Trump kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January, including an indefinite suspension of refugee resettlement. In a related executive order, the Republican president said the U.S. would only admit refugees who "can fully and appropriately assimilate."
Despite the broad refugee freeze, Trump in February called on the U.S. to prioritize resettling Afrikaners, descendants of mostly Dutch early settlers, saying they were "victims of unjust racial discrimination."
The assertion that minority white South Africans face discrimination from the Black majority has spread in far-right circles for years and been echoed by Trump's white South African-born ally Elon Musk.
The average white household in South Africa owns 20 times the wealth of the average Black household, according to the Review of Political Economy, an international academic journal.
In interviews with U.S. immigration officers, white South Africans seeking refugee status have highlighted troubles with land disputes, crime and perceived racism, Reuters reported in April.
The South African government has criticized the Trump effort, saying it fails to recognize the country's history of colonialism and apartheid.
A federal judge has permanently barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport Venezuelans it has deemed to be criminals from the judgeâs home district in southern Texas to a prison in El Salvador.
The decision by the judge, Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, was the most expansive ruling so far by any of the eight federal jurists who are currently hearing challenges to the White Houseâs use of the statute as part of its wide-ranging deportation plans.
There is a really good segment on This American Life this week. It's tragic and wrong on many levels. Anyone who supports this is immoral (at best), and fundamentally unAmerican (missed the point of the whole story/history). I wish bad things for the people perpetrating these acts and those taking joy in them.
A federal judge has permanently barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport Venezuelans it has deemed to be criminals from the judgeâs home district in southern Texas to a prison in El Salvador.
The decision by the judge, Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, was the most expansive ruling so far by any of the eight federal jurists who are currently hearing challenges to the White Houseâs use of the statute as part of its wide-ranging deportation plans.
There was some standard MAGA commentary earlier today about the drain on the US from "illegals". I am for improved border security and more reasonable/timely access to resident status, especially for those with valuable skills or fleeing dangerous countries, but let's not pretend the hordes are destroying the US.
The big irony in how some people in the U.S. talk about illegal immigrants - these folks are stealing jobs, draining resources, and hurting the countryâcouldnât be further from the truth. The reality is, undocumented immigrants usually give more than they take, and many industries quietly rely on them to keep things running.
They work tough jobs that most Americans donât wantâlike picking crops, washing dishes, building houses, and caring for the elderly. They often do it for low pay and without benefits, just to survive and support their families. And while some people complain about them, a lot of business owners count on their labor to keep costs down and profits up. Thatâs the part they wonât say out loud.
The ultimate irony is that undocumented workers still pay taxesâon groceries, rent, and even income (through special tax IDs). In 2022, they paid almost $47 Billion in federal income taxes using ITIN's. They help fund schools, roads, and healthcare services they rarely use. They pay into Social Security, even though they likely will never see a dime from it.
So when people blame them for the countryâs problems, itâs not just unfairâitâs ignoring the truth. Theyâre not freeloaders. Theyâre an integral part of the economy. At the end of the day, undocumented immigrants arenât hurting Americaâtheyâre helping it.
As I said... we should manage it better... but let's stop perpetuating another Trump lie while ignoring his destruction of untold Trillions with his ill informed tariffs.
Not just theory. We have actual examples when Obama got rid of a bunch of immigrants, the result was a smaller economy that hurt the remaining 'locals'. Jobs went unfilled and the overall community suffered.
There was some standard MAGA commentary earlier today about the drain on the US from "illegals". I am for improved border security and more reasonable/timely access to resident status, especially for those with valuable skills or fleeing dangerous countries, but let's not pretend the hordes are destroying the US.
The big irony in how some people in the U.S. talk about illegal immigrants - these folks are stealing jobs, draining resources, and hurting the countryâcouldnât be further from the truth. The reality is, undocumented immigrants usually give more than they take, and many industries quietly rely on them to keep things running.
They work tough jobs that most Americans donât wantâlike picking crops, washing dishes, building houses, and caring for the elderly. They often do it for low pay and without benefits, just to survive and support their families. And while some people complain about them, a lot of business owners count on their labor to keep costs down and profits up. Thatâs the part they wonât say out loud.
The ultimate irony is that undocumented workers still pay taxesâon groceries, rent, and even income (through special tax IDs). In 2022, they paid almost $47 Billion in federal income taxes using ITIN's. They help fund schools, roads, and healthcare services they rarely use. They pay into Social Security, even though they likely will never see a dime from it.
So when people blame them for the countryâs problems, itâs not just unfairâitâs ignoring the truth. Theyâre not freeloaders. Theyâre an integral part of the economy. At the end of the day, undocumented immigrants arenât hurting Americaâtheyâre helping it.
As I said... we should manage it better... but let's stop perpetuating another Trump lie while ignoring his destruction of untold Trillions with his ill informed tariffs.
AFW's college roommate is/was from Vietnam. She disappeared herself without telling anyone, even was asking about going to Mexico etc. The police came and asked about her last week, not sure who called them. Heard yesterday that she's back home in Vietnam. So here's a quiet student, here legally and (probably) paying a lot to be here, who was so wigged out by things that she fled the country. Did she go to Mexico first? I dunno, but it's not good for us. None of this is good for us.
Tourism is dropping fast and hard too. I think the Immigration turn around is driven by farmers who are having trouble finding help now. All of this is pathetic and fundamentally unAmerican. All of this was completely unnecessary, it's a self inflicted wound that will take decades to recover from... if we ever can.
