Beltway Insider: Trump/SCOTUS Immigration, The Cult of Popular Opinion, Heroes ACT, COVID Spikes, D.C. Statehood

President Trump, who has positioned himself as tough on illegal immigration, received an unexpected win from the Supreme Court which allows for quick deportation of individuals who claim persecution and do not pass their initial asylum hearings.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, which tracked polls of likely or registered voters for the period ending June 28, 2020, decreased by 0.8 percentage points to 40.6% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 0.9 percentage points to 56.1%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Election 2020, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, which tracks the latest Presidential Poll averages have President Donald Trump trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden by 8.9% percentage points. With 41.4% of the sample audience indicating they will be casting their vote for Trump, and 50.7% of the voters sampled indicate they will be casting their vote for Biden.


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Southern Border Illegal Immigration Continues

The Southern border states are facing increased attempts at illegal entry for many reasons. Mexico's civil war, an undeclared and unwinnable battle between the drug cartels and the Mexican government, has driven many to risk the arduous trek across the southern border.

A veritable "No man's land," of hot, acrid, desert with temperatures in the Summer months rising to 120 degrees. If the heat doesn't kill those seeking to enter, the desolate remote regions with limited cover will. Immigrants seeking asylum based on credible fear that returning to their native country will result in an imminent threat, physical harm, or death.

Trump promised "to establish a "deportation force," and in his first set of executive orders, he vowed to "employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws." The administration has directed significant attention—and resources—to cope with the soaring numbers of asylum seekers at the border. Its active deployment of policy solutions designed to discourage Central American asylum seekers, including family detention, making illegal border crossers ineligible for asylum, and zero-tolerance policies that resulted in family separation have been stayed by legal challenges and public outcry," Migrationpolicy.org states.

Asylum seekers must fall within certain areas including political beliefs, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and other protected characteristics, in order to be considered for asylum protection.

Customs and Border Protections Officers, Detention Facilities, COVID Clusters

The spread of COVID-19, as the world population understands is through aerosol particles released from droplets from an infected person who is coughing or sneezing. Frequent interaction with the public, without proper care can cause the disease to pass quickly creating a cluster.

Even as the borders have been partially closed since March 21, 2020, Custom and Border Patrol Agents, those who staff the Paso del Norte International Bridge, have refused to use personal protection equipment while staffing port lanes including contact with pedestrians and automobiles.

"They chatted in pairs or groups of three and four, shoulder to shoulder, with little of the "social distance" recommended by federal and local health authorities. They conducted secondary inspections without face coverings, including interviewing drivers at close range at their windows. In a statement, CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha said, "Nothing is more important than the safety of our workforce and the American people. CBP has implemented a proactive, multi-layered approach to minimize our employees' exposure to COVID-19 as they fulfill CBP's critical national security mission,"' The El Paso Times reported. 

Customs and Border Protections facilitates centers are overcrowded, filthy, and dense with as many as "900 migrants being held at a facility designed for 125. In some cases, cells designed for 35 people were holding 155 people," The New York Times reported.


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HEROS Act Update

Americans HEROES Act, the second stimulus package which directly benefits the 45million unemployed who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus global catastrophic economic meltdown passed the House five week ago.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell spoke recently on the HEROES Package during his visit to St. Claire's Regional Medical Center in Kentucky, "We'll take a snapshot of where the country stands, see how the jobs are coming back, see where we think we are and if there is a final rescue package, that's when it will develop and it will start once again in my office," he said.

With the November general election looming, and the Kentucky Senate race still too close to call, although it appears the progressive challenger Charles Booker has a slight edge over Amy McGrath, a veteran endorsed by New York Senator Charles Schumer's, McConnell may have a bit more incentive to assist those in need in his home state as well as leading the charge for the Republican Presidential reelection campaign.

The HEROES Act which the senator has called, a "Liberal wish list," has much room for negotiation, with limited time before the additional unemployment pandemic benefits are due to expire at the end of July. Action on the bill is not expected until after the Independence Day holiday break which run from July 3, 2020 to July 17, 2020.

"About 1.5 million Americans filed first-time applications for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That pushes the tally of those who have made initial claims – a rough measure of layoffs – over the past 12 weeks to a staggering 44.1 million, USA Today reports.

The squeeze pits both the Democrats and Republicans, in a political game of leverage and maneuvering, with the House passed bill expected to pass the Senate, although a striped down version, which will remove numerous Green Card provisions included in the House version.

The only green card provisions expected to remain in the HEROES Act will be the immigrant farmworkers under the H-2A visa program as they are essential to the U.S. food supply chain, and similar H-2A visa holders currently working on the pandemic front lines, in medical, emergency care services or other necessary identified in the Critical Infrastructure Systems.

The order omitted any mention of race, however, and activists and Democrats criticized it as weak. "I strongly oppose the radical and dangerous efforts to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments," Trump said. "Americans want law and order. They demand law and order."

The Cult of Popular Opinion

The Cult of Popular Opinion, has continued its efforts to reinvent history and erase those milestones in American's past which are egregious and express ideas of intolerance, bias, racism, and yet that same group, overwhelming elected a leader who exhibits the same ideals.

In the one month since the rupture of America, a spillage of violence, protests, criminality, and a calming which gave way to a second wave of led by many who believe rewriting history and the removal of monuments, museums, and memories of America's progression will be leverage and manipulate leaders to produce the change necessary to build a stronger supportive future for the vulnerable and disenfranchised of society.


