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Trump Immigration Tag

There he went again. Early this morning Donald Trump launched a twitter storm regarding the issue of the Executive Orders regarding visa entry to the U.S. from 6 (originally 7) majority Muslim nations previously identified by the Obama administration as posing unique security risks. On January 28, 2017, just after the first Executive Order, I addressed much of the nonsense in the media about the substance of the Executive Order, Most claims about Trump’s visa Executive Order are false or misleading. Most significantly, it was inaccurate to describe it as a "Muslim ban," which was the media descriptor of choice.

Donald Trump's second Executive Order on visa entry from six majority Muslim countries is now before the Supreme Court. Trump is seeking review of the 4th Circuit's decision upholding a Maryland District Court injunction halting the Executive Order. In addition to the Petition for  a Writ of Certiorari asking SCOTUS to hear the case on the merits, Trump has a request for a stay of the lower court injunctions pending a decision on the merits. The application is on a fast track, with the Court setting June 12 as the deadline for opposition papers. The 4th Circuit's decision found that the Executive Order, though facially neutral, "in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination" and that context was "a backdrop of public statements by the President and his advisors and representatives at different points in time, both before and after the election and President Trump’s assumption of office."

IF the U.S. Supreme Court wants to weigh in quickly on the legality of Donald Trump's Second Executive Order temporarily barring new visa entries on people from six high-risk countries, SCOTUS has an opportunity to do so. Yesterday the Justice Department filed requests for review of the case (Petition for Certiorari) and for a stay of 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmance of a Maryland District Court injunction pending determination of whether SCOTUS will hear the case.

In a move that is sure to go uncelebrated on the regressive left and to leave many Trump supporters scratching their heads, the State Department has lifted the limit on the number of refugees admitted to the U. S.   This change will result in almost twice as many refugees flooding into our country each day. It is not clear at this time if President Trump is aware of or has approved this change of policy, though it seems highly unlikely he would be unaware of such a substantive change.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard the case en banc, has upheld substantially all of the Maryland District Court injunction against Trump's revised travel Executive Order in an opinion (pdf.) dripping with politics. (Full embed at bottom of post). The opinions (including concurring and dissenting) are 200 pages, so it will take some time to digest, but you'll get the message from the opening paragraph:

When it comes to blocking President Donald Trump's plans for the Border Wall, the Democratic Party has displayed imagination, creativity, and enthusiasm rarely surpassed in the annals of human history.
Democrats opposed border wall funding in the latest government spending debate and the White House eventually backed off of its demand to secure the money this month. When the funding fight comes up again in September, Democrats are still likely to deem it a non-starter in negotiations. "I have said repeatedly and consistently, I will not support an omnibus that includes funding for a wall; not going to do it," said Rep. Joe Crowley, D-New York, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, at a recent press conference.

Hey, give Joy Reid credit. At least she didn't go full Hitler analogy . . . On her MSNBC show this morning, Reid claimed that a recently-adopted Texas immigration law sounds "almost like an apartheid-era law." To support her alarmist claim, Reid badly mischaracterized the law, suggesting that under it, "any person can be stopped for any reason and asked essentially [to] show their papers." Her ACLU guest seemingly agreed, saying, "that's right." But she added that immigration-status inquiries can be made "once a person is legally detained," thus debunking Reid's suggestion that a person could be stopped and asked "for any reason."

Baltimore is taking the idea of "sanctuary cities" to the next level in its ongoing "resistance" to President Trump's policy of enforcing our nation's immigration laws. The mayor has insisted that Baltimore is a "welcoming" rather than a "sanctuary" city, and earlier this month, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz signed an executive order regarding illegal immigrants.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions held a press conference in Long Island, New Jersey in which he addressed gang violence.  He directly addressed the brutal and growing barbarism of the MS-13 gang, stating that in the Trump era the violent grip this gang has on Long Island, in particular, is unacceptable and will be stamped out. MS-13 is a Salvadoran gang that has established roots across America and is touted as "the gang that scares other gangs." Fox News reports:
They’re known as MS-13, MS, Mara or Mara Salvatrucha, but by any name, they’re trouble.

There's a wall being built on the Mexican border. You just can't see it. But Mika Brzezinski could feel it. On today's Morning Joe, Brzezinski mimed an invisible border wall. Mika's shtick came in the course of a discussion suggesting that the Trump administration might settle for less than a 2,200 mile-long wall, substituting surveillance of various types. Joe Scarborough helpfully suggested "wild coyotes wearing cameras."

A federal judge in California blocked a portion of President Trump's January Immigration Executive Order Tuesday. Jude William H. Orrick of United States District Court for the Northern District of California targeted the Trump administration's promise to cut federal funding from "sanctuary cities" or cities who refused to cooperate with federal law enforcement concerning immigration matters.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a stop in my hometown on Friday. During the visit, he urged cities and other government jurisdictions with sanctuary policies to reconsider and work with federal law enforcement to identify criminals who should be deported.

President Trump is set to sign a "Buy American, Hire American" Executive Order today that is expected to direct federal agencies to buy American when possible and to refocus the H-1B visa program to discourage companies from replacing American workers with lower paid foreign workers.  Rather than a new set of rules, the Executive Order seeks to ensure enforcement of decades old existing laws and rules that have gone unenforced. In yesterday's White House background briefing, a senior administration official explained that the rules for buy American and hire American have been abused and "enormously diluted over time" due to waivers and exemptions.  President Trump's executive order is intended to rectify this problem.

On Wednesday night, Virgil Bernero, the mayor of sanctuary city Lansing, Michigan, told Tucker Carlson that if his police force were to enforce immigration laws, it would be seen as an "occupying force." An incredulous Tucker responded, "people come into your country illegally, your job is to enforce the laws as a police officer, and you somehow feel guilty because you're an occupying force?" Bernero then played the white privilege card,  "it's easy for white men like us . . . who enjoy what we enjoy . . . " Tucker could take no more: "I was taking you seriously at the beginning, but this is just buffoonish."

One of my favorite TV shows airing this season is "Feud", which depicts the legendary rivalry between Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) during their collaboration on the psychological thriller, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Another legendary feud is currently taking place between President Donald Trump and California's political leaders. The policy conflict has now substantially escalated after the state senate approved "Sanctuary State" legislation bill that bars local and state law enforcement from using their resources to help federal immigration authorities.
The 40-member body approved Senate Bill 54, introduced by Sen. President Pro Tem Kevin de León, on a 27-12, party-line vote. It now heads to the Assembly.

One of the industries that has been most impacted by the aftermath of the 2016 election has been the tattoo removal business. At the end of last year, Kemberlee Kaye noted that many millennials were consulting plastic surgeons to remove now unwanted body art. As we head toward President Trump's 100th day in office, and it is apparent he is continuing his policies of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement actually enforce federal law, tattoo removal experts are now seeing a different kind of client: Illegal aliens.