They Did It Again (And Again...)

by C.A. Matthews

 

Example 1: Christmas in February

The postmark read December 19, 2024. We received the Christmas card this past week. In previous years we received mail from my husband’s cousin in less than a month’s time. What was so different this time?

Two Christmas letters that I’d mailed out the first week of December came back “return to sender” a little over week ago. Is there some new rule that says that these letters must sit in bag somewhere inside a post office for almost two months before being returned to the sender?

What gives with the US postal service? If you’re blaming Trump for the lousy mail service, you’re only half right. Sure, Trump appointed Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General during his first term, but I mailed these letters (and others in the past four years which have been delayed and lost) during the Biden administration. Who served as Postmaster General under Biden?

You guessed it—it was Louis DeJoy and it still is.

If Louis DeJoy was installed by Trump to wreck the USPS so Congress would be tempted to shut it down and turn it into a private mail delivery corporation instead of a public one, then why did Biden never attempt to appoint another Postmaster General? I’ve received tons of emails these past four years from various organizations saying we should all write our Congress members as well as President Biden pleading to work toward changing the USPS board so it could offer a replacement for DeJoy.

The thing is, DeJoy knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s doing as our real rulers want him to do. And Biden didn’t want to upset the rulers, so DeJoy remained in office.

DeJoy’s bosses are not the president and Congress. His bosses are the oligarchs (or billionaires) who control everything because they essentially own everything—up to and including the presidency...

 

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Biden's Berlin Wall

Biden’s Berlin Wall

by C.A. Matthews

Having worked closely with immigrants over the years, I can’t help but take each setback in their collective struggle for equal rights and justice as personal. So many come to the US fleeing gang violence, destitution, climate catastrophe, religious and racial discrimination… And what do they find when they land on US shores? Often more of the same.

The US hides its bias behind a veneer of supposed legality and practicality. But is it really legal? Take for instance Biden’s latest twist in immigration law that prevents individuals from claiming asylum when they come to our southern border. In other words, he wants to get rid of US Code 8, Section 1158 which clearly states:

§1158. Asylum
Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien's status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title.

It’s pretty straightforward. If you are fleeing for your life, and you claim asylum, you are to be given an asylum hearing inside the US no matter how or where you enter the country. Until your claim has been adjudicated by an immigration judge, you're allowed to stay safely within the US. That is the law.

But Genocide Joe is trying hard to get the Trump bigots on his side for the upcoming presidential election. He has decided that brown and black people who usually enter on foot at our southern border shouldn’t be able to qualify for asylum even before they can open their mouths to request it. It's telling how immigrants with money (usually white and European in origin) can fly directly into any US airport and request asylum then and there, no problem. Very telling.

Does the president even have the authority to prevent non-citizens from entering the US? Some say he does under INA Section 212(f), however:

INA § 212(f) does not allow the president to interfere with or subvert other parts of the INA or other federal laws. That includes INA § 208, which grants people the right to seek asylum in the United States… While 212(f) authority has been used in recent years in an attempt to restrict access to asylum at the U.S./Mexico border, the courts have identified significant limitations. Some courts have also ruled that the president may not invoke this authority to address purely domestic considerations, such as high unemployment or costs to taxpayers. From Understanding INA Section 212f

The ongoing genocides in Gaza, Sudan, and other parts of the world—along with a potential for World War III involving Ukraine to begin any day now—have stolen the news limelight lately, making this heinous stunt violating human rights at our southern border almost invisible to the majority of Americans. But these types of violent conflicts are the driving forces behind much of the immigration to the US today. 

The US is the driver of its own immigration problems because it can’t keep itself from stealing others' land and resources. It can't stop itself from overthrowing democratically elected governments in countries that won’t do business with American businesses on US corporations' terms alone.

Until we shut down the US war machine and dismantle the military-industrial-Congressional complex, we’re going to see more and more people coming to our borders fleeing from the violence and climate catastrophes the US military has instigated in their homelands.

As the executive director at Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) states:

"This move to drastically reduce asylum access is dangerous, immoral, and illegal," said Anna Gallagher, executive director at CLINIC. "We are appalled that the United States is abandoning its commitment to humanitarian protection and national and international asylum law in issuing this executive order. The policy will strip countless migrants of their legal right to seek asylum with due process, and as a result many lives will be endangered and lost, and families separated."

Who really needs due process or to respect the legal rights of others, huh? Obviously, we’ve decided that the migrants we don’t want to let in for whatever reasons don’t have any rights at all. It was bad enough when Trump and his cadre use the misnomer “illegals” to describe immigrants coming to our border seeking asylum, but now we have Butcher Biden continuing the Trump tradition of separating family members, separating children from their parents. This move will cause ever more desperate immigrants to seek the services of human traffickers to help smuggle them into the US. More deaths, more lawsuits, more unhappiness…

The US Southern Border Wall https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-mexicos-southern-border/

I talked to our resident historian, Coast Watcher, about the walls at our southern border, the barbwire-covered walls circling the bomb-pummeled territory of Gaza, historic walls such as the one that divided East and West Berlin. That got Coast Watcher thinking about how certain patterns of history are once again repeating themselves. 

