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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decision to airlift 48 migrants from San Antonio, Texas to the island resort of Marthas Vineyard, Mass. last week was depthless in its cruelty and cynicism, evoking the worst of Americas nativist and segregationist history.

But if there was one benefit to this singular act of exploitation for shameless political gain, its that it has refocused broader public attention on our national failure to address immigration reform during a campaign season in which it is an animating issue for Republicans.

And with control of Congress, and governors mansions across the country on the ballot on Nov. 8, DeSantis cruelty also should underline the stakes of a Republican takeover for voters whom data show favor a welcoming immigration policy, but who do not necessarily put reform at the top of their priorities list.

And as the past week has shown, the need is both urgent and real.

We need solutions, not theater, Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, told CBSs Face the Nation, last week as news of DeSantis stunt roiled the headlines. The migrants are human beings, and weve got to treat them like human beings. They are being used as political pawns to get publicity.

As the Los Angeles Times editorial board recently pointed out, there is real trouble at the nations southern border. Apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol rose by more than 22% between July and August.

Thus, a lack of enforcement is not the issue a lack of political will, exacerbated by posturing, is driving this humanitarian crisis.

Its been nearly 40 years since Congress last took substantive action on immigration reform, passing the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, under then-President Ronald Reagan.

And while there has been some tinkering around the edges since then, substantive reform has remained stubbornly elusive, with the increased polarization of Capitol Hill becoming the primary stumbling block to reform.

If you start trying to get into the issue of immigration, this consumes all the air in the room, all the energy in the room, Southern Methodist University political scientist James Hollifield told the Cape Cod Times. So I can understand why theres a reluctance on the executive branch to get into this.

Polling data, however, is a reminder that there is a path to the middle if lawmakers can summon the courage, and overcome partisan divisions, to find their way there.

Seven in 10 Americans supported a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in a NewsNation poll released earlier this year. Voters in nine critical battleground states also said Congress should move to protect Dreamers, or young people who were illegally brought to the country by their parents while still children.

DeSantis has defended his decision with a deflection, telling Fox News personality Sean Hannity that the reaction to his headline grab is really frustrating. Millions of people since [Joe] Bidens been president, illegally coming across the southern border. Did they freak out about that? No.

Youve had migrants die in the Rio Grande you had 50 die in Texas in a trailer because they were being neglected. Was there a freakout about that? No, there wasnt, DeSantis added.

DeSantis latter assertion is laughably false. The deaths of the 53 migrants who perished in July in whats been described as the deadliest human smuggling case in modern U.S. history, made national headlines. Earlier this month, one of the men charged in the case was denied bond, underscoring the seriousness of the matter.

Of course, DeSantis has reason to deflect. On Monday, a Texas sheriff, elected as a Democrat, announced hed opened a criminal investigation into what he described as an abuse of human rights in connection with the flight, Politico reported.

What we understand is a Venezuelan migrant was paid a bird-dog fee to recruit 50 migrants who were then were lured and I will use the word lured under false pretenses to staying in a hotel for a few days, then taken to an airplane where they were flown to Florida and then Marthas Vineyard under false pretenses of being offered jobs, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. For what we can gather, a little more than a photo op, a video op and then they were left there.

DeSantis, an inheritor of Trumpism and a widely mentioned 2024 GOP presidential hopeful, has been unrepentant about his stunt, insisting to Foxs Hannity that sanctuary communities such as Marthas Vineyard said they wanted this, they said they were a sanctuary jurisdiction.

Twenty-one years ago this month, speaking to Muslim leaders, and preaching the discarded gospel of compassionate conservatism, President George W. Bush reminded us theres more that brings us together than keeps us apart.

That seems a very long time ago, indeed.

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DeSantis' compassionless act underscores urgency for real immigration reform: Opinion column by John L. Micek - The Wellsboro Gazette

Immigration has muscled its way into the top four issues in the midterm elections, joining inflation, cost of living, violent crime and abortion rights as potential turning points in the control of Congress. Its emergence has come amid accusations of hypocrisy and inhumane treatment, as well as threats of criminal investigations.

