As border crisis worsens, immigration bills in Congress continue to stall

The words Illegal Alien has all of a sudden become Illegal Immigrant and is used by Fox News and others.

"Burglars Are Not Uninvited House Guests. Car-jackers Are Not Under-rated Drivers. Bank Robbers Are Not Making Unauthorized Withdrawals. Illegal Aliens Are Not Undocumented Immigrants":

Democrats responded Tuesday to the border crisis by suggesting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stop trying to deter illegal aliens and instead quickly process those seeking asylum.
"It is obvious from your letter to Congress last week that the Trump administration still does not understand the factors driving people to seek refuge in this country and refuses to take responsibility for its failed policies that are making the situation at the border worse," leading House Democrats wrote to Nielsen Tuesday. "Instead of pushing ill-advised, ineffective proposals to detain and deport all families and unaccompanied minors, the administration needs to engage Congress on policies designed to promote safe and orderly migration flows..."
Nielsen has refused to do that. She said statistics show that up to half of illegal alien families never complete their applications or appear in court. By contrast, she wants Congress to toughen asylum laws and allow the Trump administration to more easily detain and remove Central American families and children.
Eliminating birthright citizenship and forcing employers to verify employees are legal U.S. residents is “on the table,” she told Tucker Carlson Tuesday night.
“The only way we fix this crisis is if Congress closes the loopholes, fixes the misguided court decisions, and gives us relief from the extraordinary pull factors that our laws and those court decisions have created,” a senior DHS official told reporters Monday in a conference call.
As the border issue keeps worsening, with the number of people illegally crossing the border climbing significantly, there has been no solution to the problem -- and the border bills in Congress keep stalling.
Lawmakers from each party see the immigration problem differently. Both parties provided Fox News this week a list of bills designed to address the problem. Republican bills focused on building a wall. Democratic bills provided illegal aliens more protections from deportation and legal rights.
A variety of push-and-pull factors influence illegal immigration. In their letter to Nielsen, Democrats said they want the administration, "engaging in real efforts to address the crime, insecurity, and lawlessness that is causing people to leave Central America in the first place. The administration cutting foreign assistance just when these countries need it most only makes the situation worse.”
Republicans counter with evidence showing a falling murder rate in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador the last three years, yet illegal immigration is increasing.
"We're facing an unprecedented unmitigated crisis on the southwest border," said former chief of the Border Patrol and current acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ron Vitiello. "There is nothing dissuading these people from bringing their people their kids to the border."
Even executives actions or legal rulings have helped address the issue.
After President Obama announced DACA, protections from deportation for children of illegal immigrants, child apprehensions soared.

Also when a federal judge in 2015 reinterpreted the Flores decision to protect not just children, but adults traveling with children, from detention longer than 20 days, families apprehended crossing illegally more than doubled.

Administration officials argue those court and executive actions help drive illegal immigration.
"I think the most important thing that has to happen is we need to close these loopholes," Vitiello said. "That'll make all of this work smaller. It'll make this problem smaller. The crisis will abate if we can close the loopholes. That's what needs to happen first.
Other “loopholes” considered critical to shutting down growing numbers of asylum seekers are internal.
A GOP-bill sponsored by House Judiciary ranking member Doug Collins, R-Ga., tightens the credible fear standard so there are fewer baseless asylum claims, thereby reducing the number of families getting released. It also allows the U.S. to deport Central American children who are not victims of trafficking, to their home countries.
"These loopholes provide perverse incentives for adults to send children on the hazardous journey across the border, often in the company of dangerous people," said Collins. "At the same time, our asylum system is not serving people fleeing persecution like it should because it is weighed down with frivolous claims."
The Collins bill fixes the Flores settlement by requiring DHS to keep children and parents together while their cases are handled in immigration court. A former immigration judge says 40 to 60 days should be enough.
"Forty days is the standard for custody removal proceedings," said Art Arthur, now an analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies. "So, just more than a month is all the time that an immigration judge needs to adjudicate those cases. The Flores settlement agreement encourages parents to bring their children with them to the United States knowing that they're going to be released within 20 days if they show up with the child, and that's why we see such a large number of family units showing up at the border right now."
U.S. officials expect March apprehensions to exceed 100,000, up to 65 percent could be unaccompanied minors and families. Yet, the U.S. only has detention beds for 3,000 families. The excess will be released with Notice to Appear in court – sometime in the future. But with a backlog of more than 830,000 cases, many will not see a judge for years. Their lives change, they get married, have children, work. As their American roots grow deeper, Arthur said they get more difficult to deport. He blames Congress for seeing the problem but doing nothing.
"Quite frankly Congress is in denial about the situation at the border. They don't even recognize that there's an emergency," he said. "What is now a crisis is going to be a disaster in just a few weeks time. Congress is going to have to act then. But they seem to be too busy doing other things to understand the human element of what's going on along the border."

