These poor people are fish in a barrel. Trying to assassinate an individual with a bomb is bound to have collateral damage even if it does hit the target, which this one didn’t.
“JERUSALEM, July 13 (Reuters) – At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli strike which the military said missed its target.
The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.
I wonder if this is what Trump has in mind to clear the way to build a resort in Gaza.
“The “humanitarian city” Israel’s defence minister has proposed building on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians inside would be ethnic cleansing, Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert has told the Guardian.
Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, Olmert said, and construction of the camp would mark an escalation.
It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,” he said, when asked about the plans laid out by Israel Katz last week. Once inside, Palestinians would not be allowed to leave, except to go to other countries, Katz said.
Katz has ordered the military to start drawing up operational plans for construction of the “humanitarian city” on the ruins of southern Gaza, to house initially 600,000 people and eventually the entire Palestinian population.
“If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new ‘humanitarian city’, then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn’t yet happened,” Olmert said. That would be “the inevitable interpretation” of any attempt to create a camp for hundreds of thousands of people, he said.
Olmert did not consider Israel’s current campaign was ethnic cleansing because, he said, evacuating civilians to protect them from fighting was legal under international law, and Palestinians had returned to areas where military operations had finished….”
I guess we and our administration really don’t care if deportees are tortured or persecuted. That’s good to know.
“A memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlined plans to deport illegal migrants to third countries if their country of origin refuses to accept them.
The memo even said migrants can be deported to third countries with as little as six hours notice “in exigent” cases.
“Coming on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling last month that paved the way for the practice, the agency laid out its plans in a memo Wednesday to employees obtained by the Washington Post. Destinations may include places where officials do not have ‘diplomatic assurances’ that immigrants will not face torture or persecution,” noted the Daily Beast….”
In one sentience the author suggests it is ethnic cleansing then another that is not. It is a concentration camp but they are allowed to leave to go to another country… that is not a concentration camp just as our detention centers are not. I would expect this type of trigger wording from the Guardian and would hope for thoughtful processing whilst reading such….
Continually portraying Trump as a monster is interesting….
You might not like his wording, but that was a quote from the former Israeli Prime Minister, NJ. We should be made aware that there are other legitimate ways of looking at these things. And there is no way to deny the starvation conditions; there are too many sources.
“An individual for whom there is not Final Order of Removal, must be identified as a non-citizen before the deportation process moves forward.
Senator Padilla is ignorant of the law.
Once an illegal has a Final Order of Removal, it remains in his/her A-File and shows that the illegal has already been provided all the “due process” he/she is entitled to under the INA.”
It turns out the “wrongly deported Maryland Man” wasn’t wrongly deported and was an illegal alien MS-13 gang member that trafficked woman and children and did other horrific crimes.
“Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons…Rather than ask Biden to keep signing revised versions, his staff waited and then ran the final version thru the autopen, which they saw as…routine”
“MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST DOESN’T STOP THE ROGUE JUDGES!
Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) found out that the husband of the judge that issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from conducting warrantless immigration stops in parts of California is a a multifamily real estate broker in Bakersfield and has publicly stated that Trump’s deportation policies harm his business, which relies on undocumented immigrants as tenants.
This raises a conflict of interest, as federal guidelines (28 U.S.C. § 455) require judges to recuse themselves if their impartiality could be questioned or if their spouse’s financial interests are affected.
Critics argue Judge Thurston should have recused herself due to potential bias and personal financial gain.”
Debra, you may have already mentioned this and I missed it, but what is your solution to the immigration challenges? Both for those coming in now and those currently in without having completed legal process?
Mumsee, I certainly don’t have all the answers. I think Trump did a great job securing the border and he did it immediately. But It’s my thinking that those who have been here for a long time and are not actively causing trouble should be legalized some how with some kind of documentation. I know that’s not popular but it seems the humane thing to do.
Also, Biden’s administration gave some people claiming refugee status legal standing to stay while their applications were being processed and their claims verified. Trump revoked them all with no judgement or discernment of any kind that I can see.
But finally, even if he had done those things I’ve just mentioned, I do not believe the way that ICE is conducting itself, using masks and a terrifying overwhelming force on some of the helpless targets they have chosen, is forgivable. It’s not a simple mistake. Its a breach of good faith with the American people that requires an answer. A reckoning . It is a stain on our government that’s not easily swept away with the next election.
