Tag: immigrant

Dear Congresswoman Salazar, It’s the Year of ‘We Told You So!’

Michael Matheron1 Comment

A staunch supporter of Trump during the 2024 campaign, Florida Congresswoman Maria Salazar, representing Miami, found out that her support for Trump’s immigration disposal project would actually target her own constituents despite a Biden administration policy that protected them. Well, Maria, we told you so.

BACKGROUND. “The Biden Administration’s recent use of the statutory parole authority has attracted scrutiny. Since 2021, the Biden Administration has invoked the immigration parole authority to enable aliens from certain countries — Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — to enter the United States so long as they satisfy other eligibility criteria. For instance, regulations provide that, to qualify for the parole processes for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (“CHNV”), the applicant must apply in his or her home country, pass a background check, demonstrate he or she has a financial supporter in the United States, and fly into the United States to an interior port of entry. He or she may remain in the United States for up to two years and obtain work authorization.” See Congressional Research Service Legal Sidebar for in-depth coverage.

The parole processes that make up the CHNV program have been available to Venezuelans since October 2022 and to Haitians, Cubans, and Nicaraguans since January 2023. As of the end of October 2024, 110,240 Cubans, 211,010 Haitians, 93,070 Nicaraguans, and 117,310 Venezuelans. See Refugees International Fact Sheet. As of December 2024, about 531,690 people had entered the country under that program, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. See Voice of America News.

On January 20, Donald Trump ended the humanitarian CHNV parole program. Under the executive order “Securing Our Borders,” which outlines various immigration-related actions, including the CHNV program which allowed up to 30,000 individuals per month.

CONGRESSWOMAN SALAZAR’S INTEREST According to the U.S. Census, 70% of Salazar’s district are Hispanic/Latino, especially Cuban. Salazar has been a vocal suppporter of Trump’s deportation goals, patticularly about thos immigrants that arrived under President Biden’s watch. While she is less draconian in her immigration policies yhan the more rabid Trump congresspeople, she had this to say during an interview on PBS News Hour during the GOP convention:

“You need to create a division between two groups of undocumented: the ones who came in during the last three and a half years – eight million people and the thirteen of fourteen [million] who have been here – picking the jalapenos in southern California, or the oranges in Florida – those people, I believe, because they have been here, they don’t have a criminal record, they have American children, they’ve been contributing to the economy, they’ve been paying taxes, those people should be looked at it with a dignity – and we can expand on that later – the people who came in in the last three and a half years, we don’t know what intentions they have. . .”

During the Biden administration, under the CHNV program, more than 500,000 persons entered the U.S. As discussed above they were thoroughly vetted. A significant number arrived in her district from Cuba, for instance.

But (now) there are exceptions. . . Note that Ms. Salazar was staunchly disapproving of the Biden administration’s use of the CHNV program but not those admitted during the Trump administration. Saying of the Biden era: ” the people who came in in the last three and a half years, we don’t know what intentions they have,” disregarding the strong vetting process that the CHNV requires, and that a large number of her own CHNV constituents gained admission to her district.

However, now, faced with Trump’s Executive Orders, assaulting the CHNV program, she has seen the light. And here’s her politically calculated backtracking:

I’m urging Homeland Security to PROTECT Cubans awaiting legal status adjustment through the Cuban Adjustment Act.
We must ALSO protect the Venezuelans and Nicaraguans without a criminal record
going through the asylum process.

Don’t penalize them for Biden’s screw-ups!

Tweet/X, January 24, 2015 – Representative Maria Salazar,
Representing Miami Florida since 2021

And here’s her pleading to the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Bengamine Huffman. What the Acting Secretary’s response will be is presently guesswork, however, Trump’s Executive Order was clear: sayonara CHNV . . .

The Bipartisan Way That Biden’s Border Closing Proclamation Became Necessary

Michael Matheron2 Comments

Today, the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Fact Sheet announcing that President Biden effectively closed the southern border [DHS FAQ].

Excerpts from the Proclamation:

You DO have to live like a refugee, young man
Copyright, Michael V. Matheron

Section 1.  Suspension and Limitation on Entry.  The entry of any noncitizen into the United States across the southern border is hereby suspended and limited, subject to section 3 of this proclamation.  This suspension and limitation on entry shall be effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 5, 2024.  The suspension and limitation directed in this proclamation shall be discontinued pursuant to subsection 2(a) of this proclamation, subject to subsection 2(b) of this proclamation.

     Sec. 2.  Applicability of Suspension and Limitation on Entry. (a)  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall monitor the number of daily encounters and, subject to subsection (b) of this section, the suspension and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation shall be discontinued at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on the date that is 14 calendar days after the Secretary makes a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less than 1,500 encounters, not including encounters described in subsection 4(a)(iii) of this proclamation.