Schwarzenegger defends 102-year-old who is being evicted: Example of Liberal run City Government.

Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will reach out to a 102-year-old woman being evicted from home. (Twitter)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former governor of California, on Sunday reportedly reached out to the 102-year-old Los Angeles woman being booted from her apartment where she lived for 30 years so the landlord’s daughter can move in.
Thelma Smith received a 90-day eviction notice for her month-to-month lease in early March and is now relying on friends and relatives who live on the East Coast to help her find a new place to live, The Los Angeles Times reported. Schwarzenegger called the move “heartless” and said he’ll be reaching out to help her. He also issued a warning to landlords, saying: “You’ll hear from me, too.”
“Imagine doing this to a 102-year-old woman who gave back to the community her whole life,” the actor said on Twitter.
The Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance says that landlords in the county can evict tenants to accommodate a relative, but they must start with the most recent resident. Smith, however, lives in unincorporated Ladera Heights where the laws are weaker. “They use this law to target long-term, low-paying tenants,” Larry Gross, the executive director for the Coalition for Economic Survival told The Times.
In response to KCAL asking the landlord why they would evict a 102-year-old woman, they replied: “Would you take care of your child?”
Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to this report

Chicago shootings: More than 34 shot – 5 fatally – during Memorial Day weekend: police

This is what happens when Liberals run your City with their Liberal Laws.

Chicago experienced at least five gun fatalities over Memorial Day weekend, police say.  (Facebook)

At least 34 people were shot – five fatally – in Chicago by Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend, police said.
The violence began Friday when a 15-year-old boy and a 27-year-old were shot while walking down the street in South Sawyer. Both victims were transferred to the hospital where their conditions stabilized, The Chicago Tribune reported.

At least nine more were shot late Friday night, the report said. The victims ranged from 17 to 45.
The first fatality occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, when a gunman opened fire on a 29-year-old man standing on a porch. The victim was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. No suspects are in custody.
Around 10 p.m., two men were hit with bullets from a passing vehicle. Both were taken to a hospital but only one survived. A few hours later, police were responding to a disturbance where a man was shot while standing on a sidewalk. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, NBC Chicago reported.
Police said two men and two women between the ages of 25 and 31 were shot around 6 a.m. Sunday morning. The four victims were taken to a hospital where both men died and the women’s condition stabilized. Police have recovered weapons and a suspect is in custody, NBC Chicago reported.
By Sunday evening, the number of victims shot stood at 34, including the five who died, according to police.

Iran Cartoons

Iran With US Hostages 1981

Some people don't forget this.

Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Iran FM: I have never spoken directly with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

In this May 21, 2019, photo, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, left, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speak to members of the media after a classified briefing for members of Congress on Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Mike Pompeo’s Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif claims that he’s never directly spoken with the secretary of state.
On Friday, the foreign minister said the main reason for the lack of communication was due to Pompeo’s “tendency to insult” him.

In this May 21, 2019, photo, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, left, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speak to members of the media after a classified briefing for members of Congress on Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A State Department spokeswoman deflected concern over Zarif’s comments, explaining the administration’s “high-pressure campaign is aimed at forcing Iran to the negotiating table.”
She added, “if the Iranians are willing to engage on changing their ways to behave like a normal nation, we are willing to talk to them.”
Meantime, the foreign minister also took aim at the White House for its recent deployment of 15,000 troops to the Middle East.
In a statement Saturday, Zarif called the president’s move dangerous for peace in the region, adding the U.S. is “inflating tensions with Iran.”
His comments come after President Trump announced he will send troops to assist our Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE.
He said the move was meant as a “deterrent” to Iran’s military, and will help guarantee the safety of U.S. forces.

Trump, Japan’s PM bond on golf course during state visit

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems to know how to appeal to President Trump as he tries to ease trade tensions between Japan and the U.S. – including a threat of auto tariffs -- and continue to receive U.S. support in dealing with North Korea.
On Sunday morning, Abe took Trump to a golf course, where the two leaders played 16 holes before heading to a lunch of cheeseburgers made with American beef.
On the links, Trump and Abe were joined by Japanese professional golfer Isao Aoki, known for his putting technique. Aoki was expected to present Trump with a putter he designed.

