Last night Rep. Jamie Raskin posted a comment on Twitter about his visit to a nearby ICE facility:
I just exercised my right as a Member of Congress to conduct an unannounced oversight visit of the ICE field facility in Baltimore. The staff I met with respected my right to visit, but what I saw was disgraceful. Kristi Noem has a budget of $75 billion she could use to ensure humane conditions, but we saw 60 men packed into a room shoulder-to-shoulder, 24-hours-a-day, with a single toilet in the room and no shower facilities. They sleep like sardines with aluminum foil blankets. Whether it’s for three days or seven days, nobody would want a member of their family warehoused there. The room set aside for dangerous criminals and violent offenders was empty. We’re demanding immediate answers and action.
What kind of a person treats other human beings this way?
Is cruelty its own reward?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Remember when everyone thought these were pictures of Trump’s detention facilities and they turned out to be from Obama’s term? https://www.businessinsider.com/migrant-children-in-cages-2014-photos-explained-2018-5 Maybe if Democrats weren’t so gung-ho to outflank Republicans from the right on immigration….
LikeLike
Oh please! Obama deported people who entered the country illegally. So did Biden.
Neither of them sent masked, armed thugs into cities, towns, workplaces, and courthouses to snatch and grab people.
LikeLike
The article you posted is about ICE facilities, not about how people end up in those facilities. And, yes, Obama absolutely sent armed thugs into workplaces and elsewhere to snatch and grab people. https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/border-patrol-was-monstrous-under-obama-imagine
In any case, illegal entry is a civil offense comparable to a moving violation. It’s not a crime. There is no reason why Republicans or Democrats (especially the latter) should be treating immigrants like criminals.
LikeLike
I certainly agree that immigrants should not be treated like criminals. Trump-Noem caused a huge backlash by their brutality in Minneapolis.
LikeLike
“Maybe if Democrats weren’t so gung-ho to outflank Republicans from the right on immigration….”
Oh please this has to be the most fact-free rationale for refusing to condemn the outrageous Trump policies that are so harmful. Yes there were rightfully demonstrations against Obama’s immigration policies (which paled compared to what Trump did once he got in office) but the top officials of the Obama administration weren’t out there working to convince Americans that tear gassing and firing multiple bullets into protesters was required because these protesters were dangerous domestic terrorists. Some protesters were arrested and removed, but that’s far different than the treatment they got under Trump. Obama wasn’t out there trying to convince Americans with his bully pulpit that undocumented immigrants were violent and dangerous and kidnapping and eating their neighbors dogs and cats. No one should be surprised that this person finds the orange haired oaf funny in a way that the immigrants in Springfield Ohio – soon to be rounded up by Trump – don’t. Will this person tell Springfield’s immigrants to ignore the evidence right in front of their eyes about how Biden protecting them and join her in blaming Democrats who are evil and “outflank Republicans from the right” on immigration? She STILL refuses to acknowledge the very real damage Trump has done – it’s supposedly no worse than under Biden. It’s all the fault of Dems who are “gung-ho to outflank Republicans from the right on immigration….”
Anyone who can’t acknowledge the very basic fact that things are horrible under Trump in a way that they were not under Biden is revealing their own political preferences.
Dems are far from perfect, but trying to defend Trump from criticism by pushing the lie that Trump is just continuing the policies of the Dems who have been outflanking Republicans on the right on immigration? That is a lie worthy of Trump himself, or any of his dishonest officials.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cruelty is the Miller answer for limiting immigration. If it becomes obvious to potential immigrants that they will be mistreated, they will not want to cross the border. Then Trump’s claims of a sealed border will be true.
Meanwhile, a pent up demand for border crossings will meet any humane regime. At that point, trumpists will scream about immigration (but do nothing to add people to process asylum applications or patrol for border crossings) so they can get elected again, despite being the cause for this pause and flood approach to maintaining a real border.
LikeLike
Roy,
When will farmers complain that they can’t find anyone to work?
LikeLike
there have been some who suggested this. Mostly farmers are hurting for markets and by high overhead right now.
LikeLike
Farmers in Texas are hurting because of not having labor to plant and harvest.
LikeLike
The for-profit companies like Geo Corp. and CoreCivic group spend as little as possible on services while they charge we the people an exorbitant amount. That is one the guiding principles behind privatization. The privatization of services that we all depend on or where health and well-being are at stake generally does not serve the recipients well as profit takes priority over the needs of people. Much of the bill for ICE is a scam.
LikeLike
RT,
There was a cable TV program about women in prison called “Orange is the New Black.” It was very popular (maybe because of soft core porn). In several episodes, the prison is taken over by a private company. For profit. The food portions become smaller, with low quality ingredients. The professional guards are replaced by bullies. Cost-cutting is king, leading to deadly riots. The producers told a story about privatization.
LikeLike
We know exactly what kind of person treats other human beings this way.
A good start would be for press & social media to stop sanewashing references. They’re not “ICE facilities” or “immigrant detention centers.”
Everywhere you post about these places, call them what they are: concentration camps.
Britannica.com does differentiate between “concentration camps” & “detention & relocation centers.” Let’s use the one where the description matches the conditions.
LikeLike