Patterico's Pontifications

3/15/2021

What Needs To Happen For The Administration Call This A Crisis?

Filed under: General — Dana @ 2:45 pm



[guest post by Dana]

This isn’t good:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are repeatedly releasing detainees who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus… In one example, an asylum-seeker from Cameroon was driven from immigration detention to a bus station in the California border city of Calexico and, when volunteers greeted him and offered help, he told them he had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The next day, a Cuban man was dropped off who had also just tested positive.

Jules Kramer, chief of operations at the Minority Humanitarian Foundation, a nonprofit that aids migrants and refugees on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. “It’s a threat to public safety. It’s a threat to our asylum seekers. It’s a threat to the people on the ground helping.

Per ICE:

ICE officials said in a statement that the medical staff at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, where they were monitoring 12 people who have the virus as of late last week, tests people for the virus before they are released, and counsels them on federal health guidelines such as wearing personal protective equipment and quarantining.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody,” spokeswoman Paige Hughes said in a statement. “In these particular instances, ICE had no legal authority to continue detention for the individuals referenced.”

“In addition, the individual’s sponsor, should they have one, and the Imperial County public health officials are notified,” she added. The agency would not say whom it notified.

However, Imperial County officials said not so fast, ICE:

Imperial County officials gave a different account, saying ICE did not notify them that they were releasing people diagnosed with the virus.

“The unknown release of COVID positive nonresidents of the County is definitely a concern for the health of our community, but in recognizing that these individuals are in need of humanitarian aid, the County of Imperial took action,” Rebecca Terrazas-Baxter, the county’s intergovernmental relations director, said in a statement.

From the report:

Nearly 10,000 detainees have been infected with the virus and nine have died. More than 420 detainees have the virus, up from 370 a few days ago, according to the agency’s website.

And while this is in reference to the surge of unaccompanied minors currently being detained in the U.S., it seems that if ICE is releasing COVID positive individuals into the population – without warning – then that just emphasizes the multi-layered severity of the crisis at the border:

Only a week ago, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined to use the word “crisis” as his agency shifted border-patrol deployments because of a surge of migrants coming from Mexico. President Joe Biden ignored a question about the issue during a Tuesday event on pandemic relief for small business. White House press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn’t accept that word either at her briefing Tuesday.

“Look, I don’t think we need to sit here and put new labels on what we have already conveyed is challenging, what we have conveyed is a top priority for the president,” Psaki said. But semantic arguments aside, it’s indisputably a mess, with the number of unaccompanied children arriving in the U.S. reportedly tripling in just the last two weeks, according to reports.

–Dana

30 Responses to “What Needs To Happen For The Administration Call This A Crisis?”

  1. CNN reports that Biden is boxed in with regard to the matter of unaccompanied minors, and that his own party is unhappy with how he is handling the crisis. Words matter. Calling something an issue does not convey how urgent and life-threatening it might be.

    Dana (fd537d)

  2. So, ICE states their policy, as if it was always followed and the people dealing with ICE talk about the reality. I know which one *I* believe.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  3. I agree that the situation needs to be addressed but I also think that by its past behavior ICE has forfeited any right to be trusted or believed.

    I hope that unlike the prior administration the steps taken will be those that have as their goal helping refugees and not punishing them.

    Victor (4959fb)

  4. Are these people refugees or economic opportunists? That is the key question.

    norcal (01e272)

  5. Under the Trump administration, “Kids in Cages” was the usual refrain in order to politicize/detract from the administration anti-illegal immigration successes.

    In Biden’s zeal to be the not-Trump, he rescinded every good moves that Trump had done, further exacerbating the illegal immigration mess.

    Such that, former Trump-critics who couldn’t wait to bash Trump over the “kids in cages” ordeal, which ironically started under the Obama administration, now must either be exposed as rank hypocrites that delegitimizes their prior criticisms, or comes to terms that Open Border polices is truly bad.

    Blaming Trump ain’t going to work.

    whembly (3b5b58)

  6. @4

    Are these people refugees or economic opportunists? That is the key question.

    norcal (01e272) — 3/15/2021 @ 3:03 pm

    Our existing laws takes care of those truly seeking refugee status.