Yes, NJ, but come to think of it, our President has a similar resume. I don’t know the circumstances of the former PM’s conviction, but perhaps Israel has indulged in political prosecutions too. At any rate it is another perspective to consider.
People were already calling Gaza the world’s largest concentration camp. Bibi’s latest plan will reinforce this perception. Bibi may say Palestinians may leave, this will require countries to accept Palestinians and in the current era of anti-migrants its not likely for the Palestinians to go anywhere. Egypt and Jordan have had problems in the past — Palestinians tend to be better educated and more politically demanding. Lebanon is a country in a delicate balance and Palestinians have upset the balance before. As for the Turks and the West — both have moved toward anti migrant rhetoric.
And of course you have to ask why should the Palestinians leave? This is their home and has been for centuries. To encourage them to leave is to endorse ethnic cleansing.
Trump likes the “big man” authoritarianism and thus has supported Bibi and Putin among others. I do wonder if he’s finally tired of being treated as a fool by Putin. I’m a bit pessimistic in that its logical to support Putin if you support Bibi — both are authoritarians. His Ukraine policy is far too erratic which is diminishing the US’s influence there.
Olmert’s interview was interesting but he doesn’t go far enough in his criticism of Bibi. In my opinion he’s trying to create room for Israel to pull back while maintaining Israel’s current stronger position. There’s been a gradual increase in the European left to oppose Israel, and its possible some Israeli leftist are starting to think its time to pull back.
Third party deportation is unusual. Normally a country will try to deport an individual to the country of its citizenship or birth. In cases, that this country is too dangerous or won’t/can’t accept the person, countries will try to deport an individual to where they were last previous to arriving in the current country. For example, the US won’t normally deport people to Venezuela because of both violence and the lack of a treaty with the current gov’t. Thus, the next option would be to deport Venezuelans to Mexico if they have a reciprocating treaty with Mexico. Canada has a treaty with the US to deport third party nationals that went through the US to get to Canada and of course vice versa — The US can deport individuals to Canada if they arrived through Canada. Thus Canada deports Haitians to the US.
However deporting people half way around the world is extremely unusual and should violate most human rights agreements, constitutional rules, etc. The previous UK conservative gov’t tried to pay Uganda to take illegal migrants deport from the UK no matter their origin (mostly Asian) but was over ruled by the courts and then cancelled by the incoming Labour. I suspect that is where the Trump admin got the idea. Choosing South Sudan as a destination is just bizarre, I suppose it was easy to bribe the gov’t but this is one of the worst places to dump somebody — there’s only a few worse places on the planet (Afghanistan, Yemen, etc).
South Sudan, Alligator Alcatraz, large scale military style raids at Home Depot, etc all suggest an admin where the spectacle is as important if not more important. Both to scare possible future migrants and to impress the MAGA faithful — the optics of action over policy.
Mumsee — its easier to say what ICE shouldn’t do than what they should do…..
ICE currently has quotas for their agents — dump them. This only encourages them to hang out at Home Depot, chase farm workers through strawberry fields, hangout at elementary schools waiting for parents to pick up children and wait in court for migrants to complete the paperwork to stay in the country. None of this is making Americans safer. In fact, it’s probably having the reverse effect as agents ignore the hard work of tracking down criminal migrants and go for easy picking.
Noem needs to learn to budget. She’s running out of money and is now using FEMA money to build her concentration camp in Florida. And it appears its holding mostly farm workers, expired green card holders, and even some DACA recipients. A lot of money spent here takes away from disaster relief elsewhere. Not too mention the weird results where a far right conspiracy (FEMA will build concentration camps) comes true under a right wing government.
The autopen thing is weird. I don’t see why its an issue or why people are still talking about it. As the world moves away from paper, many things that require a signature are on a pdf file not a paper on the desk. Save the signature on the pdf software and click it into place. Sure it can be abused but it has become the norm in business and bureaucracies everywhere.
My report cards would be saved as pdfs and then sent to the principal for reading, he would use the autopen feature to sign the reports and then send them back to me. Copies would be automatically sent to parents, a printed copy I would make would go to the files. This saved our admin both time and paper. Did they actually read the pdf — some maybe others maybe not. But even when it was a paper copy, reports weren’t always read. My reports were rarely read — after 20 years, admin assumed I knew what I was doing and would spend their time reading newer teacher’s reports or perhaps the odd student they had an interest in. Legally they were responsible for my reports but…..