The arrival on Marthas Vineyard of 50 immigrants on planes sent by Floridas Republican governor Ron DeSantis ignited all-out war on social and traditional media, momentarily eclipsing the more dominant issues of the past several months and undercutting President Bidens increasingly favorable public approval numbers.

In sending the migrants to the island off the Massachusetts coast, DeSantis joined Republican governors of Texas and Arizona, who have sent 13,000 immigrants since April on buses to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago all self-declared sanctuary cities led by Democrats to protest the administrations failure to control illegal border crossings.

While the governors have routinely been criticized by Democrats for their immigrant relocation policies, it was the migrants arrival on Marthas Vineyard that exploded across the country and produced the rancorous response, including demands that criminal charges be lodged against the chief executives.

The governors and their supporters accused opponents of the rankest sort of hypocrisy for boasting their cities were sanctuaries and welcoming to immigrants, only to demand millions in federal assistance to meet the cost of accommodating them, contending they were ill equipped to manage the influx or by sending them to neighboring communities.

The Republican governors message couldnt have been more direct: The noble motives and virtue signaling of elitist Democrats existed only while illegal immigration was confined to the border states, collapsing quickly when it came to their cities.

While the White House was quick to join the condemnation of the governors actions, it drew increased focus to its record in dealing with the crisis at the southern border.

The administration was not helped by the demonstrably false assertion by Vice President Kamala Harris that the border was secure. Within days of her comment, U. S. Customs and Border Protection announced 2.1 million border encounters in the last year the highest number in history.

Undaunted, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated Harris claim and like Harris argued the previous administration was responsible.

Democrats were nearly unanimous in condemning the governors, accusing them of cruelty, guilty of human trafficking and using innocent individuals fleeing violence and official corruption in their native countries as political pawns.

No evidence to support trafficking allegations has surfaced yet and there is little Democrats can do to block further transporting migrants to northern cities. The governors have insisted coercion has not been used, that migrants voluntarily board buses or planes to be re-located and that no laws have been broken.

The impact on the financial and social welfare resources of border communities has been crushing according to the governors, forced to bear the burden of caring for and accommodating thousands of migrants but lacking the wherewithal to do so adequately.

The rise in the flow of illegal drugs across the border has added significantly to the difficulties faced by the border towns and elsewhere by narcotics distribution networks.

Partisan politics are certainly at play in the governors actions but engaging in it is a practice familiar to both parties and on a great many conflicting issues.

If the issue of immigration reform is to be addressed comprehensively and fairly, though, Democrats and Republicans must lay down their rhetorical weapons and actions and commit to finding a solution.

Packing families in buses or planes and sending them to distant parts of the nation to score political points accomplishes nothing toward an answer.

At the same time, embracing a policy of denial robs the administration of credibility and suggests it is indifferent to the plight of migrants and unable to offer a viable solution.

The emergence of immigration as a factor in an election only seven weeks off should be sufficient incentive to deal with it in a manner it deserves.

Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University in New Jersey. You can reach him at[emailprotected]

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Carl Golden: Immigration a top issue again ahead of the midterms - Press Herald

The UK should not increase immigration to help boost economic growth, a recent poll of Express.co.uk readers has found. Prime Minister Liz Truss is planning on increasing immigration to support the UK economy. Reforms to Britains visa system including increasing the occupations shortage list will help encourage talent to Britain and cover labour shortages.

Ms Truss is planning to raise the cap on seasonal agricultural workers from the current six-month limit, according to The Sun.

English-language requirements could also be lowered to help more people qualify for visas, according to an article citing a Downing Street official.

Another Government source told the Times: We need to put measures in place so that we have the right skills that the economy, including the rural economy, needs to stimulate growth.

That will involve increasing numbers in some areas and decreasing in others. As the prime minister has made clear, we also want to see people who are economically inactive get back into work.

