Migrant Caravan Scraps Plan to Travel to U.S. Border
On Thursday, President Trump celebrated a move by Mexican authorities to break up a large migrant caravan, which has been marching through Mexico hoping to reach the U.S. and demand political asylum.
On Wednesday, Mexican immigration officials handed out legal permits allowing hundreds of migrants to stay in Mexico for up to one month. This spares them from immediate deportation but is not a long-term solution. Permission to stay in Mexico does not allow the migrants to travel to the U.S. border, though they will be allowed to move around Mexico freely.
The migrants spent their fourth day in a public park in the southern state of Oaxaca, waiting for the caravan to continue. Organizers of the march, Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said that migrants can now take buses on their own to Puebla, a city south of Mexico City, where a workshop on immigration law is planned for Friday. While the U.S.-based organizer of the caravan said this week that the march would end, many of the Central Americans in the caravan say they will try to get to the United States on their own once the caravan has disbanded.
Trump tweeted today about the migrants, saying, “The Caravan is largely broken up thanks to the strong immigration laws of Mexico and their willingness to use them so as not to cause a giant scene at our Border. Because of the Trump Administrations actions, Border crossings are at a still UNACCEPTABLE 46 year low. Stop drugs!”
Why the Opposition to Border Patrol getting back up from the National Guard?
President Donald Trump announced this week he was sending the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to fight illegal immigration, signing a proclamation Wednesday that invokes a part of the U.S. Code called Title 32. Title 32 is a request for state Governors to send troops. Troops are federally funded but remain under state control, sent at the behest of that state's governor.
In a memo to Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump ordered the National Guard be used to secure the border “to stop the flow of deadly drugs and other contraband, gang members and other criminals, and illegal aliens into this country.”
The White House did not provide specifics in terms of number of National Guard troops, length of service on the border, or financial costs. It remains unclear exactly how Trump's order would work, given that National Guard troops are more often deployed domestically under the control of state governors for disaster response.
Once the National Guard is deployed, troops will not have physical contact with immigrants nor will they be responsible for processing them at the border. National Guard troops along the border would play a supporting role for Border Patrol agents, engaging in air support and providing fleet maintenance as well as medical care for individuals interdicted by the Border Patrol.
More Than A Million Undocumented Immigrants Have Received California Driver's Licenses
1,001,000 illegal immigrants have received driver’s licenses in California since the law was put into effect in January 2015. AB 60 driver’s licenses are special licenses for illegal immigrants. AB 60 stands for Assembly Bill 60, "The Safe and Responsible Drivers Act" and the licenses are marked with the words, “federal limits apply,” meaning that they cannot be used by immigrants as federal identification.
In 2013, Assembly Bill 60, authored by then-Assemblyman Luis Alejo, required California DMV offices to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants as long as they could prove their identity and residence within the state.
In 2015, the law took effect. Approximately 605,000 undocumented immigrants received licenses. Fewer people applied after an initial spike, and the DMV now issues about 10,000 AB 60 licenses statewide per month.
Luis Alejo, Author of AB 60 said, "Immigrants are getting tested, licensed and insured and this is making our roads safer for everyone.” According to a 2017 study by Stanford University's Immigration Policy Lab, during the first year after AB 60 was implemented, there was a 10 percent reduction in hit and run accidents -- about 4,000 fewer than the previous year.
To qualify, applicants must prove their identity and residency in California; pass the written exam and a driving test; submit thumbprints and show proof of insurance, among other requirements. The AB 60 California driver’s licenses don’t allow illegal immigrant to drive outside of California, vote, or fly across state or federal borders.
Currently, twelve states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. The twelve states are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.
Iowa House Approves 'Sanctuary City' Punishment
On Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018, lawmakers from communities in Iowa approved a bill that would cut off state funding to cities and counties that allow sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The Iowa Senate gave final approval on Wednesday night, April 4th.