Similarly, in Biden’s case, he had a list of people to give pardons. His admin wrote it all up and he may or may have read them while the autopen did its work. In any case, as long as he verbally okayed it, what’s the problem. Honestly, this is the weirdest thing to get outraged about — its normal practise everywhere.
“Both to scare possible future migrants and to impress the MAGA faithful — the optics of action over policy.”
I wonder if he realizes how “impressed” some of us are—and not in a good way. The President seems to me to be much changed since his last term. Less connected…
Debra @3:27, I believe that is the majority opinion currently. There should be a pathway to citizenship made available for those who have been here a long time, have been working and have families here and have not been in trouble.
You’re within the majority, as am I and I would hope most folks here as well.
It’s reasonable and seems to be the American approach.
I concur with the first paragraph. With our very messed up bureaucracies, I can’t imagine how we can process ten or twenty million varied applicants in short order. I wish we could but I don’t see it. Therefore it almost makes sense to clear everybody out. Almost. And then let them apply through official channels, preferably through States or Counties rather than the massive Federal inhumane mess.
Second on revocations, the last administration was clearly not interested in bringing people in legally so any
any legal standing becomes questionable. I rely on Kathaleena’s roofer to give a more complete picture. The person is taken in, heard, released in many cases but we rarely hear of that.
Third paragraph: on ICE. When people were reporting names, descriptions, vehicle descriptions, they had to come up with a counter plan. I agree this is not ideal.
In Trump’s first term, I think he was willing to work with others, take advice, etc He wanted to skim a bit of money here and there but he wasn’t overtly greedy. He liked the praise, the attention, etc but was willing to work with Republicans, advisers etc and was quite willing to leave the day to day grind to others. He was one of the very few world leaders who didn’t age while in office.
In his second term, he appears to be motivated by revenge, grift, and power. He never recovered from losing to Biden and you can see it still occupies him with the constant reference to the Biden admin. He’s far more open about making money — selling perfume, crypto, accepting airplanes, etc. However, the most noticeable feature for me is his ageing. Unlike his first term, he looks like he’s ageing and rapidly. He’s more personally invested this time around — he wants a peace prize, he wants a legacy, power and he’s “working”. This is ageing him and his cognitive skills are slowing. All of this is making him angry and impatient.
Anyway, just thoughts going through my head as I watch the sh%tshow.
When ICE is chasing Mexicans through the strawberry field, they aren’t even chasing people who want to stay in the US. There’s a long tradition in the south west of people travelling north for the harvest — staying 3-6 months and taking the money home and using it for various reasons back home — buy land, build a home, send kids to school, etc. This has been happening for over 100 years and has been ingrained socially and economically in Mexico and the south west US. The Mexican farm workers killed this week went home after the harvest every year.
Growing up, local tobacco and fruit farmers used to hire men from the Caribbean to work the harvest for about 3-4 months. At a certain point the government got involved and there was official paperwork involved. This is easy in Canada as they had to fly to Canada and could be processed at the airport.
The US could try to do the same — ie create some sort of temporary worker program for the harvest or they could simply continue the current migratory pattern. The latter is probably the easiest and cheapest.
Migratory labour is not a uniquely American problem. Italian and Portuguese used to go north looking for work and now Eastern Europeans go west for work. In both cases, the vast majority went home after the season was done. With the money made, they could buy land and build a home. I’m sure similar things happen elsewhere — Filipinos for example go everywhere. The point is simple — almost all countries developed some sort of civil approach to migrant labour (except perhaps the Arabian peninsula) . Very few send masked men chasing workers through the fields.
Either develop a program or expand an existing program or allow the traditional seasonal migration.
HRW, we have always had a policy for letting migrants in for temporary labor. Not all take advantage of it nd not all employers care. They also work in Idaho and many make it their permanent home, legally or not.
Ukrainians come to work as truck drivers for six months, returning to Ukraine for six months of rest and relaxation. Fortunately, we are finally putting in place a requirement that they and the many others, read enough English to be able to 8nterpret the road signs correctly and companies are putting in ESL on the fast track, complete with cue cards.
In my perspective, Trump is listening to advisers and especially to the people. I do believe he is carrying a heavier burden this time around because he saw how close we were dragged to the precipice and knows this is his last chance to make an improvement and to instill that concern into steady people who will be following up. I do not see the selfishness you see.
So why does the US need to take aliens under their wing and provide for their very sustenance??
To immigrate to Canada, you need to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family upon arrival, in addition to any application fees. The required amount of money varies based on family size and the specific immigration program.