In response, Express.co.uk ran a poll from 2pm on Sunday, September 25, to 8am on Wednesday, September 28, asking readers: Should UK increase immigration to boost economic growth?

A total of 12,001votes were cast, with the vast majority of readers, 88 percent (10,501 people), answering no, the UK should not increase immigration to boost economic growth.

Whereas, 12 percent (1,403 people) said yes and a further 97 people said they did not know.

Thousands of comments were left below the accompanying article as readers debated the UKs immigration policies.

Most readers were against the UK accepting more migrants, with username SteveWard commenting: No, this does not benefit the country.

Username Grimreaper said: No more, we have too many here now.

Some readers argued the UK did not have the space or infrastructure to support more migrants.

Username WHAT? said: So where will the housing, hospitals, doctors, dentists, energy, water supply, sewage disposal, schools, and transport infrastructure come from to cope with more people?

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Other readers argued that any immigration needed to be controlled, with username Username BillJackson writing: We should be more selective on whom we let into the UK.

Username Malph said: I have no issues with immigration to fill jobsas long as it is controlled.

Another, username KING RUFUS, said: If they are of some use to the UK CONTROLLED IMMIGRATION ONLY.

And username hopeful56 said: We all know we need controlled immigration where this country can select the most qualified for the job positions available.

Ms Truss plans reportedly face resistance from Brexiteers, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

Immigration reform plans are due to be shared by the Government later this year.

Link:
No more! Liz Truss warned against increasing immigration - Express

Women from across Idaho joined a Zoom call on a Wednesday evening in mid-September. There were teachers. A school board member. One woman who is running for office, and one who ran in 2018. They gathered virtually from their corners of the state to talk about public schools and how they, as members of the Idaho chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, could influence education policy.

The Idaho group began taking shape about five years ago, following the creation of the national nonprofit Mormon Women for Ethical Government. Many of the members are women who faithful to a religion that tends to be culturally conservative and Republican-aligned describe being alarmed by the increasing vitriol and manufactured outrage in Idaho politics.

The women of MWEG are politically diverse, said Jennifer Walker Thomas, co-executive director of the national organization. The group is nonpartisan, with members whose beliefs span the liberal-conservative spectrum. They are stay-at-home mothers, employed outside the home, single, married, they just really run the gamut of what women experience, she said.

Nationally, the MWEG organization is focused on protecting democracy, bipartisan immigration reform, environmental issues and anti-racism efforts. State chapters have leeway in what they choose to work on to further MWEGs mission at the state level, Thomas said.

Like the greater MWEG organization, the Idaho chapter hit its stride when the pandemic pushed gatherings online.

The main MWEG organization has thousands of members who contribute money, volunteer time or advocacy work and who participate in online discussion groups whose rules stress civility and finding common ground.

There are about 250 women affiliated with MWEG who live in Idaho. The Idaho MWEG private discussion group on Facebook had about 200 members as of mid-September.

The organizations membership is open to all women even those who arent part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as long as you dont mind that most of us are, the membership website says. Members must abide by the groups Six Principles of Peacemaking such as choosing love over hate and demanding great tolerance for people and none for injustice.

Men cannot join, but they can choose to support the group through a Friend of MWEG membership.

There are a lot of women who, six years ago, would have said, Oh, I'm absolutely Republican. But they now no longer necessarily identify as Republican, but they still feel inherently conservative.

Jennifer Walker Thomas, co-executive director of MWEG

Looking for a place to talk about politics with truth and respect

Rebecca Bratsman grew up in a family with mixed political beliefs. That made conversations around the dinner table more interesting and thought-provoking, but they were respectful and fact-based discussions, she said.

At the beginning of the pandemic, it was like people lost their minds, said Bratsman, a 40-year-old writer from Boise who joined MWEG in March 2020.

She was teaching English to students in China when the pandemic hit. As Bratsman witnessed her students living through the early days of the novel coronavirus, the virus was already politicized in the U.S.

It was around the time people were calling it the Chinese flu, and I was like, That is racist. You know that, right? Bratsman said.

