Fox Nooz & the Brown Hordes
Guest Commentary by Dave Gibson: Words matter. And you can't argue with racists.
Life is back to normal, for the most part. Even immigration. Or is it?
Title 42 has expired. Title 42 was ordered by the CDC to refuse entry to the US of immigrants from countries who were Covid-19 hotbeds. Covid-19 is no longer the threat it was. MAGA Republicans don't see it that way. They viewed Title 42 as a way to refuse entry by brown immigrants. Why? MAGA Republicans are racists. For proof, I give you Donald Trump, who said these refugees are "destroying our great nation,” on CNN's recent town hall program.
(Venezuelan migrants walk across the Rio Bravo towards the United States border to surrender to the border patrol from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Oct. 13, 2022. AP Photo/Christian Chavez.)
In my mind, there are two schools of thought about what's going on at our Southern border.
First, the one that Fox Nooz projects. That of "hordes" (their word) of "illegals" (their word) "massing" (their word) at our border. The news segment is usually followed up with a story of how terrible fentanyl is and how it is killing "innocent" (my word) Americans. Then a segment about how crime is so horrible in Democrat sanctuary cities. Then a bit about how Biden wants to keep our social programs for the poor in place, implying, of course, that illegals carrying fentanyl are massing at our southern border to collect welfare, sell drugs, and kill people.
The second, which is my opinion and the correct one, is that these folks, who walk hundreds and thousands of miles to get to a border crossing to seek refuge and enter our country properly, are most likely not packing fentanyl and are not cartel members. Those who show just cause why they left their home countries are admitted as refugees and are legal. Those who are turned away are also legal.
This next point is important. The ones admitted cannot collect from any federal social assistance program for five years. That's right. Five whole years. During that time, they must find their own way to survive, which is usually friends and family, or sponsors. No, they cannot rent a slum apartment and live on the government dole. All countries have such immigration requirements.
The term "illegal immigrant," regarding those who cross borders, never made any sense to me. Think about it. Being an immigrant implies legality. If someone sneaks across the border they are not immigrating.
The real problem, of course, are illegal border crossers (a better term). Or perhaps bandits. Some word that suggests criminality would work better.
The vast, vast majority of "illegal immigrants" are those who enter the country legally, usually flying here, and then overstay their visas. Or those brought here as children. These are best termed "undocumented aliens." Since it costs so much money to obtain a green card I would like to believe that these people just can't afford the fees, but love this country so much that they simply stay here.
(Joel Angel Juarez, The Arizona Republic, USA Today)
What is saddest to me are the "Dreamers." These folks were brought here as children. If their parents become US citizens before they reach the age of 18, they also become citizens. But once past the age of 18 they are not, per the Child Citizen Act of 2000. These people are American in every sense of the word, but may be deported. The Dream Act of 2011 and the Dream Act of 2017 were meant to fix this, but they failed to become law.
Obama announced that his administration would stop deporting Dreamers with his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that DACA reduced the federal deficit by $1.5 billion and increased federal revenue by $2.3 billion over ten years. Unsurprisingly, DACA was scrapped in Trump's first year as president. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's action was unconstitutional and reinstated DACA.
In 2021, a Republican federal judge ruled DACA was unlawful. A Republican US District Court judge also ruled DACA unlawful. Currently, no DACA requests are processed.
Now, Trump is running for president, and Ron DeSantis, the fascist governor of Florida, is running as well. With Fox Nooz spewing its hateful, inflammatory, racist rhetoric, immigration to the US is in turmoil and in peril. Even for people brought here as children.
I often have on Fox. I am fascinated by how they do what they do, how they present lie after lie, and how otherwise intelligent good people are led (or misled) down the merry path of hate and racism.
I have no idea what Fox Nooz is hoping to accomplish by showing lines and lines of people at checkpoints, crying about these brown hordes of welfare drug dealing whores invading. What I see are people and families desperate for a better life. I also see employees. People coming to take jobs, any jobs, that Americans won't do.
Unemployment is at a record low 3.4%, a number not seen since 1969. Employers are begging for help. You've seen it. Help wanted signs everywhere you go.
I know where to send the busses. This is not a problem. This is a solution. Unless you're a MAGA Republican who thinks refugees are here to destroy the country, as Trump claims.
As a writer, I will tell you that words matter. Authors will chose words carefully to stir emotions of fear, amusement, laughter, sadness... and hate.
Is it any wonder Fox viewers hate these poor refugees? Why we have a "Southern border crisis?" Or politically, "Biden's border crisis" (a two-fer)? What do we hear from Fox Nooz and MAGA World?
“They're killing our children by smuggling illegal drugs!”
“Mexico is emptying their mental hospitals and prisons and sending these evil people to the US!”
And this is where this conversation stops. You can't argue with racists.
Dave Gibson is a retired businessman and now devotes his time to writing and photography. He is the author of seven books, two blogs, and numerous magazine articles. He writes about boating, having done it all his adult life, with subject matters ranging from how-to to exploration. He writes about Sasquatch, having lived with them all around his cabin deep in the woods for three years, and he will regale anyone who will listen with his stories. And politics, mainly because he's of Scottish and Irish descent and blames his ancestor Grace O'Malley the Irish Pirate Queen for his problems with authority.