Border Kids Update
In recent days, the president has faced mounting scrutiny over his administration’s policy of separating migrant families at the border. Democrats and Republicans have called for an end to Trump’s “Zero Tolerance” policy, which is a result of an order enacted by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April.
Trump on Monday doubled down on the practice, pinning the blame on Democrats for failing to negotiate immigration policy changes.
“The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility — it won’t be,” Trump said. "Not on my watch."
On Monday, Trump also sought to justify his efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement by claiming “murderers” and “thieves” who are illegally entering the U.S. are bringing “death and destruction.” He suggested his hands are tied when it comes to addressing the child separation issue. “We could have an immigration bill, we could have child separation — we’re stuck with these horrible laws,” he said. "They’re horrible laws. What’s happening is so sad, so sad. And it can be taken care of quickly, beautifully and we’ll have safety.”
Trump is trying to pressure Democrats in the House into working with their Republican counterparts to pass an immigration bill. The president is scheduled to meet with House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss the immigration issue, a meeting in which he could hear criticism of his administration’s handling of the issue.
G.W. Bush’s “Operation Streamline”:
Operation Streamline was a program started by the Bush administration in 2005. That program referred all illegal immigrants for prosecution but made exceptions for adults traveling with children.
The Border Patrol, as a matter of policy, did not refer for prosecution juveniles, parents traveling with minor children, certain persons with health conditions, and others who require prompt return to their country of origin for humanitarian reasons.
The phenomenon of families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border together dates from just the last few years and was not one that the Bush or early Obama administrations confronted in any significant numbers. Few children were separated from their families during the earlier administrations as a result of criminal prosecution of the parents.
Between 2003 and 2005, criminal prosecutions of first-time unauthorized crossers for illegal entry or re-entry more than quadrupled, from 4,000 to 16,500. By 2010, unauthorized crossers had reached 44,000. Operation Streamline was extended to some other Border Patrol sectors and continued under the Obama administration, reaching a peak of 97,000 criminal prosecutions in 2013.
Gallup Poll: Trump approval rating ties highest point of his presidency
A Gallup poll released Monday showed President Trump earning his highest approval rating since shortly after he took office, even as his administration faces growing criticism over its immigration policies.
The Gallup poll found 45% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance as of Sunday, while 50% disapprove. Trump’s approval rating rose 3% since last week.
Trump’s current approval number matches Trump’s highest to date from Gallup. He previously received the same rating for the week ending on Jan. 29, 2017. January 29 followed the week that Trump attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. Trump gave his “America First” speech where he spoke about his record since entering the White House, as well as, covering the topics of trade deals, North Korea and immigration.
Comey Under Investigation
Former FBI Director James Comey is under investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General for potentially mishandling classified information during his time at the Bureau.
IG Michael Horowitz confirmed publicly on Monday, June 18, that the Justice Department is investigating James Comey for his handling of classified information as part of the memos he shared documenting discussions with President Trump.
Horowitz confirmed reports from April that James Comey was facing scrutiny, amid revelations that at least two of the memos he had shared with his friend, Daniel Richman, contained information that has been deemed classified.
Chuck Grassley sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray Monday morning with concerns about Comey's potential mishandling of classified information on a private device, which the Inspector General did not review for his most recent report.
Sharyl Attkisson: 50 Media Mistakes in the Trump Era
We the media have “fact-checked” President Trump like we have fact-checked no other human being on the planet—and he’s certainly given us plenty to write about. That’s probably why it’s so easy to find lists enumerating and examining his mistakes, missteps and “lies.”
But as self-appointed arbiters of truth, we’ve largely excused our own unprecedented string of fact-challenged reporting. The truth is, formerly well-respected, top news organizations are making repeat, unforced errors in numbers that were unheard of just a couple of years ago.
Our repeat mistakes involve declaring that Trump’s claims are “lies” when they are matters of opinion, or when the truth between conflicting sources is unknowable; taking Trump’s statements and events out of context; reporting secondhand accounts against Trump without attribution as if they’re established fact; relying on untruthful, conflicted sources; and presenting reporter opinions in news stories—without labeling them as opinions.
What’s worse, we defend ourselves by trying to convince the public that our mistakes are actually a virtue because we (sometimes) correct them. Or we blame Trump for why we’re getting so much wrong. It’s a little bit like a police officer taking someone to jail for DUI, then driving home drunk himself: he may be correct to arrest the suspect, but he should certainly know better than to commit the same violation.
Pew Survey: Americans grapple with recognizing facts in news stories
A Pew research study that was released on Monday suggests people are having difficulty telling the difference between fact and opinion.
Only a quarter of U.S. adults in a recent survey could fully identify factual statements, as opposed to opinion in news stories, the Pew Research Center found.
Respondents were shown a series of news-related statements in the main portion of the study: five factual statements, five opinions and two statements that don’t fit clearly into either the factual or opinion buckets termed in the survey as “borderline” statements. Respondents were asked to determine if each was a factual statement (whether accurate or not) or an opinion statement (whether agreed with or not).
It was found that 26% of the adults surveyed correctly identified all five factual statements as factual, 35% identified all five opinion statements as opinions, 36% of participants with high levels of political awareness correctly identified all five factual news statements, 17% of those with low political awareness identified all five factual news statements, 44% of the very digitally savvy identified all five opinion statements correctly and 39% of participants who “have a lot of trust in the information from national news organizations” correctly identified all five factual statements.
Mail Time!
- My husband and I appreciate your analysis and explanation regarding the smuggling of illegals into the USA by the Mexican coyotes. Since these folks are poor and impoverished, how do they get the money to pay the smugglers? Do you think some of the liberal progressive groups, i.e. George Soros backed, are paying their way?
- I heard that Laura Bush spoke out against the holding centers for illegals crossing the border. Don't you think it's hypocritical since her husband's invasion of Iraq cost countless of innocent lives and disrupted a large part of the Middle East?
- Mr. O., Watched your pod cast this afternoon and I am not sure I heard you right. Did you just tell the folks that Hillary Clinton would never be held accountable for her crimes? Does that mean we can all commit crimes and not worry about being held accountable?
Word of the Day: Blooter |
