Taking advantage
Trump has found a reason to love the pandemic.
The US has expelled more than 6,300 undocumented migrants on its Mexico border using emergency powers to curb coronavirus spread, officials say.
…
The measure, initially in place for 30 days, was necessary to limit the spread of the disease in crowded places such as border patrol stations or ports of entry, said CDC Director Dr Robert R Redfield. The US has the world’s highest number of confirmed infections – more than 460,000 – and nearly 16,500 deaths.
A social-distancing move, in other words.
In recent years, most of the people trying to enter the US have come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, usually claiming to be fleeing poverty and violence.
Combined, those countries have fewer than 700 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 32 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the disease globally. Mexico has some 3,400 confirmed cases with 194 deaths.
They have far fewer cases than we do…so this could be seen as sending them back for their own safety. That won’t be how Trump sees it though.
Those being sent back under the CDC order include children arriving at the border alone who would previously be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services to be protected from violence and exploitation. “The disease doesn’t know age,” Mr Morgan said.
However, he rejected criticism that the health measure was being used as an extension of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies. “This is not about immigration. This is about public health,” he told reporters. “This is about putting forth aggressive mitigation and containment measures.”
Could be, but with Trump on the throne, it’s best to be suspicious. Pro Publica and Democrats are being suspicious.
But an internal CBP document published by ProPublica website shows that access to protections such as asylum has been effectively blocked, with exceptions granted only for those able to show a “reasonably believable” fear of being tortured.
On Tuesday, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who oversees border agencies, saying the government’s use of the emergency public health measure was not legal.
“Contrary to existing law, individuals, families and children are now unable to sufficiently make claims for asylum, seek other forms of humanitarian protection, and, in some instances, are being expelled to countries in which they fear p[er]secution,” it said.
The virus is not the only threat to life, even now.
My doctor was making that point this morning. He said he constantly has to remind people that the coronavirus isn’t going to put other life-threatening diseases on hold until it’s over, and we can’t just shut down treatment of diabetes, heart attacks, cancer, etc. More people will die from those than from coronavirus…though he was not minimizing the threat of coronavirus, not at all. He just sometimes has to remind people to get the treatment they need, not to fully shut down all vital services.
And then there is domestic violence, which is likely to actually kill more women than usual as people are locked up with their “loved” ones for long periods of time with no respite. I’m fortunate that my husband and I have always had a system for giving each other space; we’ll probably come through this fine. But some of my friends are having more difficulties, and then there are the couples that actually don’t even like each other anymore. And parents who lose patience with their kids….
So we respond by taking measures to ensure more people will die from political nastiness in other countries to add to all that. It’s like we want to maximize pain and suffering (and by “we”, I mean the GOP, not anyone among the B&W commentariat).
Another potential danger here is that some of the border guards involved in the expulsions may be carriers of the virus and pass it to the asylum seekers being expelled, thereby sending hundreds of potential carriers into Mexico and beyond like so many infected blankets.
@Acolyte of Sagan
Shhh. Don’t give Trump any ideas.