Is Biden really trying to keep desperate people out of the US, or is he very slyly trying to keep desperate Americans locked in? Why would the Biden administration fear Americans escaping? Are there not enough cannon fodder (soldiers) for a big war planned in the near future? Should we expect American citizens to be denied human rights like we're currently denying them to asylum seekers, like the Israeli government denies the rights of the indigenous Palestinian people?

 https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/berlin-wall-pictures-1961-1989/

The New Iron Curtain?

by Coast Watcher

A common theme of far-right criticism leveled at Biden is, “He’s a Commie!” On the face of it such an accusation is far from accurate. Biden was, is, and (for what little remains of his putrid life) always will be a conservative authoritarian.

And yet, that little comment throws up a few surprising parallels between the United States of Israel—er, America—with the former Communist Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR. In English, we called it the German Democratic Republic, or more commonly East Germany.

The first parallel is how in both nations the mainstream media was/is almost entirely state-controlled. (Not owned by the state necessarily in the US but controlled.) Little is published that contradicts or criticizes The Regime. Social media takes up a lot of the slack here in the US, but with increasing levels of censorship it’s taking on the appearance of samizdat. In terms of online material much that is frowned upon is self-censored by the corporations who own the social media platforms on behalf of the status quo. 

A recent example of censorship in Biden’s America is how the Columbia Law Review’s website was closed down by the university board of directors after the site published an article by Rabea Eghbariah criticizing Israel.

Secondly, there’s The Regime’s obsession with walls. The DDR created a beauty when it erected the Antifaschistischer Schutzwall (the Anti-fascist Protection Barrier, a.k.a. The Berlin Wall, a.k.a. The Iron Curtain). Supposedly a wall against the pernicious influence of capitalism, the Berlin Wall acted to prevent the hemorrhaging of the East German population to the West. Something in the region of 20% of the DDR’s people voted with their feet against the totalitarian regime during its existence, causing immense harm to the DDR's economy and its image.

Part of the Gaza Wall activestills.org

Of course, both Biden and Trump claim the wall built along America’s southern border is to prevent mass illegal immigration. Looking at posts on X (Twitter) from people seeking to leave the increasingly totalitarian United States, I wonder how long it’ll be before the border wall is turned around to face inward. If the US wants you to stay put, you will be walled in similar to how the Gazans have been walled into their own homeland by the white settler colonists, a.k.a. Israeli Zionists.

The DDR shut down political dissent as soon as it appeared. We’re seeing that very same phenomena in the United States nowadays. Police response to pro-Palestine demonstrations on university campuses has been far beyond proportional to any trouble caused. Zionist vigilantes have been allowed to beat up on student protesters while the cops look the other way and arrest the peaceful students who were beaten. 

The message is clear. There is to be no resistance, no objections to the official narrative. Anyone who supports the Palestinian people are “Hamas” and subsequently “terrorists” to be locked up.

And when it comes to protesting the government’s policies in any way, shape or form, here’s a quote from Police Superintendent Larry Snelling in reference to the upcoming so-called “Democratic” Party conference in Chicago: “Protesting peacefully doesn’t always mean you’re protected by the First Amendment.”

What’s free speech good for if you can’t even be protected from harm by your own government while exercising your First Amendment rights peacefully? The East German Stasi would have been proud.

CodePink SE Los Angeles and Inland Empire joined other activists in vocally disrupting Vice President Kamala Harris’s guest spot on the Jimmy Kimmel Live television show. They were forcefully removed, assaulted, and illegally detained by the show’s security. So much for free speech anywhere in the US.

And then there’s the economy… The DDR suffered massive financial stress due to its totalitarian policies. Everything from food to furniture to cars became harder for the workers to afford. The East Germans were left with rising food costs and increasingly decrepit infrastructure.

The United States is on course for the same trouble with, as an example, a week’s grocery bill for two people in New York City costing over $750. The price of eggs has skyrocketed. Locally this most staple of cheap foods costs about $1.49 a dozen as of this past week. What will it cost next week? Will working class people even be able to afford eggs at all by November?

And it’s not like the US has experienced any recent example of infrastructure failures such as derailed trains carrying toxic chemicals deliberately set on fire in the middle of a small town or bridges falling over from a small tap from an overloaded ocean-going container barge.

