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ICE caves on allowing high-profile immigrants to stay in the US — a sign of changing times
February 24, 2021
Alex Garcia, a nationally celebrated example of Donald Trump's no-tolerance immigration policies, left the sanctuary of a St. Louis church today after more than 3 ½ years of carefully guarded refuge there.
In a stunning turnaround, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) informed Garcia that he is no longer a deportation priority. Garcia's case has received much attention since he was provided refuge in 2017 by the church. At that time, ICE had unilaterally revoked a previous decision to allow him to stay with his family and had threatened him with deportation within two weeks.
<p> The new decision by ICE was announced just two days after Congresswoman Cori Bush publicized a private bill that she has introduced demanding Garcia's freedom. Garcia's advocates also cited newly implemented <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ice.gov_doclib_news_releases_2021_021821-5Fcivil-2Dimmigration-2Denforcement-5Finterim-2Dguidance.pdf&d=DwMFaQ&c=L93KkjKsAC98uTvC4KvQDdTDRzAeWDDRmG6S3YXllH0&r=G4y00mptlKx9X3DXz5_HP3Q8CzIot9HLzKe5j78KJlk&m=NFJ6i-QqRunBZChEWj86lmP49ntLmZZUypoAPtyWjHc&s=yUZl2uUtrWhDhgmSAQqYpNL2dIj0yHKP6AiE0aprWV0&e=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">enforcement priorities</a> announced by the Biden Administration last week. </p>
<p> Garcia first came to the U.S from Honduras. in 2002, inadvertently ending up in a Poplar Bluff, MO -- a small rural town near the Ozarks -- after a train ride he thought was taking him to Houston. Garcia, who spoke no English when he arrived, was as an unlikely candidate for captivating folks deep in Trump country. But he built a reputation as a skilled construction worker and generous handyman and when immigration troubles arrived for him, he received unusual <a href="https://immigrationimpact.com/2019/05/09/trump-supporting-missouri-town-mounts-campaign-to-protect-one-of-its-own-from-deportation/#.YDayoi2cbdc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">support</a> from the conservative town.</p>
<p> Garcia's difficulties started in 2015 when he accompanied his sister to an immigration office in Kansas City for her own matter, not thinking he was vulnerable to deportation after more than a decade in the country. When an official discovered Garcia didn't have citizenship and had a misdemeanor on his record, his troubles began, leading to the deportation order in 2017.</p>
<p> Now married and a father of five, Garcia's release came after intense efforts by activist groups in St. Louis, the Christ Church United Church of Christ and his many supporters. Bush, a leading first-year progressive in Congress, called them out upon the news Garcia could leave the church.</p>
<p> "St. Louis and I are so grateful and relieved that Alex has been reunited with his family at home," Bush said. "This is the power of organizing. The pain Alex and his family have endured is unimaginable, unjust, and unacceptable. ICE has promised not to deport Alex, and we will stop at nothing to ensure that they keep their promise." </p>
<p> Garcia's advocates noted that his is hardly an isolated case among those affected by anti-immigrant policies.</p><p> "We know that Alex and millions of families like his are still fighting for permanent solutions and the ability to live united with their families," says Sara John, executive director of the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America. </p>
<p> Javad Khazaeli, one of Garcia's attorneys, said, "Elections have consequences. It is encouraging to see ICE return to more humane and priority-based enforcement. I am encouraged by the steps the President and progressive leaders like Rep. Bush have taken to move us toward an immigration system that works."</p>
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AOC smacks down QAnon Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene over LGBTQ Equality Act
February 24, 2021
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-NY) just slammed "QAnon Congresswoman" Marjorie Taylor Greene over her opposition to the LGBTQ Equality Act. The House will vote on the legislation this week, and is currently engaged in determining the rules for the vote.
Rep. Greene, Republican of Georgia, has been waging war against the bill, falsely claiming it "destroys women's rights and religious freedom," and is "evil."
<p>Greene on Wednesday <a href="https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1364629450000896002" rel="noopener" target="_blank">bragged</a> on Twitter that she had just made a motion to adjourn, in a lame attempt to derail the legislation from moving forward.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I just made a motion to adjourn in order to give every Member of Congress time to rethink destroying <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WomensRights</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensSports?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WomensSports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReligiousFreedom?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ReligiousFreedom</a> before voting for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EqualityAct?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EqualityAct</a>!<br/>
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1364629450000896002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2021</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez blasted and mocked her, saying, "You could just vote 'no' instead of trying to get out of work early."</p><p>And she reminded Greene that trans women are women.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You could just vote “no" instead of trying to get out of work early.<br/>
And you should probably stop using those hashtags because women's rights include trans women. ✌🏽🏳️⚧️💜 <a href="https://t.co/iJzA5BrLZF">https://t.co/iJzA5BrLZF</a>
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1364650157392945152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2021</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>AOC did not stop there.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
We're gonna pass the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EqualityAct?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EqualityAct</a> today, protect our LGBTQ+ family and make the world a little bit better. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️<br/>
Nothing is going to stop that.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1364650658004148228?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2021</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Last week AOC made headlines after raising over $5 million for the people of Texas harmed by the deadly storm and lack of power and running water.</p>
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Mitch McConnell trying to make 1/6 commission about Black Lives Matter and not the Capitol attack
February 24, 2021
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is attempting to throw a wrench in the Jan. 6 Commission that will investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Politico reported Wednesday.
Democrats are modeling the 1/6 Commission off of the 9/11 Commission, which explored every piece and part of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001 and the intelligence failures that led to the attack. McConnell wants to make the 1/6 investigation about everything other than the events on Jan. 6 and what led to the insurrection, focusing it narrowly on security issues.
<p>If Democrats intend to make the commission a broad investigation into everything that happened on Jan. 6 and how attackers were radicalized, McConnell says it must also include a look at hyped left-wing violence like Black Lives Matter. </p><p><span></span>"If Congress is going to attempt some broader analysis of toxic political violence across this country," McConnell said, "then in that case, we cannot have artificial cherry-picking of which terrible behavior does and does not deserve scrutiny."</p><p><span></span>"We could do something narrow that looks at the Capitol, or we could potentially do something broader to analyze the full scope of the political violence problem in this country," McConnell claimed. "We cannot land at some artificial, politicized halfway point."</p><p>Black Lives Matter protests over the course of the last several years didn't have anything to do with the Jan. 6 attack nor did those protests result in the breach of a United States federal building. </p><p>When Republicans were in control of the Senate, McConnell never held a hearing or did a senate investigation into Black Lives Matter protests. </p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/24/republicans-commission-insurrection-sabotage/" target="_blank"><em>Washington Post </em>columnist Greg Sargent</a> similarly revealed that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) sent Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) a letter saying that the language around the purpose of the commission must have "no inclusion of findings or other predetermined conclusions," an aide said.</p><p>"You have to have a clear purpose," the aide said. "Otherwise there's no point to having the commission."</p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/24/mcconnell-democrats-one-sixth-commission-471350" target="_blank">Read the full Politico report. </a></p>
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