Here we go again. It’s only been a couple of months since the government shut down because Democrats and Republicans couldn’t find a compromise. At that time, immigration was a huge part of the hold-up, as Democrats refused to fund the wall or send the DACA kids packing.
Immigration is still on the table, but the demands coming from the right this time around are, in a word, devastating.
MARCH 23
Lawmakers have until March 23 to figure out how they will fund all the various government agencies for the next six months. Once again, however, the negotiations behind-the-scenes are held up because of the Republican’s horrifying and ridiculous demands.
According to Reuters, this time around, Republicans are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars more for the Department of Homeland Security and the reason is chilling.
These funds are to be used for one purpose, jailing as many immigrants as they possibly can. Republicans want more beds in detentions centers, as well as more ICE agents on the ground.
INCLUDING CHILDREN
Make no mistake; those detentions will include children, the Trump administration has already been jailing as many as they can find for months.
Sarah Pierce, policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute, said:
“If you increased the number of beds, the number of people detained in this country will likely be increased.”
Republicans are also asking for $1.6 billion to begin construction of the ridiculous wall Trump wants to build on the border with Mexico. His sycophants conveniently forgot Mexico was supposed to pay for the thing, apparently.
DEMOCRATS
The Democrats are, once again, in the position of facing a government shut-down if they refuse to budge on these ludicrous demands, as their votes will be needed to pass the trillion-dollar spending bill.
They are vehemently pushing back against a wall they view as a massive waste of money.
Democrats are also asking congressional leaders to reduce finding to DHS to help put a stop to the “deportation machine.”
Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham said:
“It’s wasteful and it’s harmfully targeting and deporting non-criminal immigrants, separating families and terrorizing frankly whole communities.”
WASTEFUL
Republicans hope that with the new fund they will be able to hire 500 more Customs and Border Protection agents as well as 1,000 more ICE agents. Eventually, they hope to increase CBP’s force by 5,000 and ICE’s by a whopping 10,000.
Although Democrats did note that currently, the agencies are falling short in filling the positions already available. Makes one wonder where they will find thousands more.
If sending law-abiding, tax-paying, hard-working people away, tearing families and communities apart at will, and jailing children are what it means to Make America Great Again, I want to know one thing: Where’s the exit? I want off this horrible ride.
Featured Image via jvoves on VisualHunt /CC-By-2.0.