It should be noted that the DDR was not above dealing with the hated Capitalist West when it came to earning hard currency to keep its failing economy afloat. The DDR took incredible quantities of industrial waste from West Germany, dumping it on its own soil and causing pollution for generations. Sounds familiar when you consider how states like Ohio take in toxic fracking water waste to make some extra cash at the expense of their own citizens’ health when the pollutants leak into their drinking water.

It's not hard to draw a parallel between the East German government taking capitalist cash like this and the US taking “backhanders and gifts” from oil companies to license fracking and drilling for oil on federal lands and preserves. In the US they sometimes call this money influx “campaign donations.”

Of course the DDR government paid little to no attention to climate change. Thirty plus years on from the Berlin Wall’s collaspe, the US government is doing as little or less. This in spite of record-breaking heatwaves across the Southwest and dramatic flooding in parts of the Central and Eastern states so far this season. There are just too many more important things to occupy the attention of the powers-that-be, like growing the US military budget.

When it came to the DDR’s military budget, it was given a 6% increase each year until it reached the point where the regime’s military became a major partner in the Warsaw Pact alliance. Military and security expenditures amounted to a 9.2% slice of the DDR budget, a sizable chunk of change.

The US military sucks up a woeful 14.7% of national expenditure. It’s not like that money could be spent on things like universal health care or providing a free education from kindergarten through college such as the East Germans had. We wouldn’t want Americans to become used to things like that. They could become “Commies.” And who really wants that?

When it comes to the government, the East German public had little say in how it was run. Show elections happened every few years. You might think there would be a big difference between the DDR and the USA when it comes to elections, but the Princeton study shows real input from the American public amounts to no more than 3% of all policies fielded in Congress. This is much like the DDR, where the status quo Communist Party always won 98% or more of the vote—something which was shown to be false when independent observers oversaw the ballot count in the elections of May 1989.

That particular election led to huge trouble for the DDR government, paving the way for the massive uprising against the totalitarian regime that threw down the Berlin Wall and brought about German reunification.

But it’s not like that at all in the US where exit polls are no longer taken in presidential elections. It’s not like Americans don’t have a wide variety of candidates to choose from when they open up their ballot for president every four years… Even in states like New York that force independent and third party candidates to collect 45,000 verified signatures within a short six week period. No comparison at all to GDR with its limited choice of candidates. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along now.

Perhaps my analogy will only go so far, although the parallels are there to see. Perhaps someday Americans will finally tell their bought-and-paid-for politicians where they can shove their military budget appropriations and demand serious and lasting beneficial changes for the people—hopefully before we all get blown to hell by the nuclear fires of World War III. 

Sources:
The Berlin Wall
https://www.stiftung-berliner-mauer.de/en/topics/berlin-wall
US military spending
https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-defense
 DDR military spending
https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3726z1.html

Don’t Forget the USS Liberty’s Dead and Wounded https://scheerpost.com/2024/06/08/dont-forget-the-uss-libertys-dead-and-wounded/

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Understanding INA Section 212f https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/understanding-ina-section-212f-president-authority-suspend-entry-migrants

‘What Are They Afraid Of?’: Columbia Law Review Board Shuts Down Website Over Nakba Article https://scheerpost.com/2024/06/06/what-are-they-afraid-of-columbia-law-review-board-shuts-down-website-over-nakba-article/ 

Peace Activists Assaulted And Forcibly Removed From Jimmy Kimmel Taping https://popularresistance.org/peace-activists-assaulted-and-forcibly-removed-from-jimmy-kimmel-taping

Biden's new immigration order restricts asylum claims along the border. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-executive-order-immigration-border-asylum/

A century ago, anti-immigrant backlash almost closed America’s doors https://theconversation.com/a-century-ago-anti-immigrant-backlash-almost-closed-americas-doors-228589

'Historic, But So, So Late': Israel Added to UN's Child-Killing 'List of Shame' https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-killing-children-2668478068

Israel has bombed a school less than a day since it bombed the last one https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/israel-has-bombed-a-school-less-than

Israel kills over 200 Palestinians to rescue 4 captives; U.S. allegedly involved in operation https://mondoweiss.net/2024/06/israel-kills-over-200-palestinians-to-rescue-4-captives-u-s-allegedly-involved-in-operation/

Narcissistic Personality Disorder in the USA https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/07/narcissistic-personality-disorder-in-the-usa/

Rights group accuses Israel of hitting residential buildings with white phosphorous in Lebanon  https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-human-rights-watch-white-phosphorus-616984b69e1cbe1efc5bbee4cb3ba8ae

US weapons parts used in Israeli attack on Gaza school https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/6/us-weapons-parts-used-in-israeli-attack-on-gaza-school-al-jazeera-analysis

US Bombs Used in Israeli Massacre of 40 in Gaza Refugee Camp https://scheerpost.com/2024/06/07/us-bombs-used-in-israeli-massacre-of-40-in-gaza-refugee-camp/

