Abbreviated pundit roundup: GOP's white evangelical base shrinks; tipping point for Dems on climate?
newsdepo.com
Scott Martelle at the Los Angeles Times writes—No, asylum seekers are not exploiting a 'loophole,' they're exercising a legal right: It is only in an administration as dysfunctional and truth-averse as this one that people from other countries exercisinAbbreviated pundit roundup: GOP's white evangelical base shrinks; tipping point for Dems on climate?
Scott Martelle at the Los Angeles Times writes—No, asylum seekers are not exploiting a 'loophole,' they're exercising a legal right: It is only in an administration as dysfunctional and truth-averse as this one that people from other countries exercising their statutorily defined right to seek asylum in the U.S. can be viewed as taking advantage of a “loophole” in immigration laws. On Monday, the government released statistics showing that the number of people seeking asylum at the border with Mexico has skyrocketed from 55,584 in 2017 to 92,959 in 2018, most of them unaccompanied minors or families with minor children. But asylum seekers still make up only a thin slice of the total number apprehended at the border — 18%, up from 13%. And two-thirds of asylum-seekers are denied, a percentage that has risen dramatically under Trump policies narrowing the conditions that meet the asylum standard. The vast majority of asylum-seekers are fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador — conditions that have been influenced by U.S. policies, particularly those of the Reagan and first Bush administrations. Whether those were good or bad policies is a topic for another discussion, but the U.S. decision to support anti-leftist actors during insurrections and civil wars added to the violence and destabilization of the region. Those actions helped lay the foundation for other problems too, from corrupt governments to powerful street gangs, some of which came together here in Los Angeles. Read more