She went looking for a forum where she could talk about what was happening in the U.S. and the world. She found the MWEG Facebook group.

I joined the group, and I came in swinging. I was ready to argue, she said, laughing.

But the group has ground rules. One of those rules is that some topics are off-limits same-sex marriage and abortion, for example because they have proven to be incendiary even in a group that strives for rational debate.

Part of the discussion group is to teach women, you have to have boundaries to discuss things, Bratsman said. She has learned to apply those boundaries in her conversations, pausing a heated discussion to say something like, What you said to me is a personal attack, so please rephrase.

Bratsman took on a role for MWEG in helping to inform members about media literacy and misinformation.

Her research and practice over the past two years has helped her to reach across political divides in her own family. Her siblings and friends with differing political beliefs now approach what they read online with more skepticism, sometimes sending her a meme or article with a request to fact-check it with them.

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Idaho MWEG chapter shows up to the Capitol

The state chapter of MWEG has the same political goals as the national organization: protecting democracy and the environment, bipartisan immigration reform and anti-racism efforts.

The chapter encourages its members to participate in the legislative process and contact lawmakers to advocate on the issues that are important to them, their families and their community, Idaho chapter coordinator LaRae Harris Wilson said.

Wilson was among several Idahoans who testified at a hearing in March against a bill to create new reporting requirements for organizations that help refugees.

The LDS church and its members are active in support of refugee resettlement efforts.

Wilson described her own experience with those efforts, urging the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee to consider the bills potential unintended consequences such as religious organizations losing their tax-exempt status.

MWEG wanted the committee to hold the bill, she said.

When we start talking about a presumption that reporting and vetting in refugee resettlement are lacking or inadequate, (that) usually leads to conversations that foment fear and increase anti-refugee sentiment, and we dont want to see that conversation take place again on the Senate floor, Wilson said. So we ask that you hold this bill in committee. We feel like, at best, it would have a chilling effect on community assistance; and, at worst, if enforced as written, it would be government harassment of private charitable organizations.

The bill died in committee after the hearing.

Mormon Women for Ethical Government plans for upcoming legislative session

The next legislative session begins in January, and MWEG will continue to follow bills that relate to refugees and immigration. That is informed by our faith: that we are all children of the same God, Wilson said.

They also will focus on efforts to preserve voter rights and fair elections.

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That will be something we will have our eye on all the time, Wilson said.

One of the chapters roles is to help encircle members in the Gem State, to build supportive relationships within the group, according to Wilson.

That encircling is pretty comforting when youre trying to figure out what to do with your angst, she said.

The women who gathered on Zoom this month were eager to improve education in Idaho, for all students. MWEGs Idaho chapter hosted the hourlong meeting on education because members were hungry for information, Wilson said. This continued to come up over and over again.

One of the members of MWEG is Cindy Wilson, a longtime educator who ran as a Democrat in 2018 for Superintendent of Public Instruction. She was defeated by incumbent Republican Sherri Ybarra.

Wilson got involved with the Idaho chapter of MWEG about a year ago, she said.

Members of MWEG support the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that was attractive to her as a member of the LDS church, Wilson explained. The churchs doctrine is not partisan, just like the group, she said.

She believes many of Idahos active LDS women would feel at home in the organization; she hears from women whose experiences and beliefs dont align with the intense polarization that drives politics at the Capitol. Wilson attended an in-person meeting in Boise this summer, and discovered that two MWEG members live in her neighborhood in Meridian.

Wilson saw a role for herself as an educator and advocate for policy that makes education accessible to all Idaho children and young adults.

The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.

Constitution of the State of Idaho

Wilson is a board member of the nonprofit Idaho Children Are Primary and found her work dovetailed with her conversations in MWEG, she said. Thats when I really started getting much more involved in it and aligning with (MWEG) at the state level.

Idaho MWEG members met throughout the legislative session, and some worked to support all-day kindergarten, she said.

The previous year, the chapter penned a letter to state legislators, urging them to accept funds for early childhood education in Idaho.