Minimum Funds Required for Express entry (as of July 7, 2025):
Single applicant: $15,263 CAD
Family of two: $19,001 CAD
Family of three: $23,360 CAD
Family of four: $28,362 CAD
Important Considerations:
These are the minimums, and you may need more depending on your individual circumstances and chosen province or territory.
The funds must be readily available to you and you must be able to provide proof of funds.
The funds must be in your name or the name of your accompanying spouse or common-law partner.
These amounts are updated periodically, so it’s essential to check the latest requirements on the Canadian government’s immigration website.
In addition to settlement funds, other costs to consider include:
Wandering Views 
These poor people are fish in a barrel. Trying to assassinate an individual with a bomb is bound to have collateral damage even if it does hit the target, which this one didn’t.
“JERUSALEM, July 13 (Reuters) – At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli strike which the military said missed its target.
The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-missile-hits-gaza-children-collecting-water-idf-blames-malfunction-2025-07-13/
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I wonder if this is what Trump has in mind to clear the way to build a resort in Gaza.
“The “humanitarian city” Israel’s defence minister has proposed building on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians inside would be ethnic cleansing, Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert has told the Guardian.
Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, Olmert said, and construction of the camp would mark an escalation.
It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,” he said, when asked about the plans laid out by Israel Katz last week. Once inside, Palestinians would not be allowed to leave, except to go to other countries, Katz said.
Katz has ordered the military to start drawing up operational plans for construction of the “humanitarian city” on the ruins of southern Gaza, to house initially 600,000 people and eventually the entire Palestinian population.
“If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new ‘humanitarian city’, then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn’t yet happened,” Olmert said. That would be “the inevitable interpretation” of any attempt to create a camp for hundreds of thousands of people, he said.
Olmert did not consider Israel’s current campaign was ethnic cleansing because, he said, evacuating civilians to protect them from fighting was legal under international law, and Palestinians had returned to areas where military operations had finished….”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/13/israel-humanitarian-city-rafah-gaza-camp-ehud-olmert
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That is sad.
We have a sad case in MN of a father beheading his sixteen-year-old son and dumping his body in a landfill. They had religious differences.
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And now our President is sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine to counter Russia’s belligerence.
https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1944766239026418159
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I guess we and our administration really don’t care if deportees are tortured or persecuted. That’s good to know.
“A memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlined plans to deport illegal migrants to third countries if their country of origin refuses to accept them.
The memo even said migrants can be deported to third countries with as little as six hours notice “in exigent” cases.
“Coming on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling last month that paved the way for the practice, the agency laid out its plans in a memo Wednesday to employees obtained by the Washington Post. Destinations may include places where officials do not have ‘diplomatic assurances’ that immigrants will not face torture or persecution,” noted the Daily Beast….”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/07/14/ice-memo-says-migrants-can-be-deported-to-third-countries/
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In one sentience the author suggests it is ethnic cleansing then another that is not. It is a concentration camp but they are allowed to leave to go to another country… that is not a concentration camp just as our detention centers are not.
I would expect this type of trigger wording from the Guardian and would hope for thoughtful processing whilst reading such….
Continually portraying Trump as a monster is interesting….
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You might not like his wording, but that was a quote from the former Israeli Prime Minister, NJ. We should be made aware that there are other legitimate ways of looking at these things. And there is no way to deny the starvation conditions; there are too many sources.
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Someone may have posted this before, but if not:
https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/american-virtues-2025-commencement-address/
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Yes please.
THLhough at this point I’m reluctant to trust Bondi again…
https://x.com/JsnFostr/status/1944759890922160422?t=IRuszkM6AM208h61qyhWvw&s=19
“FBI opens ‘grand conspiracy’ probe on weaponization of DOJ, FBI, opening door to special prosecutor”
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Oh look, due process was in play all along. But he failed to make his case to stay.
https://x.com/shipwreckedcrew/status/1944426207128510867?t=ouYqRcDQlG663U0dP9BpfA&s=19
“An individual for whom there is not Final Order of Removal, must be identified as a non-citizen before the deportation process moves forward.
Senator Padilla is ignorant of the law.
Once an illegal has a Final Order of Removal, it remains in his/her A-File and shows that the illegal has already been provided all the “due process” he/she is entitled to under the INA.”
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“So…
It turns out the “wrongly deported Maryland Man” wasn’t wrongly deported and was an illegal alien MS-13 gang member that trafficked woman and children and did other horrific crimes.
