John AtaDec 29, 2022
Robert Reich

Memo to the media:

Stop letting politicians get away with calling asylum seekers "illegal immigrants" or saying they're not coming to this country "the right way." Seeking asylum is legal. Presenting themselves at the border & requesting asylum is "the right way" to seek asylum.

Dec 28, 2022 at 8:56pmWeb
Show threadšŸ¤– The Droid EngineerDec 28, 2022
@rbreich Addendum: Stop calling people who lie about elections without evidence or in spite of evidence "election deniers." They are liars.
Show threadDdnarichDec 28, 2022
@droidengineer They are also, in many cases, "anti-Constitutionalists"!
Show threadšŸ¤– The Droid EngineerDec 28, 2022

@Ddnarich You bring up something important here and I would expand on it. They are "anti-" lots of things; it is a pillar of their ideology. It's a reflection of their victimhood and aggrieved politics framing it as if they are "fighting back/against" <insert anything here>. They're not stealing an election, they are fighting back against a rigged system. They're not hate-filled homophobes, they're fighting against "grooming" children.

Who could be against that, you woke bastard!*

*sarcasm

Show threadDdnarichJan 9, 2023
@droidengineer I think that is a very good observation! (Sorry I took so long to respond...been off of social media lately with lots to do around the holidays and New Year's) (Happy New Year to you!).
Show threadšŸ¤– The Droid EngineerJan 10, 2023
@Ddnarich Heya! No problem! Life gets in the way of social media, and frankly, I think that's the way it should work! Hope you had a good holiday and New Years!
Show threadJohn GoveDec 28, 2022
@rbreich
To be clear, it's ONLY right wing politicians who call asylum seekers "illegals." It's an effective way to dehumanize them. And people on the Right often point to migrants who first cross the border and only then request asylum as "doing it the wrong way." The fact is that if you have a legitimate asylum request, crossing the border first and then requesting asylum IS legally allowed ā€“ just as legal as applying at a port of entry.
Show threadGurtbeef RobeDec 28, 2022
@rbreich ā€œChristian migrantsā€ or ā€œChristian refugeesā€ are appropriate terms in most cases
Show threadOzzy2Dec 28, 2022
@rbreich right wing love immigrants, especially hard right conservatives.
Gives them endless talking points that are compliantly redistributed by sections of MSM.
Show threadDarren ChambersDec 28, 2022
@ozzy @rbreich nothing like a good bit of nationalism to get the masses angry and punching down! Works everytime.
Show threadChrisUDec 28, 2022
@rbreich
#nohumanisillegal
Show threadKarlDec 28, 2022
@rbreich how about stop letting them get away with letting politicians fabricate their entire CV and not say a word about it.
Show threadHDHarrisDec 29, 2022
@karl @rbreich the fact that they aren't even entertaining the idea of getting rid of Santos is evidence of the hypocrisy in their "truth" politics lol
Show threadKrazyKatDec 28, 2022
@rbreich Concur.
Show threadMichael SlezakDec 28, 2022
@rbreich We had this debate about 15 years ago in Australia. It took a long time but the word ā€œillegal immigrantā€ is rarely used now.
Show threadEmDec 28, 2022
@mikeyslezak and when it is used, to me, it is a massive red flag re the person using it.
Show threadHeavy_LegoDec 29, 2022
@mikeyslezak @rbreich And has the general feeling toward asylum seekers improved because of this or was its disappearance simply the euphemism treadmill doing its thing?
Show threadSteve ColbranDec 28, 2022
@rbreichā€¦ yes ā€¦all countriesā€¦ every single person, no matter what origin and no matter what belief, is equally human!!
Something for all of us to live by!!
Show threadAsuraDec 28, 2022
@rbreich I wonder what part of the Bible Greg abbot was following when he decided to use people as political pawns?
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 28, 2022
@rbreich I agree with the point but isn't the asylum process being abused? Should the world be allowed in to the U.S. by claiming asylum?
Show threadMz. April DanielsDec 28, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich It's not abuse to use a system as it is designed. Most of the United States is empty, undeveloped land. We have space, and we should welcome new Americans.
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@MzAprilDaniels @rbreich so welcome all migrants and send them to BLM land?
Show threadMz. April DanielsDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich How come whenever folks like you hear that we have room to accept more people, you always have to imagine it in the stupidest, cruelest, most self-defeating way possible? You think we can go to the moon but we can't figure out how to house a bunch of desperate families? Why are you like that? What happened that made you so lacking in imagination and empathy?
Show threadMz. April DanielsDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles or more succinctly, how come you're such a quitter?
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@MzAprilDaniels how many migrants have you accepted in to your home?
Show threadMz. April DanielsDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles Yeah, exactly like that. What is UP with that? You know we have hotels and empty apartments and housing vouchers are a thing, but you pretend that you don't so you can try and imagine that other people are hypocrites for not being as heartless as you. WTF went wrong in your childhood, dude?
Show threadāšœļøSYMāšœļøDec 28, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich The asylum process has been handicapped by conservatives who donā€™t want any brown people entering the country.
Show threadDarren ChambersDec 28, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich sadly the truth is many are facing uncertain futures, be that through war, climate change or religious persecution (to mention a few), forcing people to move, its not really about abusing anything! allowing the likes of the right to dehumanise these people by using terms like illegal is wrong.
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@darrenchambers1981 @rbreich So open the borders and let everyone in?
Show threadDaniel BrotherstonDec 28, 2022

@kevinsickles @rbreich Citation needed

The system isn't being abused...it's being USED....