Israeli forces killed captives during Nuseirat 'massacre', alleges Hamas https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israeli-forces-kill-other-captives-during-nuseirat-massacre-alleges-hamas

US Targets Journalists Who Criticize Administration's Foreign Policy https://denniskucinich.substack.com/p/us-targets-journalists-who-

State department says it's Hamas' fault Israel won't accept Biden's peace deal (Hamas is willing to accept the deal) https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/state-department-says-its-hamas-fault

The Reckless Brinkmanship With Russia Just Keeps On Escalating https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-reckless-brinkmanship-with-russia

Lawmakers move to automate Selective Service registration for all men  https://www.federaltimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/05/23/lawmakers-move-to-automate-selective-service-registration-for-all-men/

If You Want to See White “Supremacy” at Work, Don’t go to a Trump Rally, Observe the Democrats’ Approach to Climate Change
https://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php/if-you-want-see-white-supremacy-work-dont-go-trump-rally-observe-democrats-approach-climate-change

The CIA Has “Georgia On Its Mind” https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/the-cia-has-georgia-on-its-mind

Police Are Sending Student Protesters to the ER. Campus Cops Don’t Keep Us Safe. https://scheerpost.com/2024/06/05/police-are-sending-student-protesters-to-the-er-campus-cops-dont-keep-us-safe/

The Fight for Palestinian Recognition in American Academia https://www.citizenschronicle.org/p/the-fight-for-palestinian-recognition

Some of AIPAC’s Biggest Donors Are Also Financing Attacks Against Labor Rights https://truthout.org/articles/some-of-aipacs-biggest-donors-are-also-financing-attacks-against-labor-rights/

Scott Ritter: On My Way to Russia I Met Big Brother. https://www.youtube.com/live/lOsW84wYdzg?si=G3L4wgiRDIrK6z9A

Russian warships will arrive in Havana next week, say Cuban officials citing ‘friendly relations’ https://apnews.com/article/cuba-russia-warships-caribbean-ukraine-97905c0a6072e39e2869a18e28b0aeef

Israel Reportedly Used Fake Social Media Accounts To Garner Support From US Lawmakers On Gaza War https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/06/05/israel-reportedly-used-fake-social-media-accounts-to-garner-support-from-us-lawmakers-on-gaza-war/

When Opposing A Genocide Means You're A Nazi https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/when-opposing-a-genocide-means-youre

Everything About Israel Is Fake https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/everything-about-israel-is-fake

The Media Skew Public Perception By Manipulating People's Attention https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-media-skew-public-perception

'We Want Peace': Spain Applies to Join ICJ Genocide Case Against Israel  https://www.commondreams.org/news/spain-genocide-case

Police Can Be Held Liable for Killing a Dog but Not a Black Person https://scheerpost.com/2024/06/07/police-can-be-held-liable-for-killing-a-dog-but-not-a-black-person/

Mexico Elected a Climate Scientist. But Will She Be a Climate President? https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07062024/mexico-president-elect-claudia-sheinbaum-climate-policy/

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The New Title 42

The New Title 42

info gathered by C.A. Matthews

Editor's note: From the "Just when you hoped things would get better for ordinary people" department comes news of what the Biden Administration wants to replace Trump's infamous "Title 42" deportation program with, and yes, it's fairly horrendous. 

In my day job as an immigration advocate, I have to explain what this new "Asylum/Transit Ban" is to a group of college students in a Powerpoint presentation. Here are my notes--along with a call for action. Everyone who reads this should send in a comment by the March 27th deadline and pass the link along. Lives are at stake.

 

The Biden Asylum/Transit Ban (“The New Title 42”)

What is/was Title 42?  

Title 42 is a public health and welfare statute enacted in 1944 which gives the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the authority to determine whether a communicable disease in a foreign country poses a danger of spreading in the US. If the CDC finds that a disease does pose a threat, it can, with approval from the president, temporarily prohibit people or property from entering the country to avert danger. It was enacted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Title 42 is set to expire on May 11, 2023, when the Biden administration states it will declare the pandemic officially over within the United States.  

What’s the big controversy over Title 42? 

Title 42 has been used to prevent immigrants from entering the US and claiming asylum, even though all persons entering the country must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Throwing up policy roadblocks to prevent people from entering the country and claiming asylum goes against current US asylum law. There have been 2.5 million expulsions under Title 42. A pattern of discrimination against asylum seekers of certain nationalities, ethnicities, races, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ+ persons has been noted. 

Expelled migrants from the US southern border have been sent to wait in the northern region of Mexico under the January 2019 MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols) or “Remain in Mexico”. Mexico will take only Department of Homeland Security expulsions of nationals of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela. All others are either sent back to their country of origin or allowed to proceed through a “normal asylum procedure” in the US. 