They gave him 96% positive media coverage.
You cannot loathe the Media and Dems enough.”
https://x.com/C_3C_3/status/1944019184821662166?t=-b2J782Z5bkMk2A8Q-YYyg&s=19
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Promises made, promises he’s trying to keep.
https://x.com/TAftermath2020/status/1944230477457457277?t=NRIK7PM2D_77JwAN5TSsmQ&s=19
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“FBI Hires Top-Rated Italian Bodyguard Hiluigi Clintonelli To Protect Ghislaine Maxwell.”
https://x.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1944741597486174484?t=wSwLXEcbtR66iMKnc_sAcA&s=19
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“NYT confirms Fauci’s pardon was signed by autopen at the direction of an assistant”
https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1944597725552459816?t=jucBugPCbXMYK54HJC-qRQ&s=19
—
“Today I will reissue my criminal referral of Anthony Fauci to Trump DOJ!”
https://x.com/RandPaul/status/1944763596614902143?t=dH3l9CC0-sngO1vkG9bKjQ&s=19
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“It’s hilarious that team Biden went to the New York Times to try and make the autopen scandal go away but instead made it 100x worse lol”
https://x.com/greg_price11/status/1944766809539813760?t=xLPZpwaabpDLFJLy3bbpUg&s=19
—-
“Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons…Rather than ask Biden to keep signing revised versions, his staff waited and then ran the final version thru the autopen, which they saw as…routine”
https://x.com/AlexThomp/status/1944546038641217832?t=OihsdYI0VCP1O603dZMatw&s=19
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It’s always the same with these frauds.
About that DEI hire of a judge….
https://x.com/MilaLovesJoe/status/1944686077547319700?t=cHoVuo4R3mERL2bJ0WNJ6g&s=19
“MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST DOESN’T STOP THE ROGUE JUDGES!
Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) found out that the husband of the judge that issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from conducting warrantless immigration stops in parts of California is a a multifamily real estate broker in Bakersfield and has publicly stated that Trump’s deportation policies harm his business, which relies on undocumented immigrants as tenants.
This raises a conflict of interest, as federal guidelines (28 U.S.C. § 455) require judges to recuse themselves if their impartiality could be questioned or if their spouse’s financial interests are affected.
Critics argue Judge Thurston should have recused herself due to potential bias and personal financial gain.”
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Debra, you may have already mentioned this and I missed it, but what is your solution to the immigration challenges? Both for those coming in now and those currently in without having completed legal process?
mumsee
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Mumsee, I certainly don’t have all the answers. I think Trump did a great job securing the border and he did it immediately. But It’s my thinking that those who have been here for a long time and are not actively causing trouble should be legalized some how with some kind of documentation. I know that’s not popular but it seems the humane thing to do.
Also, Biden’s administration gave some people claiming refugee status legal standing to stay while their applications were being processed and their claims verified. Trump revoked them all with no judgement or discernment of any kind that I can see.
But finally, even if he had done those things I’ve just mentioned, I do not believe the way that ICE is conducting itself, using masks and a terrifying overwhelming force on some of the helpless targets they have chosen, is forgivable. It’s not a simple mistake. Its a breach of good faith with the American people that requires an answer. A reckoning . It is a stain on our government that’s not easily swept away with the next election.
Just my two cents.
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Debra Olmert has quite a resume of lying, fraud and bribery so I am not so inclined to take his word just because he is a former PM…
I suppose we all have our own skew on situations but I just don’t buy what he’s selling.,,,
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Yes, NJ, but come to think of it, our President has a similar resume. I don’t know the circumstances of the former PM’s conviction, but perhaps Israel has indulged in political prosecutions too. At any rate it is another perspective to consider.
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People were already calling Gaza the world’s largest concentration camp. Bibi’s latest plan will reinforce this perception. Bibi may say Palestinians may leave, this will require countries to accept Palestinians and in the current era of anti-migrants its not likely for the Palestinians to go anywhere. Egypt and Jordan have had problems in the past — Palestinians tend to be better educated and more politically demanding. Lebanon is a country in a delicate balance and Palestinians have upset the balance before. As for the Turks and the West — both have moved toward anti migrant rhetoric.
And of course you have to ask why should the Palestinians leave? This is their home and has been for centuries. To encourage them to leave is to endorse ethnic cleansing.