    It’s the economic opportunist, that are driving this surge.

    The Cartels is another driver…

    whembly (3b5b58)

  7. What Needs To Happen For The Administration Call This A Crisis?

    When drone flights discover North Korean offensive missiles have been placed in Mexico.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  8. @3 it’s a “situation”

    handling covid competently and following the science is the reward for electing biden you trump dummies

    JF (3efb60)

  9. Our existing laws takes care of those truly seeking refugee status.

    It’s the economic opportunist, that are driving this surge.

    And it is the economic types that flood (and game) the system, making life difficult for the actual refugees.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  10. When drone flights discover North Korean offensive missiles have been placed in Mexico.

    Would that make it a crisis, or something to more completely ignore?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  11. Well, it would take the media calling it a crisis for it to be labelled a crisis. And that simply won’t happen with our media and this administration. The media will deflect, redirect, and frame this to mitigate any blame or backlash against Democrats.

    Democrats, of course, caused this problem in the first place.

    But they won’t be held accountable.

    You can be sure that Republicans will be blamed though.

    Hoi Polloi (b28058)

  12. #10
    It is Trumps fault do to his ego driven love of dictators from Pyonyang to Moscow.
    His best boy Kim is convinced the election was stolen

    steveg (43b7a5)

  13. Asylum seekers from… well, seekers of a better brand of poverty. An EBT card is same as guaranteed minimum income in Guatemala

    steveg (43b7a5)

  14. Why are they coming from el salvador, honduras and gautamala and not much from nicuargua? Other then the sandanistas who fought off the c.i.a. ollie north. bush, reagan and the other drug cartel preventing nicuargua from being run by their corrupt military drug lords and their drug street gangs.

    asset (49145a)

  15. down goes biden
    up with heels
    done with heels
    president pelosi

    mg (8cbc69)

  16. Trump shoots the sheriff.
    Then he shoots the deputy.
    Trumpkins: “Why are you all saying that Trump shot the sheriff, when he shot the deputy?”

    That’s the Trumpland MO. Trump commits five crimes, Trumpkins point to (what they consider) the lesser offense and accuse the media of bias for reporting the most serious offense like it never happened.

    nk (1d9030)

  17. It’s worse than you think.

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/03/15/cartels_and_their_cruelty_are_the_crisis_at_the_border_145406.html

    Transnational gangs and criminal organizations have been developing infrastructure for operations such as this for years, decades in fact. They control the land ports and smuggling routes, both for drugs and human trafficking. They are wholly corrupt, often infiltrating police and military units, and are very cruel. It’s not political to them, but rather it’s all about the money.

    The poor people in the Trinational Corner of Central America–El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala–are desperate. It’s not just the pandemic and inadequate health care, which have killed thousands, but several hurricanes that decimated the economies. Couple that with high violent crime rates and police corruption, and these people feel they have to choice but to flee north in hope of safety and perhaps a better life.

    However, in addition to the fee they have to pay up front, they have to pay a tax at every land port, as well as for protection along the routes. Sometimes they are held in captivity and tortured, forced to give up the phone numbers of their relatives or sponsors in the United States, then they are held for ransom. If the money doesn’t get paid, they are summarily executed without hesitation or mercy. The cruelty is barbarity to the extreme.

    Those who are lucky enough to survive the arduous journey to the border, find themselves in highly stressed environments, though somewhat safer than the hell from which they fled. Their immigration status uncertain, their pleas for asylum unheard. The BP, ICE and DHHS simply do not have the manpower, resources or funding to handle an influx of migrants of this magnitude. The immigration courts are overwhelmed, asylum hearings take months to adjudicate, so where are all these people to be housed and cared for? Will they be separated from their relatives? How long will it take for their relatives or sponsors to be contacted? And what will happen when their immigration status results in deportation or their asylum requests are denied?

    The Biden administration does have options, but they are fraught with political peril.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/12/biden-border-wall-475498

    The problem is that Biden is not just dealing with the current crisis, which was a long time brewing, but with the actions of his predecessors going all the way back to Reagan, through Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, and Trump. None of them were able to alleviate the problem, but instead let it fester and now it’s come to a fore. That is not necessarily Biden’s fault, although he did serve as a Senator and Vice-President through it all. Now it’s his problem to deal with, and there don’t seem to be any good options.