Also, it directs that:

For purposes of subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this section, unaccompanied children (as defined in section 279(g)(2) of title 6, United States Code) from non-contiguous countries shall not be included in calculating the number of encounters.

President Biden has had understandably difficult policy, humanitarian, and political choices since day one of his administration. Hyperbolic MAGA/GOP criticism was expected, but due to Trump’s meddling this has not been consistent: during February, the GOP scuttled a Senate-created very workable and strict bipartisan immigration bill, one that the Senate fought hard to produce. Why refuse to pass a bipartisan bill MAGA/GOP members had helped craft? Well, enter the usual suspects: firstly, it’s impossible to please them, especially House MAGAs, with any Biden- or Democratic-supported victory, and, secondly, because Trump directed his congressional minions to deny Biden a victory – regardless of the human toll at the border. This interference is now commonplace since Trump is a demanding god who wants to mendaciously campaign on Biden’s failure to enact immigration reform. Thus, the southern border has devolved into a very serious train wreck with Trump the berserk engineman.

Also, of no small measure, there’s a pox on both houses. For example, Democratic progressives were unmoved by many of the concessions to GOP/MAGA allowed by Democratic senators during the border bill negotiations. The Congressional Progressive Caucus had this to say on May 22:

“We are disappointed that the Senate will once again vote on an already-failed border bill in a move that only splits the Democratic Caucus over extreme and unworkable enforcement-only policies. This framework, which was constructed under Republican hostage-taking, does nothing to address the longstanding updates needed to modernize our outdated immigration system, create more legal pathways, and recognize the enormous contributions of immigrants to communities and our economy. . . It is tempting to simply embrace the very policies we rejected under Donald Trump to counter the horrific xenophobic and racist attacks against immigrants coming from the right. We urge our Senate Democratic colleagues to resist this urge and instead show a clear contrast between Republicans and Democrats. Abandon unworkable policy solutions offered by Republicans and instead work with our caucuses to craft a common-sense bipartisan bill that provides holistic solutions that address our economic, humanitarian, and security needs — not more of the same enforcement-only approach that has failed us for the last 30 years.” 

Moreover, the Tri-Caucus – a diverse group of legislative leaders comprised of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) – were leery of the Senate’s deal. One of their group, CHC, issued a statement, excerpted below:

“The Senate border bill once again fails to meet the moment by putting forth enforcement-only policies and failing to include provisions that will keep families together . . . As written, the bill excludes critical protections and legal pathways for families, farm workers and America’s Dreamers who have been in the U.S. contributing to our Nation’s communities and economy for decades. . . CHC recognizes that our immigration system is broken and that there are challenges at the border that Congress must address. However, if this bill passes, it will set back real comprehensive immigration reform by years.”

I sympathize with the progressive concerns and usually side with them, and there indeed were some MAGA/GOP nasty provisions in the bipartisan border bill. The tactics here missed the moment though, when Democrats needed to present a solid front. There are times when one must accept the possible versus the perfect. This bipartisan bill was that moment when a Pyrrhic victory was worthwhile. With a win on the bipartisan bill, Democrats would have:

  • pleased most American voters (many Democrats consider border security their greatest concern);
  • helped Biden and Democratic 2024 candidates in red and purple states by giving them a big win by softening the resistance of swing voters; and;
  • turned some of those highly border-concerned independent votes from leaning MAGA/GOP to Democratic votes, and that group will be decisive in 2024 for Biden and Senate and House races with control of two out of three government branches at stake; and;
  • provided Democrats – should they capture majorities in Congress and return Biden to the White House – many chances to modify the bipartisan bill’s immigration policies to revise or remove some or all of the most objectionable MAGA/GOP provisions.

It was that important to compromise on the border security bill and there will be no more chances before the election. Opportunity – a big one – missed.

Is it too late for President’s border closing effort to remedy the harm done by failing to pass the bipartisan bill through a divided Congress? I do think the border issue will swing this election. Bear in mind, should MAGA/GOP forces repopulate the federal government in 2025, the immigration bill they will formulate will be draconian. For example, see a GOP bill that cleared the House one-year ago, a bill that would have codified President Trump’s policies and added ever more severe policies. Hopefully, the future of Biden’s Proclamation in the five months before election day will cure much of the public’s intense concern about the administration’s immigration policies and turn undecided votes to Democratic votes. Hope especially for a minor miracle – that the disappointing Biden campaign staff will know/learn how to use and widely publicize this win From my typewriter to God’s ears.