Trump likes the “big man” authoritarianism and thus has supported Bibi and Putin among others. I do wonder if he’s finally tired of being treated as a fool by Putin. I’m a bit pessimistic in that its logical to support Putin if you support Bibi — both are authoritarians. His Ukraine policy is far too erratic which is diminishing the US’s influence there.
Olmert’s interview was interesting but he doesn’t go far enough in his criticism of Bibi. In my opinion he’s trying to create room for Israel to pull back while maintaining Israel’s current stronger position. There’s been a gradual increase in the European left to oppose Israel, and its possible some Israeli leftist are starting to think its time to pull back.
hrw
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Third party deportation is unusual. Normally a country will try to deport an individual to the country of its citizenship or birth. In cases, that this country is too dangerous or won’t/can’t accept the person, countries will try to deport an individual to where they were last previous to arriving in the current country. For example, the US won’t normally deport people to Venezuela because of both violence and the lack of a treaty with the current gov’t. Thus, the next option would be to deport Venezuelans to Mexico if they have a reciprocating treaty with Mexico. Canada has a treaty with the US to deport third party nationals that went through the US to get to Canada and of course vice versa — The US can deport individuals to Canada if they arrived through Canada. Thus Canada deports Haitians to the US.
However deporting people half way around the world is extremely unusual and should violate most human rights agreements, constitutional rules, etc. The previous UK conservative gov’t tried to pay Uganda to take illegal migrants deport from the UK no matter their origin (mostly Asian) but was over ruled by the courts and then cancelled by the incoming Labour. I suspect that is where the Trump admin got the idea. Choosing South Sudan as a destination is just bizarre, I suppose it was easy to bribe the gov’t but this is one of the worst places to dump somebody — there’s only a few worse places on the planet (Afghanistan, Yemen, etc).
South Sudan, Alligator Alcatraz, large scale military style raids at Home Depot, etc all suggest an admin where the spectacle is as important if not more important. Both to scare possible future migrants and to impress the MAGA faithful — the optics of action over policy.
hrw
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Mumsee — its easier to say what ICE shouldn’t do than what they should do…..
ICE currently has quotas for their agents — dump them. This only encourages them to hang out at Home Depot, chase farm workers through strawberry fields, hangout at elementary schools waiting for parents to pick up children and wait in court for migrants to complete the paperwork to stay in the country. None of this is making Americans safer. In fact, it’s probably having the reverse effect as agents ignore the hard work of tracking down criminal migrants and go for easy picking.
Noem needs to learn to budget. She’s running out of money and is now using FEMA money to build her concentration camp in Florida. And it appears its holding mostly farm workers, expired green card holders, and even some DACA recipients. A lot of money spent here takes away from disaster relief elsewhere. Not too mention the weird results where a far right conspiracy (FEMA will build concentration camps) comes true under a right wing government.
hrw
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The autopen thing is weird. I don’t see why its an issue or why people are still talking about it. As the world moves away from paper, many things that require a signature are on a pdf file not a paper on the desk. Save the signature on the pdf software and click it into place. Sure it can be abused but it has become the norm in business and bureaucracies everywhere.
My report cards would be saved as pdfs and then sent to the principal for reading, he would use the autopen feature to sign the reports and then send them back to me. Copies would be automatically sent to parents, a printed copy I would make would go to the files. This saved our admin both time and paper. Did they actually read the pdf — some maybe others maybe not. But even when it was a paper copy, reports weren’t always read. My reports were rarely read — after 20 years, admin assumed I knew what I was doing and would spend their time reading newer teacher’s reports or perhaps the odd student they had an interest in. Legally they were responsible for my reports but…..
Similarly, in Biden’s case, he had a list of people to give pardons. His admin wrote it all up and he may or may have read them while the autopen did its work. In any case, as long as he verbally okayed it, what’s the problem. Honestly, this is the weirdest thing to get outraged about — its normal practise everywhere.
hrw
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The problem, obviously, is that Biden staffers were making the decisions (without the authority to do so), and Biden wasn’t all there anyway.
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“Mr. Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people, he and aides confirmed.”
It seems that Hunter Biden’s pardon was the only one that had an original signature.
Do you still think this is a non-story?
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“Both to scare possible future migrants and to impress the MAGA faithful — the optics of action over policy.”
I wonder if he realizes how “impressed” some of us are—and not in a good way. The President seems to me to be much changed since his last term. Less connected…
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Debra @3:27, I believe that is the majority opinion currently. There should be a pathway to citizenship made available for those who have been here a long time, have been working and have families here and have not been in trouble.