(Editor's note: Notice that the more melanin in your skin, the more likely your right to claim asylum in the US will be thwarted. And where these folks are being told to wait in northern Mexico is far from safe and pleasant. Read the latest travel advisory from the US Department of State on how very dangerous that part of the world is. Many Mexican states are labeled by the US government as "Do not travel because of crime and kidnapping." This recent story about kidnapped and slain American medical tourists proves it. Photo above: US Customs and Border Patrol agent whipping a Haitian asylum seeker at the southern border last year.)

What is asylum? 

An asylum seeker meets the same legal standard as a refugee. An individual can claim asylum because of past persecution or fear of future persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. 

Congress passed the Refugee Act (1980) to bring the US into compliance with its international obligations under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which prohibits returning refugees to any country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. 

On a ruling on Title 42, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out that the Refugee Act is very specific about the circumstances under which the government can deny asylum for failure to apply in a transit country. Under the act’s “safe third country” provision this scenario can happen only if the transit country is safe and has both a robust asylum system and a formal treaty with the United States agreeing to safe third-country status. 

Asylum seekers are supposed to be given a “credible fear interview” by a DHS officer at their port of entry to determine if their asylum claim has validity. If the officer says the claim of asylum is valid, the person can remain in the US while they await their court appearance to present their case before an immigration judge. The Biden administration’s proposed rule will narrow this procedure down to a “reasonable fear interview,” which has a much higher denial rate. If the officer denies the asylum claim, the migrant will be deported. They can appeal this denial, but most do not understand the appeal process and have no access to legal assistance. 

The importance of winning an asylum claim is that it is often the only path most immigrants can take to obtain a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or “Green Card”) status and eventually become a US citizen. Temporary Protective Status (TPS) or similar statuses are not permanent and do not lead to LPR status or citizenship. 

What is the new “Biden Asylum/Transit Ban” going to do that’s different from Title 42? 

The Biden Administration on February 21, 2023, announced a crackdown on those seeking asylum in the US. The proposed rule would see the rapid deportation of anyone who has not first applied for asylum en route to the US southern border through the use of a smartphone app called “CBP One.” CBP One has been plagued with significant technical problems, preventing many from making “asylum appointments” (two weeks or more out) and has raised serious equity and privacy concerns. The app takes a very long time to fill out and has been known to crash, and the main text is currently available only in Spanish and Haitian Creole, with English only error messages. It cannot be accessed from a computer, and the user must first use an all-English web site, “Log-In.gov,” to set up an account and have their identity verified before accessing and applying for a an asylum appointment via CBP One. 

This proposed rule has been condemned by immigration rights groups, which claim it runs counter to the “humane immigration system” that Biden promised while campaigning for the White House. Some have called it a “hybrid of the Trump transit bans.” It clearly discriminates against those asylum seekers who are too poor to own a smartphone, have no stable internet accessibility, lack computer device skills, or are illiterate. 

The Trump Administration proposed prohibiting asylum for migrants who didn’t first apply for asylum (and been denied) in a country of transit before reaching the US southern border and entering through a port of entry. The court struck down this policy for violating the 1980 Refugee Act, which guarantees the right of all migrants who reach the US to apply for asylum. The Refugee Act expressly permits asylum seekers to access protection anywhere along the border—not just ports of entry—and it does not require appointments to be made in advance on a smartphone only app to request asylum. 

 What problems could this “New Title 42” (Biden Asylum/Transit Ban) cause? 

The proposed Biden Asylum/Transit Ban would create a new asylum restriction for adults and families who present themselves unannounced to US border officials at the southern border. If they have traveled through another country or countries on their way to the US, they would have to provide proof that they applied for asylum in one of the transit countries and been denied first. (One lawyer on a webinar noted that a denial of an asylum application in another country could be used against the person applying for asylum in the US, possibly in violation of the Fifth Amendment.) The Biden administration insists that every asylum seeker has the power to avoid the ban by sticking to what it calls “lawful pathways,” implying that it’s unlawful to seek asylum if you enter the United States between ports of entry (enter without inspection), which goes against the Refugee Act. 

The rule also creates a whole new convoluted procedure to determine whether and how the ban applies. For instance, if you fly into the US, this proposed rule will not apply to you. If you come across the border from Canada, this rule does not apply. Those who have received an advanced parole (and have a US sponsor) or come into the US under a work, student, or tourist visa will not be subject to this rule. The rule only applies to persons who have physically crossed into the United States at the southern border.

The biggest problems arise from the so-called “lawful pathways” that don’t really exist for many people. The process migrants could be shunted into instead is tantamount to a near-complete asylum ban when one considers how the process is intended to work and how it interacts with systems on the ground. And the rule doesn’t even attempt to explain these discrepancies! 

