamber.

However, with Republicans in the minority since last year, the conference has unified, particularly when it comes to defending Mr. Trump and Republican policies.

Mr. Meadows has been at the forefront of that effort, particularly during the impeachment proceedings. He was a constant presence during the 12 weeks of closed-door depositions, sitting on the sidelines during the public hearings, and was a member of the presidents defense team during the trial.

Mark Meadows is smart, loyal, a true patriot. Hes a good man and my best friend, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, fellow Freedom Caucus co-founder, tweeted after Trumps announcement. Couldnt have picked anyone better for the job.

Mark Meadows has been a strong advocate for the president [and] the America First agenda from the start. Congrats, Mark! tweeted Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.

In December, the four-term congressman announced he was retiring from Congress, reviving longtime speculation that he was under consideration to serve in the administration.

In that way, his elevation to a top White House post seemed as inevitable as it was unlikely.

This president and his administration have a long list of incredible victories theyve delivered to the country during this first term, with the best yet to come and I look forward to helping build on that success and staying in the fight for the forgotten men and women of America, Mr. Meadows said when accepting the job. In particular, I want to recognize my friend Mick Mulvaney. Mick is smart, principled, and as tough a fighter youll find in Washington, D.C. He did a great job leading the presidents team through a tremendous period of accomplishment over the last year-plus.

Still, serving as the presidents right-hand man is a much more fickle position than representing the consistently Republican voters of his North Carolina district.

Mr. Meadows will be Mr. Trumps fourth chief of staff in that many years. The first, Reince Priebus, lasted only 192 days. John F. Kelly, the second chief of staff, lasted much longer but left the administration in December 2018 not on good terms.

Mick Mulvaney, a former Freedom Caucus member, is the acting chief of staff. He will become the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland.

Where Mr. Meadows was a reliable support for the president throughout the impeachment process, Mr. Mulvaney found himself in hot water after he linked military aid for Ukraine to investigations into the presidents political rivals fueling Democrats impeachment case.

While Mr. Meadows will be a new face in the Oval Office, Democrats are not optimistic their former colleague will be able to mend the tense relationship between the Trump White House and the House of Representatives.

The big problem at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is President Donald John Trump. And until we change that situation, nothing is likely to change, Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York told The Washington Times.

Mr. Meadows will be starting in his position soon, though the timing is not exactly clear the incoming chief of staff just finished a self-quarantine, which he started Monday after coming into contact with someone who was infected with the new coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month.

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Mark Meadows' journey from 'fat nerd' to Trump chief of staff - Washington Times

Kevin Euceda, a 17-year-old Honduran boy, arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border three years ago and was turned over to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services until his request for asylum could be decided by immigration courts. During that interim period, he was required, as are all unaccompanied minors in custody, to meet with therapists to help him process what he had gone through.

In those sessions, Kevin was encouraged to speak freely and openly and was told that what he said would be kept confidential. So he poured out his story of a brutalized childhood, of how MS-13 gang members moved into the family shack after his grandmother died when he was 12, of how he was forced to run errands, sell drugs and, as he got older, take part in beating people up. When he was ordered to kill a stranger to cement his position in the gang, Kevin decided to run.

His therapists submitted pages of notes over several sessions to the file on him, as they were expected to do. But then, HHS officials without the knowledge of the teen or the therapists shared the notes with lawyers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who used them in immigration court to paint the young migrant as a dangerous gang member who should be denied asylum and sent back to Honduras. In sharing those therapy notes, the government did not break any laws. But it most assuredly broke its promise of confidentiality to Kevin, violated standard professional practices the first therapist involved quit once she learned her notes had been shared and offended a fundamental expectation that people cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in this country.

Kevin, whose story was detailed by the Washington Post, wasnt the only unaccompanied minor to fall victim to the governments atrocious behavior, though how many have been affected is unknown. The government says it has changed that policy and no longer shares confidential therapy notes, but thats not particularly reassuring coming from this administration. It adopted the policy once, it could easily do so again.

Last week, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the Immigrants Mental Health Act of 2020 to ban the practice, which is a necessary preventive measure. The bill would also create a new training regimen to help border agents address mental health issues among migrants and require at least one mental health expert at each Customs and Border Patrol facility. Both of those steps are worth considering too.

That the government would so callously use statements elicited from unaccompanied minors in therapy sessions to undercut their asylum applications is part of the Trump administrations broad and inhumane efforts to effectively shut off the United States as a destination for people seeking to exercise their right to ask for sanctuary. Jeff Sessions and his successor as attorney general, William Barr, have injected themselves into cases at an unprecedented rate to unilaterally change long-established practices and immigration court precedent.

They have been able to do so because immigration courts are administrative and part of the Justice Department, not the federal court system, and as a result they have politicized what should be independent judicial evaluations of asylum applications and other immigration cases.