You’re within the majority, as am I and I would hope most folks here as well.
It’s reasonable and seems to be the American approach.
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And yes, it is also humane.
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Yes, let’s reward criminal behavior because they didn’t commit more.
How about no…
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Debra at 3:27,
I concur with the first paragraph. With our very messed up bureaucracies, I can’t imagine how we can process ten or twenty million varied applicants in short order. I wish we could but I don’t see it. Therefore it almost makes sense to clear everybody out. Almost. And then let them apply through official channels, preferably through States or Counties rather than the massive Federal inhumane mess.
Second on revocations, the last administration was clearly not interested in bringing people in legally so any
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Debra part two,
any legal standing becomes questionable. I rely on Kathaleena’s roofer to give a more complete picture. The person is taken in, heard, released in many cases but we rarely hear of that.
Third paragraph: on ICE. When people were reporting names, descriptions, vehicle descriptions, they had to come up with a counter plan. I agree this is not ideal.
mumsee
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Debra
In Trump’s first term, I think he was willing to work with others, take advice, etc He wanted to skim a bit of money here and there but he wasn’t overtly greedy. He liked the praise, the attention, etc but was willing to work with Republicans, advisers etc and was quite willing to leave the day to day grind to others. He was one of the very few world leaders who didn’t age while in office.
In his second term, he appears to be motivated by revenge, grift, and power. He never recovered from losing to Biden and you can see it still occupies him with the constant reference to the Biden admin. He’s far more open about making money — selling perfume, crypto, accepting airplanes, etc. However, the most noticeable feature for me is his ageing. Unlike his first term, he looks like he’s ageing and rapidly. He’s more personally invested this time around — he wants a peace prize, he wants a legacy, power and he’s “working”. This is ageing him and his cognitive skills are slowing. All of this is making him angry and impatient.
Anyway, just thoughts going through my head as I watch the sh%tshow.
hrw
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When ICE is chasing Mexicans through the strawberry field, they aren’t even chasing people who want to stay in the US. There’s a long tradition in the south west of people travelling north for the harvest — staying 3-6 months and taking the money home and using it for various reasons back home — buy land, build a home, send kids to school, etc. This has been happening for over 100 years and has been ingrained socially and economically in Mexico and the south west US. The Mexican farm workers killed this week went home after the harvest every year.
Growing up, local tobacco and fruit farmers used to hire men from the Caribbean to work the harvest for about 3-4 months. At a certain point the government got involved and there was official paperwork involved. This is easy in Canada as they had to fly to Canada and could be processed at the airport.
The US could try to do the same — ie create some sort of temporary worker program for the harvest or they could simply continue the current migratory pattern. The latter is probably the easiest and cheapest.
Migratory labour is not a uniquely American problem. Italian and Portuguese used to go north looking for work and now Eastern Europeans go west for work. In both cases, the vast majority went home after the season was done. With the money made, they could buy land and build a home. I’m sure similar things happen elsewhere — Filipinos for example go everywhere. The point is simple — almost all countries developed some sort of civil approach to migrant labour (except perhaps the Arabian peninsula) . Very few send masked men chasing workers through the fields.
Either develop a program or expand an existing program or allow the traditional seasonal migration.
hrw
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HRW, we have always had a policy for letting migrants in for temporary labor. Not all take advantage of it nd not all employers care. They also work in Idaho and many make it their permanent home, legally or not.
Ukrainians come to work as truck drivers for six months, returning to Ukraine for six months of rest and relaxation. Fortunately, we are finally putting in place a requirement that they and the many others, read enough English to be able to 8nterpret the road signs correctly and companies are putting in ESL on the fast track, complete with cue cards.
We are trying to get some legality.
mumsee
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HRW, part two,
In my perspective, Trump is listening to advisers and especially to the people. I do believe he is carrying a heavier burden this time around because he saw how close we were dragged to the precipice and knows this is his last chance to make an improvement and to instill that concern into steady people who will be following up. I do not see the selfishness you see.
mumsee
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So why does the US need to take aliens under their wing and provide for their very sustenance??
To immigrate to Canada, you need to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family upon arrival, in addition to any application fees. The required amount of money varies based on family size and the specific immigration program.
Minimum Funds Required for Express entry (as of July 7, 2025):
Important Considerations:
In addition to settlement funds, other costs to consider include:
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