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Cornel West on Race

Leading Race Scholar, Princeton University Philosopher, social critic, and Professor Emeritus Cornel West, who authored the 1993 book Race Matters, and is known for his continued examination of the interactions of race and ethnicities with the African Americans community spoke recently to Democracy Now on the foundation of this movement separating the catalyst from the soul behind the frustration.

"The catalyst was certainly Brother George Floyd's public lynching, but the failures of the predatory capitalist economy to provide the satisfaction of the basic needs of food and healthcare and quality education, jobs with a decent wage, at the same time the collapse of your political class, the collapse of your professional class. Their legitimacy has been radically called into question, and that's multiracial. It's the neofascist dimension in Trump. It's the neoliberal dimension in Biden and Obama and the Clintons and so forth. And it includes much of the media. It includes many of the professors in universities. The young people are saying, "You all have been hypocritical. You haven't been concerned about our suffering, our misery. And we no longer believe in your legitimacy." And it spills over into violent explosion," Professor West said.

Monuments and the Erasing of History

The pendulum swing has now reached the opposite side and these detractors, which many including Black Entertainment Television (BET) founder, Robert Johnson, said, "People tearing down statues "have the mistaken assumption that black people are sitting around cheering for them saying 'Oh, my God, look at these white people. They're doing something so important to us. They're taking down the statue of a Civil War general who fought for the South. You know, black people, in my opinion, black people laugh at white people who do this," FOX news reported.

The Cult of Popular Opinion, which is often fueled by crowd or mob thinking struck again this week with the  aggressive demands the Equestrian Statue, owned by New York City and associated with the American Museum of Natural History, be removed and the current move by Princeton University, in New Jersey, to remove Woodrow Wilson's name from its buildings.

"The Equestrian Statue that sits on New York City public park land in front of the Museum’s Central Park West entrance is part of the New York State memorial to Theodore Roosevelt, who served as Governor of New York State before becoming the 26th President of the United States. The Statue has long been controversial because of the hierarchical composition that places one figure on horseback and the others walking alongside, and many of us find its depictions of the Native American and African figures and their placement in the monument racist," a memo sent to employees from the American Museum of Natural History read.

There is no doubt the many early American leaders of our nation participated in lifestyle's and voiced opinions that were common at the time and considered egregious and derogatory currently. The progression of society is judged on how far it has come from the past; erasing it proves intolerance and an unwillingness to learn from its past mistakes.

Removing monuments does nothing to reconcile the wrongs associated with the past. It is an attempt to placate a people or maybe even one's own conscious and provides no effort to assist those people groups who are still carrying the burdens of suppression.


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President Trump Signs Executive Order to Defend American's Historical Monuments

"President Trump has signed an Executive Order that ensures that any person or group that destroys or vandalizes a monument, memorial, or statue is prosecuted to the fullest extent and authorizes a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment for the willful injury of Federal property. The Executive Order also directs that those who incite violence and illegal activity are prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law. State and local law enforcement agencies that fail to protect monuments, memorials, and statues will be subject to the withholding of Federal support. The Attorney General will take all appropriate action against individuals and organizations found to have participated in unlawful acts," President Trump outlined in a released statement.

Continued efforts to erase the dark history of our past only leads to repeating it.

Coronavirus Totals

The infection rates of the coronavirus have continued to rise around the world. With a weekly global increase of 1,174,100 confirmed cases, brings the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 10,031,000, with 499,534 deaths, an increase of 34,477.

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. New confirmed cases total 270,800, an increase of 86,736 over the previous week. For the week ending June 28, 2020 the total confirmed cases rose to 2,551,100 with 125,724 total deaths, a weekly increase for 5,914 deaths. (Data from The New York Times).

Spikes in Coronavirus Cools Reopening's

Several U.S. Governors have recently taken additional measures to stop a resurgence of coronavirus in their states including self-quarantine for out-of-state visitors to closing known potential cluster triggers.

The most dramatic initiatives were taken by New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo whose state was considered the epicenter in the United States. A strict self-quarantine has been imposed for any person entering New York State from any of these eight states, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas. and Utah, after each saw sharp increases in cases upon efforts to normalize mandated closures and reopen venues. Those who do not adhere to the isolation procedures will face an undisclosed fine, which has in the past been $1000.00

Cuomo has also delayed reopening malls, gyms, and movie theaters. The New York City Marathon, which would have celebrated its 50th race in November has been cancelled.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has also paused on his reopening schedule and ordered bars to close in Los Angeles and other counties. Imperial County, located near the U.S. Mexican border, has been ordered to resume "Safer at Home" closures. Thirteen additional California counties, including Los Angeles, have been put on a "watch list" as cases continued to spike. It is expected that Los Angeles county re-openings will face additional closures and possibly an additional month of "Safer at Home."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who originally balked at closures, has issues a stay at home order for San Antonio County. The alert read: "STAY HOME. The COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly across Bexar County. Local hospitals are approaching capacity. Protect yourself and your family. Stay home except for essential activities, wear a face covering and avoid gathering with people outside your household. STAY SAFE," said DFW CBS Local reported.

Abbott has also moved to close cluster trigger spots including bars and some business, with Apple leading the way with mandatory closures of seven stores in Houston. Texas has become one of the eight US states is see sharp spikes in confirmed COVID-19 cases.

House Approves DC Statehood

The House of Representatives on Friday voted to make Washington D.C. the 51st state. If the senate approves the measure it would then proceed to the President's desk to be signed or vetoed. The expectation is that District of Columbia statehood would produce two additional democratic senators and democratic house of Representative members. Many bills pass the house and sit before any vote is held. It will remain eligible for consideration throughout the duration of this current Congress until the Congress ends or final adjournment.

For more information on President Donald Trump www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

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