Senate File 481 will impose financial sanctions against local governments that provide sanctuary to potentially illegal immigrants rather than cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The legislation would also prohibit local governments from discouraging law enforcement officers or others from activities related to enforcing immigration laws.
The measure was supported by 28 Republicans, while 17 Democrats and one independent opposed it. Senate Democrats criticized the bill, calling it anti-immigrant and suggesting it was ironic that final passage was happening on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
UPDATE: GWU 'Christian Privilege' training
Since we reported this story on Wednesday, the description of the George Washington University “Christian Privilege” workshop has been removed from their website.
GWU will still be offering a free training session that examines “Christian Privilege” in the United States. The 90- minute workshop is set to take place on Thursday, April 5th, and is offered through the school’s Multicultural Student Services Center, but GWU did not specify how much money is being spent on the entire training program. The Christian Privilege session is just one of 15 training opportunities that was listed on the university’s website prior to being removed. The university has not provided an explanation for the change.
Some of the other training sessions, that have since been removed from the University website, include: heterosexual privilege, cisgender privilege, abled-body privilege, socio-economic privilege, LGBTQIA diversity and inclusion, unconscious bias, and transgender diversity and inclusion.
Students demand 'People of Color only space' at NYC university
Students at The New School in New York City are demanding that administrators set aside a physical space for people of color to “exist without the pressures of white supremacy.” The petition is titled, “Open Letter for Student of Color-Only Space at The New School,” and is sponsored by student leaders from SOC Weekly, Autonomous South Asian Collective, La XENTE, Queer Collective, and the Black Student Union.
According to the petition, administrators at The New School’s Eugene Lang College held a forum Friday “to discuss the coming renovations to Eugene Lang College buildings,” which was attended by a student activists demanding that the administration “designate space for people of color in the new Lang remodel, as well as make good on their past promises to improve the functionality of the Social Justice Hub for organizing purposes.”
The petition states that “We are writing to once again articulate the needs of students of color,” claiming that “these are conversations that students have previously brought to the table without any serious action from Lang College.”
“We ask that The New School take our suggestions into account to either convert currently under-utilized space for students of color-only use and if not, to construct a student of color-only space within the upcoming Lang remodel,” the petition reads, adding, “We ultimately would like a dedicated, exclusive space for students of color.”
Premium Member Video Submission
Lisa Vartanian, Woodland Hills, CA: Hello Mr. Bill O’Reilly. This is Lisa Vartanian one of your biggest fans of the previous Factor and the current podcast I enjoy tremendously. And try to spread the word as much as possible. My thoughts today are on the left machine working tirelessly with the previous Soviet Union’s mantra of totalitarianism. And in the great words of Edmond Burke “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. Thank you.
Mail Time!
- Bill, thank you for that heartfelt portrait of Dr. King. You captured him so well. Even as a kid of 12 in 1968, I don't remember him ever spouting hatred, but talked of Blacks & Whites living together peacefully. As you said he resisted hatred even though he was vilified by many. With the Easter season just over, it reminds me of the tremendous restraint Jesus had when he was beaten and tortured when He could have very easily lashed out against his enemies. Both men came down to earth, did their jobs and were killed for it.
- Bill, your segment on Fake News was excellent. Also, your segment with Adam Corolla on the violence in Chicago was excellent. The left and the NAACP will not address the girls / women in the inner cities having babies out of wedlock at a rate of 73% and the breakdown of the family!
- As a Canadian I watch with interest these "engagements" by the left and its media lapdogs on their crusade to disrupt the Trump Presidency. Just finished Jerome Corsi's book on the Killing the Deep State and was amazed at the depth the Democrats and their globalists are going through to get rid of Mr. Trump. I am glad that Mr. O and others have withstood the onslaught of the phony campaigns against them by the intolerant left. We see similar attitudes here in Canada by the intolerant left. Keep up the fight Mr. O.
Word of the Day: Miscreant |