President Donald Trump walks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before playing a round of golf at Mobara Country Club, on Sunday, in Chiba, Japan. (Associated Press)

The outing seemed to go well, Abe told reporters.
"We were able to exchange our views frankly in a cozy atmosphere. It was wonderful," Abe said as he returned to his official residence.
Abe tweeted a photo of himself and Trump, taken on the greens.
Trump tweeted that he'd had "Great fun and meeting with Prime Minister @AbeShinzo," but also continued to stew about domestic politics, claiming that, "Numerous Japanese officials told me that the Democrats would rather see the United States fail than see me or the Republican Party succeed - Death Wish!"

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, plays golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, at Mobara Country Club in Mobara, south of Tokyo, on Sunday. (Associated Press)

The leaders then attended a sumo wrestling event in the evening, where Trump presented a large trophy to a tournament winner – in a first for a U.S. president.
On Monday, Trump will be the first foreign leader to meet with Japan's new emperor, Naruhito, since he took the throne May 1.
Then Trump and Abe are expected to get down to business regarding trade matters before ending the state visit with Trump the guest of honor at a banquet hosted by the emperor.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Hillary Clinton blasts Trump, says president is ‘running scared,’ claims Pelosi video is ‘sexist trash’

Do you think she'll ever go to jail ? She believes she can't be touched.

Hillary Clinton hasn’t announced a 2020 run for the White House but remarks she delivered in Houston may have sounded like a campaign speech to some listeners.
Clinton launched a fiery attack Friday against President Trump, claiming the president tweeted a disputed video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because he was “running scared.”
"Just look at what's happened in the last 24 hours," she said. "The president and his cronies have been running around spreading a doctored video of Nancy Pelosi. Now, it is sexist trash. But it is also a sign that Trump is running scared."
The former secretary of state, U.S. senator and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee made the remarks at a gathering of the Harris County Democratic Party.
Her speech seemed aimed at motivating Houston-area Democrats to get out the vote for the party’s candidates in 2020.

'Constitutional crisis'

“We have to remind Americans we are the party that can deliver for them,” Clinton said. “But we also are the party that will stand up and protect the Constitution and address what is a very real constitutional crisis that this president has put us in.”
Earlier this month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., declared the U.S. was in a “constitutional crisis,” after Attorney General William Barr declined to testify before his panel after being subpoenaed.
Nadler claimed the Trump administration was “stonewalling” efforts by congressional Democrats to continue probes into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, even though Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the investigation he led for two years claimed no evidence of collusion existed.
The next day after Nadler spoke, Pelosi said she agreed with him that the nation was in a constitutional crisis.
President Trump, meanwhile, has maintained that the Russia investigations still underway in Congress should end because of Mueller’s findings, and claimed that the Democrats’ continued focus on Russia was designed to motivate their voters in 2020 – and was perhaps proof that the party had not yet recovered from Trump’s defeat of Clinton in 2016.
Some political observers have suggested that Clinton could make a third bid for the presidency in 2020 if none of the more than 20 Democrats currently in the running emerges as a clear threat to deny Trump a second term.
A recent Fox News Poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading the Democratic field with support from 35 percent of respondents, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders at 17 percent and the rest of the pack in single digits.

Biden baggage?

But a Biden nomination would carry some baggage heading into a general election: The former U.S. senator from Delaware is known for gaffes during public appearances and recently drew criticism for his history of placing his hands on women and girls. In addition, his son Hunter Biden has drawn scrutiny over business dealings in China, Ukraine and Romania.
A sudden loss of confidence in Biden among Democratic voters, coupled with the failure of any of the other Democrats to fill the void, could motivate Clinton – who attracted nearly 66 million votes in 2016 – to make another run at the White House, some argue.
Clinton made headlines in March when she told a New York-area news station that she would not seek the presidency in 2020.
"Aw-shucks," President Trump responded in a Twitter message, "does that mean I won’t get to run against her again? She will be sorely missed!"
But just a day later, “someone close to Clinton” told the New York Times that Clinton didn’t intend for her comments to “close the door on running.”
“She has told her team she is waiting at least to see the Mueller report,” the Times reported, citing the same source.
But has Clinton's chance to win the presidency come and gone? A joint speaking tour with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, resulted in plunging ticket prices in several cities. In December, deals on tickets were being offered on Groupon.
Last week, Newsweek magazine featured the Clintons on its cover with the headline, "Clintons in Exile: What's it like when you're no longer the world's most powerful couple?"