One of the things that I get excited about is, because we have so many women in the state who could participate in this group, we could be a powerful voice for ethics, for peaceful resolution, for kindness, Wilson said. I want to see this group grow and really become loud advocates against extremism.

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Theyre women. Theyre LDS. And theyre speaking their minds on politics. - Idaho Capital Sun

Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts strategy of busing immigrants to sanctuary cities has been instrumental in turning voters attention to the disaster unfolding at our southern border. But it was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss decision to fly 50 immigrants to Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts, that really drove the border crisis to the forefront of the publics mind in no small part because of the Lefts absurd reactions to it.

While still not quite as critical as the record level of inflation that is crushing families, the border crisis appears to have eclipsed many other concerns, including abortion, which Democrats were convinced would galvanize their base and propel their party to victory in November.

To be sure, the question of abortion is still significant, especially at the state level. However, at least for now, its being upstaged by voters renewed focus on the roughly 7,000 illegal immigrants the Biden administration allows to stream into the country every day.

Naturally, Democrats response has been to find someone else to blame for the crisis theyve created. And who else would they choose besides former President Donald Trump?

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, for example, claimed last week on MSNBC, "The system is broken, and we know that it was decimated by the last administration, and what were trying to do is fix something that has decades and decades of deterioration."

Decimated by the last administration? Hardly.

National Security Council coordinator John Kirby reiterated Jean-Pierres finger-pointing, blaming Republicans refusal to support the record levels of funding for DHS he claimed are necessary to address the crisis.

"We are working hard to secure the border through trying to invest in advanced capabilities, Kirby said. We asked for record levels of funding for DHS, and unfortunately, there was no Republican support for that. So we're going to keep at this, and we obviously want to certainly encourage more support coming from the Republican side for some of the things that we're trying to do."

The Los Angeles Times editorial board joined the fray last week. It acknowledged the crisis but conveniently ignored the direct effects President Joe Bidens reckless open border policies have had on it. Instead, it attributed it to political posturing.

Citing the callousness of actions taken by Abbott and DeSantis, it wrote: "But it is a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by political posturing, not one caused by an uncontrolled border. Its an emergency that has been created by the lack of goodwill by politicians more interested in their own political viability than the stability of the country and fueled by decades of failure by Congress to tackle comprehensive immigration reform."

The Los Angeles Times is right about one thing: This crisis certainly has been created by a politician who cares more about his own political viability, and his partys, for that matter, than the sovereignty of this country and its laws. But that politician is not Abbott nor DeSantis. Its Biden.

At the very least, its nice to hear Democrats acknowledge that there is, in fact, a crisis at the border. But their efforts to deflect blame and rewrite history are insulting. The Trump administration was able to get the border under control by the time he left office, with the number of immigrants being detained on a daily basis dropping from 5,000 to about 1,200, according to former acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan. Trump implemented policies that worked, including Title 42 and the "Remain in Mexico" policy.

Biden reversed all of these policies, resurrected the failed catch and release protocol, and all but held up a green light welcoming migrants to enter the country. And as a result, more than 2 million illegal immigrants have entered the country since Biden became president.

Now, thanks to Abbott and DeSantis, border towns arent the only ones being forced to carry the consequences of Bidens failures. New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and other liberal enclaves are complaining their shelters are at full capacity and that they dont have the resources necessary to care for large numbers of immigrants. It seems theyre beginning to realize what Republicans have been saying for years: that unchecked illegal immigration is unsustainable.

It just so happens that most Americans agree with the Republican position on immigration. Thats one of the reasons Trump was elected in the first place. And if Democrats refuse to get serious on this issue and instead try to ignore or gaslight their way around it, they will pay for it at the polls.

Elizabeth Stauffer is a contributor totheWashington Examiner andthe Western Journal. Her articles have appeared on many websites, including MSN,RedState,Newsmax, theFederalist, andRealClearPolitics. Follow her onTwitterorLinkedIn.

Continued here:
Democrats can't blame-shift their way out of the border crisis they created - Washington Examiner