To get a feel for the absurdity of the proposed regulation, read How to Seek Asylum In the United States (Under the Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps. https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/22/steps-to-seek-asylum-biden-transit-ban 

What can we do to express our concerns about this proposed asylum/transit ban rule?   

Go to https://immigrationjustice.quorum.us/campaign/44910/ or https://noasylumban.us     

Individuals can make a comment to the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Service) about the proposed regulation. Only 30 days were given for public comments to be made (as compared to the usual 60 day comment period). The comment deadline is March 27, so write your comment soon and share the link with others. 

Learn more about the Biden Asylum/Transit Ban at 

https://humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Biden_asylum_ban_factsheet_Feb2023_1.pdf

Last but not least editor's note: If you like to know more about what it's like to be an asylum seeker trying to navigate the complex US immigration system, watch the documentary Seeking Asylum. The filmmakers met a mother and her children fleeing a violent situation and trying to reunite with her husband who was working in the United States. More on how you can view it at its web site https://www.seekingasylumfilm.com/

Quote of the Week: 

 “We have spent the past decade pouring money into the border-security apparatus in an effort to deter asylum seekers. It hasn’t worked because we’ve spent all of that money on border security and we’ve spent almost none on actually building a functional and working humanitarian-protection system on the back end.  

And now we’ve got a two-million-case backlog, more than six hundred thousand asylum applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and three million people on ICE’s non-detained docket. This is not something that you’re going to be able to fix overnight. About the only thing the Biden Administration and Congress could do right now is just declare immigration bankruptcy and start all over again, and have amnesty, but there isn’t the political will for that right now, unfortunately.”

– Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council

Related Articles:

CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/28/cbp-one-app-flaws-asylum-seekers/ 

 

Critics Decry New Biden Rule as "Trump's Asylum Ban Under a Different Name  https://truthout.org/articles/critics-decry-new-biden-rule-as-trumps-asylum-ban-under-a-different-name/

  

How to Seek Asylum In the United States (Under the Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps  https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/22/steps-to-seek-asylum-biden-transit-ban 

 

Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/27/labor-exploitation-migrant-children-biden-asylum-policy/ 

 

White House Struggles to Explain the Fate of Title 42 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/06/public-health-emerdency-title-42-00081390

From Still Awaiting Court Dates, Migrants Suffer the Effects of ‘Band-Aid’ Fixes to Our Broken Immigration System https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/08/awaiting-court-dates-notice-to-appear

 

A Pennsylvania Hospital is Attempting to Deport an Undocumented Woman in a Coma https://truthout.org/articles/a-pennsylvania-hospital-is-attempting-to-deport-an-undocumented-woman-in-a-coma/

Other interesting articles I've read this week about the Ohio train derailments (there's now two of them!) and the quest for peace in the world:

Norfolk Southern Cargo Train Derailed Near Springfield (Ohio) https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2023/03/04/cargo-train-derails-springfield-clark-county-ohio/69972311007/

East Palestine, Ohio And The Oligarchy https://popularresistance.org/east-palestine-ohio-and-the-oligarchy/

Angry residents confront EPA and railroad officials at East Palestine, Ohio town hall https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/04/rail-m04.html

Norfolk Southern Used Sick Leave as a Bargaining Chip to Erode Safety, Union Says https://truthout.org/articles/norfolk-southern-used-sick-leave-as-bargaining-chip-to-erode-safety-union-says/

"Too Many Holes": Rail Workers Say Buttigieg Plan of Action is Not Enough https://popularresistance.org/too-many-holes-rail-workers-say-buttigieg-plan-of-action-is-not-enough/

East Palestine Residents Confront Norfolk Southern at Town Hall Meeting https://truthout.org/articles/east-palestine-residents-confront-norfolk-southern-at-town-hall-meeting/

Rail Workers Demand Immediate Action from Lawmakers to Rein in Rail Industry https://truthout.org/articles/rail-workers-demand-immediate-action-from-lawmakers-to-rein-in-rail-industry/

Exposure to Chevron's Climate Friendly Fuel May Pose Severe Risk of Cancer https://truthout.org/articles/exposure-to-chevrons-climate-friendly-fuel-may-pose-severe-risk-of-cancer/ 

The House's "Horrors of Socialism" Resolution Spurred by the Capitalist Class's Greatest Fear https://indypendent.org/2023/02/the-houses-horrors-of-socialism-resolution-spurred-by-the-capitalist-classs-greatest-fear/

China's Peace Plan for Ukraine https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/03/chinas-peace-plan-for-ukraine/

Major US Outlets Found Hersh's Nord Stream Scoop Too Hot to Handle https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/04/major-us-outlets-found-hershs-nord-stream-scoop-too-hot-to-handle/

Abnormal for West to Dodge Nord Stream Explosive Revelations https://enapp.globaltimes.cn/article/1286480

 

2022: The Year Nothing Fundamentally Changed—Again

  

2022: 

The Year Nothing Fundamentally Changed—Again

At the end of each calendar year, we at TRC usually go over what’s happened in the world during the previous twelve months and make some predictions for the coming year. (Last year’s New Year's Eve piece: https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2021/12/2021-year-nothing-fundamentally-changed.html) This year illness around the holidays took its toll and there’s not enough time to review all 52 weekly posts for 2022, but if there is any one major thing that we can take away from this past year, it’s this: 

Nothing has fundamentally changed—again.