There are legitimate policy discussions to be had over how this government should handle immigration, asylum requests and broad comprehensive immigration reform. In the meantime, no government has the right to treat people with such abject inhumanity. History will remember Trump for this, but it will also remember the people who enable such atrocious acts.

Read the rest here:
Another View: Our government is using migrants' therapy against them - Marshall News Messenger

I am proud to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders for president of the United States.

While I consider Joe Biden, his opponent for the Democratic Party nomination, a decent man, I stand with Sanders.

"In the face of Trump, many seek shelter in the safe, the establishment, the so-called moderate. We should not forget the record of moderate, establishment candidates from Walter Mondale in 1984 to Mike Dukakis in 1988 to Hillary Clinton in 2016."

Here is why.

I stand with Sanders because it is vital that President Donald Trump be voted out of office in November. Poll after poll has shown that Bernie Sanders leads Trump, generally with a greater margin than other contenders. Sanders has the highest popular approval rating of any public official in America.

That is not because he is warm and fuzzy. It is because people know that he tells it like it is. Integrity and credibility are two essential attributes in taking on a con man like Donald Trump who lies constantly.

Sanders has the history, the vision and the platform to defeat Trump. He is best situated to expose Trumps fake populism. He voted against the corporate trade treaties and can expose the presidents broken promise to workers on trade. He opposed the war in Iraq and can expose Trumps broken promise to end the forever wars. He led the call to build an economy that works for working people and can expose the reality that what Trump calls the best economy ever still does not work for most Americans.

Sanders champions an agenda that will address the fundamental challenges facing working people. That includes Medicare for All to ensure that health care is a right, not a privilege something particularly imperative in the age of coronavirus. A Green New Deal that addresses the existential threat of climate change while creating millions of good jobs.

Tuition free college and large investment in education and advanced training so that every child can get the education he or she needs. A $15 minimum wage, politics to empower workers and unions, and a trade policy that works for working people. Comprehensive immigration reform, universal childcare, criminal justice reform to end mass incarceration and more.

Sanders will beat Trump by summoning America to a new day, not by calling for a return to yesterday.

"We win when we bring the working class and the middle class together, when we stand for diversity against division, for the poor against greed. No candidate has done more to forge that coalition than Bernie Sanders."

Democrats cannot defeat Trump without inspiring young people to come out and vote in large numbers. Sanders is the only candidate who has inspired a new generation and earned their overwhelming support.

In the face of Trump, many seek shelter in the safe, the establishment, the so-called moderate. We should not forget the record of moderate, establishment candidates from Walter Mondale in 1984 to Mike Dukakis in 1988 to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Democrats do not fare well as the party of Wall Street or the credit card companies. We win when we bring the working class and the middle class together, when we stand for diversity against division, for the poor against greed. No candidate has done more to forge that coalition than Bernie Sanders.

Dr. Martin Luther King would be proud that African American voters are called the black firewall in the 2020 campaign. He would ask a simple question: What will be the return on the firewalls investment?

With the exception of Native Americans, African Americans are the people suffering the greatest social and economic distress in the United States. Our needs are not moderate. The most progressive social and economic path gives us the best chance to catch up and Sanders represents that path.

Biden is a decent man, but he has a different record. We said no to Clarence Thomas, he said yes. We said no to the Crime Bill, he championed it. We said no to the Iraq War, he cheered it on. We favored affirmative action, he sought to limit it.

Biden has done well among African American voters largely because he is seen as connected to Barack Obama. Yet he was placed on the ticket to balance it, not to enhance it. Biden has offered no vision and no bold reforms. He offers safe haven and moderation.

But his moderation does little to address the pain of African Americans, or of working people generally. What does moderate mean when people dont have affordable health care? Or when students are crushed by debt in order to get an education? Or when workers are undermined by trade treaties written in executive suites?

"Sanders... represents not the left wing, but the moral center. Health care for all is the moral center. Tuition free college is the moral center. A Middle East policy that recognizes both Israel and Palestine, the moral center."

Sanders, on the other hand, is called a radical, a man of the left. But he represents not the left wing, but the moral center. Health care for all is the moral center. Tuition free college is the moral center. A Middle East policy that recognizes both Israel and Palestine, the moral center.

When he asked for my endorsement, I expressed my concerns about pressing issues.

Sanders was happy to confirm his commitment to almost all of them, ranging from Medicare for All, to a wealth tax that would provide funds to reinvest in America, to large-scale investment in public education, to ensuring that every teacher is paid at least $60,000 per year, to putting an African American woman on the Supreme Court, to promising an end to endless wars.

In 1988 when I ran for president championing a Medicare for All plan, Sanders, then mayor of Burlington, endorsed me. Now I am proud to stand with him not only because he stood with me, but because he stands with working people across this country.

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I Support Bernie Sanders Because He Is Only Candidate Who Inspires a New Generation - Common Dreams