The Trump administration is forging ahead with its assault on immigrants. For example, White House chief of staff John Kelly, a man the New York Times once labeled “sensible,” continues to display the vicious tendencies he revealed during his brief tenure as Homeland Security head. The latest instance is his unsuccessful effort to terminate Temporary Protected Status for tens of thousands of Hondurans (see below). But the Trump program is generating renewed resistance to the anti-immigrant agenda:
- Some Trump supporters are getting upset when they learn that the “bad hombres” being detained may actually be friends and neighbors.
- Grassroots activism has resulted in the release on bond of a detained Cambodian domestic violence survivor; the government is attempting to “repatriate” her to Cambodia, a country she’s never seen.
- A dozen cities are developing programs to provide free legal counsel to help people caught up in the immigration court system.
- A media organization is pushing television networks to end their negative portrayal of immigrants. (A study finds that 50 percent of Latino immigrant characters were depicted as criminals in programs from 2014 to 2016—which could have a lot to do with public belief in a nonexistent immigrant crime wave.)
The administration’s anti-immigrant policies may be starting to backfire.—TPOI editor
White House chief of staff tried to pressure acting DHS secretary to expel thousands of Hondurans, officials say
By Nick Miroff, Washington Post
November 9, 2017
On Monday, as the Department of Homeland Security prepared to extend the residency permits of tens of thousands of Hondurans living in the United States, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly called acting secretary Elaine Duke to pressure her to expel them, according to current and former administration officials.[…]
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| Two children video chat a deported friend. Photo: Erika Schultz/Seattle Times |
A Washington county that went for Trump is shaken as immigrant neighbors start disappearing
By Nina Shapiro, Seattle Times
November 9, 2017 (updated November 15, 2017)
LONG BEACH, Pacific County — Named after a character in a cowboy book, Police Chief Flint Wright describes himself as pretty conservative.
A portrait of Ronald Reagan hangs in his office, along with photos of John Wayne, and his father and grandfather on horses — capturing the rural lifestyle of Pacific County, which curves around Willapa Bay in the state’s southwest corner.[…]
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ICE Releases Asian American Sexual Assault Survivor After Viral Social Media Protest
By Carl Samson, NetShark
November 15, 2017The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released Ny Nourn, the sexual assault survivor it plans to deport to Cambodia, after an extensive social media campaign.
Nourn, who immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 5 after spending her early childhood in a Thai refugee camp, is out on bail after organizations and individual supporters rallied for her release, crowdsourcing more than $10,000 to meet her bond. The remainder of the money will be used to support her transition to freedom.[…]
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A New York courtroom gave every detained immigrant a lawyer. The results were staggering.
And now a dozen more cities are getting on board.
By Dara Lind, Vox
November 9, 2017Omar Siagha has been in the US for 52 years. He’s a legal permanent resident with three children. He’d never been to prison, he says, before he was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention — faced with the loss of his green card for a misdemeanor.
His brother tried to seek out lawyers who could help Siagha, but all they offered, in his words, were “high numbers and no hope” — no guarantee, in other words, that they’d be able to get him out of detention for all the money they were charging.[…]
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Why are half of Latino immigrant TV characters portrayed as criminals?
Research shows that half of characters were shown in a negative light, but with a new generation of showrunners, the tide could soon turn
Eva Recinos, The Guardian
November 14, 2017When the current administration announced that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) would be coming to an end, Hollywood reacted. Ava DuVernay, Shailene Woodley, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cristela Alonzo and many others used social media and other platforms to voice their concern.
DuVernay called the move a “disgusting display of prejudice, ignorance and heartlessness”. Celebrities including Woodley tweeted information about the impact of Daca with the hashtags #DefendDACA and #HeretoStay. Miranda kept it short and simple: “Okay. The Bad Man continues to do bad. Your move, Congress.”[…]
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https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/nov/14/why-are-half-of-latino-immigrant-tv-characters-portrayed-as-criminals