Here are some of the more blatant examples of things that are fundamentally the same—if not worse—than they were at the end of 2021. 

Build Back Better? Only if you work for the Pentagon or a military contractor such as Raytheon or Lockheed Martin:

The military budget deal just reached by Congress will put Pentagon spending at $858 billion — more than $118 billion higher than when President Biden came into office, and more than $180 billion higher than the last budget approved under President Obama. That increase would have been more than enough to cover the costs of the entire Build Back Better agenda. --Democrats Are Making A Devil's Bargain on Pentagon Funding.

In immigration news: Kids are still in cages.

Title 42, an archaic immigration rule resurrected in the Trump administration to flat-out deny asylum to asylum seekers, is still in effect. The Border Wall, started during the Trump administration, is still being constructed. Haitian asylum seekers were beaten with whips by Border Patrol officers on horseback, and they are still being deported at much higher percentages than other immigrants, particularly white and European undocumented immigrants. (Read Why All The Hate For Haiti?)

The student loan debt crisis hasn’t gone away. There may be a hiatus on repayments, but eventually it will go away and the trillion dollars of debt still owed will have to be repaid. Loans given to large businesses and corporations during the pandemic have been forgiven, however. 

COVID-19 is still rampant and mutating. People are still getting sick, being hospitalized, and dying from COVID and related illnesses, some now known as Long COVID. Most free vaccinations and testing clinics have been shut down. 

The major thing that has changed in regards to COVID-19 is that it’s no longer being reported to health departments regularly, and the mainstream media continues to downplay its lethality. This has only motivated some to stop wearing masks in public or taking it seriously, sharing the virus freely with strangers and loved ones alike.

Medicare For All—promised to be enacted by both Biden and "The Squad" on the campaign trail—has yet to come about. Medical debt is the number one reason Americans file for bankruptcy for yet another year. And we're still the only so-called "First World Industrialized Country" that doesn't guarantee health care to all its citizens. It's nothing to be proud of. It's all "Get back to work and get out and buy, buy, buy! Who cares if people are getting sick and dying? Our corporations have to turn a decent profit!"

Endless war continues. This time it’s a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, rather than a “hotter” war in Afghanistan. (Well, it could become hotter if the nukes start flying.) Meanwhile, Afghan refugees are still coming to the US looking for sanctuary. Promises made to the mostly Muslim Afghans seeking asylum (persons who helped the US forces along with their immediate family members) haven’t been kept as they should, but surprise, surprise! White, supposedly-Christian Ukrainians with no documents have had little trouble coming into the US and staying put. 

(Of course, this openness doesn't apply to members of the Russian Orthodox Church, a religion outlawed in Ukraine along with all opposition political parties. That's fighting for "democracy and freedom" American-style!)

Homelessness is on the rise. Mayors of cities such as Los Angeles and New York city have made it part of their winning campaigns promoting how they would destroy tent cities and stick homeless people into mental institutions against their will. Out of sight, out of mind, and more chances of gentrifying rundown areas to the delight of the developers and investment landlords.

In totally unrelated news (ha ha!), rents have more than doubled in many cities. Food and gasoline costs are spiraling ever upward. Empty shelves in grocery stores and discount places are because of “supply chain issues” or so we’re told. No mention is made in the mainstream media how most of our trade is with China, and that threatening war with China over Taiwan isn’t going to make goods any more affordable for the working classes. 

Railroad workers still don’t have the right to strike. They didn’t get the fifteen sick days they asked for either. So-called progressives such as AOC and most members of "The Squad" voted against them. (Read If The Workers Take a Notion...)

Over 48,000 University of California student workers went on strike this fall and are going back after the winter break, but they’re not satisfied with their tentative agreement. More and more America workers organized and joined unions in 2022, so it’s a good sign that most workers understand there is power in numbers and that CEOs are not gods and they don’t have to put up with their employers’ abusive behaviors. (Read Lab Rats of the World Unite!)

“Narrative control,” shadow-banning/censorship, and propaganda reached all-time levels in 2022. Recently the audacity of these propaganda tactics instigated by the FBI, CIA, and both major political parties were revealed in “The Twitter Files” released by independent journalist Matt Taibbi and others.  (Read Disinformation Wars, The Ministry of Truth v. Roe v. Wade and Atrocity Propaganda and Narrative Control for other examples of narrative control. Also, check out the articles from earlier in the year on our Ukraine War Series page to see the pattern of propaganda coming from the US government.)