    We need serious immigration and judicial reform if we are to control this current crisis and prevent another like it in the future. But there is no easy fix or quick solution. It’s going to take years to handle the problem of illegal immigration. And given the toxic, hyper-partisan political environment in our country now, I don’t see a solution on the near horizon.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  18. None of them were able to alleviate the problem

    One president made it worse – Obama. He and the Democrats pretty much begged unaccompanied minors to come to the United States. Hey – you can come to the US and become a DREAMer. Hey – you come first, your family can come later.

    Why? To shore up the Hispanic vote.

    How many minors died so Democrats could pick up some votes?

    Hoi Polloi (093fb9)

  19. We need serious immigration and judicial reform if we are to control this current crisis and prevent another like it in the future. But there is no easy fix or quick solution. It’s going to take years to handle the problem of illegal immigration. And given the toxic, hyper-partisan political environment in our country now, I don’t see a solution on the near horizon.

    Gawain’s Ghost (b25cd1) — 3/16/2021 @ 5:02 am

    I think earlier in your comment you burred the heart of the problem, the conditions in the regions they’re leaving. We can’t fix every problem in the world, but there might be some opportunities with foreign aid and disaster relief in central America. Given the the isolationist bent of the GOP I doubt there’s much apatite to spend money on helping deal with a hurricane.

    Time123 (c9382b)

  20. None of them were able to alleviate the problem

    One president made it worse – Obama. He and the Democrats pretty much begged unaccompanied minors to come to the United States. Hey – you can come to the US and become a DREAMer. Hey – you come first, your family can come later.

    Why? To shore up the Hispanic vote.

    How many minors died so Democrats could pick up some votes?

    Hoi Polloi (093fb9) — 3/16/2021 @ 6:05 am

    Facts don’t support your assertion.

    https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/

    Time123 (c9382b)

  21. Facts don’t support your assertion.

    https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/

    Time123 (c9382b) — 3/16/2021 @ 6:30 am

    We are talking about illegal immigrant minors. Your “facts” deal with illegal immigration as a whole.

    Hoi Polloi (093fb9)

  22. Facts don’t support your assertion.

    https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/

    Time123 (c9382b) — 3/16/2021 @ 6:30 am

    We are talking about illegal immigrant minors. Your “facts” deal with illegal immigration as a whole.

    Hoi Polloi (093fb9) — 3/16/2021 @ 7:18 am

    Good point, can you provide that data?

    Time123 (36651d)

  23. it’s not a crisis, it’s a voter registration drive

    JF (3efb60)

  24. This is what the electorate (including fraud or not) chose for us all.

    pouncer (6c33cf)

  25. What Needs To Happen For The Administration Call This A Crisis?

    People that support open borders aren’t going to call anything that helps that goal a crisis.

    BillPasadena (5b0401)

  26. @10. The real question is– does the Navy quarantine or invade? 😉

    ‘Mr. President, the Navy will not let you down.’ Admiral George Anderson, USN, 10/21/62

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  27. So the policy of Political Party Royalists is to shoot a United States citizen– a woman and a veteran, no less- for “breaking in” to the United States Capitol but not pop illegals “breaking in” to the United States itself?

    Got it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  28. So the policy of Political Party Royalists is to shoot a United States citizen– a woman and a veteran, no less- for “breaking in” to the United States Capitol but not pop illegals “breaking in” to the United States itself?

    Got it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/17/2021 @ 11:19 am

    What are the elements of the shooting that make you feel it was unjustified?

    Time123 (ca85c9)

  29. So this is happening. Out of necessity:

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expects the first buses carrying undocumented teenaged boys between 15 and 17 years old to arrive at a temporary shelter in Dallas on Wednesday.

    The report says about 3,000 teenage boys will be housed there. The city of Dallas is not involved in the operations, but rather the feds ( FEMA, Depart. of Health and Human Services). Citing public safety concerns, the state is demanding that they be provided with COVID information on the detainees (how many have tested positive, etc.)

    Dana (fd537d)

  30. What crisis? As soon as that damn filibuster is gone, it will all be fixed with a 51-50 vote and the border will open.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)


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