Julian Assange still resides in Belmarsh Prison (UK). The US is still trying to extradite the Australian publisher of Wikileaks and charge him with treason. His physical and mental health continues to deteriorate. 

Policing? I'd like to tell you that there's been zero incidents of persons of color or poor folks in general being killed by cops in the US in 2022, but sorry. Deaths at the hands of cops continue. Police budgets are growing ever larger along with the military budget. Obviously, Biden or The Squad didn't take the "Defund the Police" movement seriously along with those who support Medicare For All. There's no money to be made by protecting the lives, health or safety of ordinary Americans.

This article title speaks for itself: "An Absolute F**cking Disgrace": Record 6,036 US Kids Killed, Injured by Gunfire in 2022 https://scheerpost.com/2022/12/28/an-absolute-fcking-disgrace-record-6036-us-kids-killed-injured-by-gunfire-in-2022

I’m sure you can think of other examples. 

So, what predictions do we have for 2023? An ever-growing number of unions forming and union members seems likely, and that’s a good thing. Possibly student loan repayments will be delayed again, but if not, many groups are already organizing for a mass boycott of student loan repayments. 

The more dire ordinary Americans’ situations become, as food and transportation costs spiral upward, the more likely they are to agitate for their rights to be paid decent wages, to have a roof over their heads, to have free access to health care and the knowledge of what’s really happening in the world without “Ministry of Truth” styled manipulation and censorship.  

 Is it a rosy outlook or a gloomy one? It’s up for us to decide. 

Sharing information from independent news sources (such as TRC) is an optimistic activity. Many have been brainwashed into believing whatever comes out of the mouth of the mainstream media pundits, so be gentle but persistent with them. Keeping up everyone's morale by sharing good news of peace breaking out and unions forming can go a long way. Financially and morally supporting other workers in their fight for safer and more just workplaces is another good step.

Remember: We’re all in this together. Happy New Year!

Related Articles:

"Disastrous": SCOTUS Upholds Title 42 Migrant Policy During Court Fight https://scheerpost.com/2022/12/28/disastrous-scotus-upholds-title-42-migrant-policy-during-court-fight/

Student Loan Debt is a Scam (video): https://youtu.be/pgPW926532E

Chris Hedges: The Democrats Are Now The War Party https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democrats-are-now-the-war-party

The Claim That The Ukraine War Advances US Interests Discredits The Claim That It's Unprovoked https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-claim-that-the-ukraine-war-advances 

Democrats Are Making a Devil's Bargain on Pentagon Funding. It's Not Paying Off  https://scheerpost.com/2022/12/25/democrats-are-making-a-devils-bargain-on-pentagon-funding-its-not-paying-off/

Why All the Hate For Haiti?  https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/10/why-all-hate-for-haiti.html 

Biden Admin Plans to Expand Title 42 to Expel Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians https://truthout.org/articles/biden-admin-plans-to-expand-title-42-to-expel-cubans-nicaraguans-and-haitians

To Die On The Job Is To Die For America https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/01/to-die-on-job-is-to-die-for-america.html

Zelensky's Diaspora Delegation Led by Economic Hit-Woman Who Led Plunder of Ukraine https://thegrayzone.com/2022/12/23/zelenskys-diaspora-hit-woman-ukraine/

Whee! Let's Start World War 3! https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/08/whee-lets-start-world-war-3.html

Atrocity Propaganda and Narrative Control https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/06/atrocity-propaganda-and-narrative.html

Disinformation Wars https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/11/disinformation-wars.html 

If the Workers Take a Notion... (RWU Strike) https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/12/if-workers-take-notion-rwu-strike.html

Lab Rats of the World Unite! https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/11/lab-rats-of-world-unite.html

The Ministry of Truth v. Roe v. Wade https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-ministry-of-truth-v-roe-v-wade.html

Ukraine War Series page  https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/p/ukraine-war-series.html 

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Twitter Files? https://scheerpost.com/2022/12/21/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-twitter-files/

Gov. Pressured Twitter to Find "Russian Interference", Ban Anti-US Accounts (video) https://youtu.be/sfsuYi72eVw

Chomsky, Hedges, Snowden, Stein and Greenwald on the Assange Case (video)  https://youtu.be/DM0WtQoKXd0 

Amid Inflation and Short Staffing Labor Organizers Demanded More in 2022  https://truthout.org/articles/amid-inflation-and-short-staffing-labor-organizers-demanded-more-in-2022/

Why You Should Be A Socialist in 2023 (video) https://youtu.be/thJ2ocejPko

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