Asylum seekers present at the border and request asylum. If they are found to qualify they are granted it, if they are not, they aren't granted asylum.

That isn't "abuse" it's "use".

Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@danbrotherston @rbreich An abuse of process is the unjustified or unreasonable use of legal proceedings or process to further a cause of action by an applicant or plaintiff in an action. It is a claim made by the respondent or defendant that the other party is misusing or perverting regularly issued court process (civil or criminal) not justified by the underlying legal action.
Show threadDaniel BrotherstonDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich Even if I accept your definition, what evidence do you have that is occurring?
Show threadJesse TovDec 29, 2022
@rbreich @danbrotherston @kevinsickles it feels like itā€™s happening so it must be happening
Show threadJustAnotherWizardDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich You're first going to have to explain how you think the system is being "abused".
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@AaronPound @rbreich According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data, 1,299,437 migrants were processed under Title 8 in fiscal 2022. Border states and blue cities are declaring states of emergency because they don't have the resources to manage these migrants. The courts have multiple year backlogs for these cases. 28 percent of affirmative asylum petitions completed in FY 2021 were approved,
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@AaronPound @rbreich A quote from a 2019 marketwatch article. the numbers have grown significantly. "With the current backlog of more than 900,000 cases in immigration court, applicants usually wait years to have a hearing ā€” with an average wait of 713 days. In the meantime, after 180 days, an asylum applicant is allowed to receive permission to work in the United States.Being allowed to jump the line and have legal employment is a big incentive, and thatā€™s driving abuse of the asylum system"
Show threadJustAnotherWizardDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich That's not evidence that the system is being abused. That's evidence that the system is underfunded. Try again.
Show threadKevin SicklesDec 29, 2022
@AaronPound @rbreich The system is underfunded because it is being abused. Thank you for making my point
Show threadRandy, not an actual botDec 29, 2022

@kevinsickles @AaronPound @rbreich does having a job stop you from being deported in the 60+% of cases where asylum is denied? If not, what is the ā€œlineā€ being jumped?

ā€œapplying for something you might not getā€ is system abuse now? I didnā€™t realize college admission and company HR departments were so consistently abused!

Show threadLassielmrDec 29, 2022
@kevinsickles @rbreich no itā€™s not and the USA has few seeking asylum relative to population
Show threadGumbyFeb 18, 2023
@kevinsickles @rbreich If the process is being abused it is by right wing U.S. politicians. Other than that it is working as designed. Itā€™s substantially the process the US has expected other nations to follow in dealing with refugees at least since 1951. We encouraged other nations to treat refugees with compassion in large part to give them a place to shelter without coming here.
Show threadFrost怌ļ½œļ½œéœœć®ē‹¼ļ½œäŗŗ面ē£åæƒć€šŸŗā„ļøMar 1, 2023

@kevinsickles @rbreich Honestly? Yes.

Fuck border gatekeeping.

Show threadTex MorganDec 28, 2022
@rbreich while they're at it, list the bills that were approved that continually cut funding to the immigration courts and facilities.
Show threadRubyDec 28, 2022
@rbreich and stop calling lies on a resume "embellishments". A lie is a lie in whatever form it's contained in.
Show threadRD1054Dec 28, 2022
@rbreich Absolutely correct! The human beings whom DeSantis kidnapped in Texas, flew to FL (solely to create a nexus), and then to Marthaā€™s Vinyard, were LEGAL ASSYLUM SEEKERS. Ironies are that they left Venezuela and itā€™s communist/socialist dictatorship to seek asylum in America. Another irony was that by flying them to MV he guaranteed their right to remain in the US. DeSantis and Abbott are not only inhumane criminals, they are morons just like those who support them.
Show threadGravitas DeficitDec 28, 2022
@rbreich Certainly within the #EU many economic migrants use a range of asylum seeking behaviour. It can be very difficult to disentangle these issues. This already causes issues and the problem will only get worse.
Show threadsodalisDec 28, 2022
@rbreich I always tell them the same thing: "I'd rather have them here than you."
Show threadšŸ¤– The Droid EngineerDec 28, 2022
@rbreich
Show threadPoliticalPuffin in the UKDec 28, 2022

@rbreich Hey, Robert. I'm sure you are aware but this is a problem in the UK.

We have human rights lawyers regularly educating those that do not need educating; they are being wilfully dumb by calling asylum seekers 'illegal immigrants'.

This of course gets reported verbatim with some papers and outlets not challenging this at all. Those that do, well, it's hard to tell they are challenging the public servants that work for us.

Thank you for highlighting this.

Have a happy new year.

Dave

Show threadCUDA813Dec 28, 2022
@rbreich following the media's lead
Show threadIsabelDec 28, 2022
@rbreich If their right even existed to the people who really need it, it would make sense. Pure racism/xenophobia.
Show threadScottinSoCal šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡¦ šŸ•Š šŸ³ā€šŸŒˆDec 28, 2022
@rbreich
Most of the people reporting on Republican politicians these days (and Republicans are the ones saying "illegal immigrants" and "not the right way") have become stenographers. They just reliably record what's said, and type it out. No analysis, no fact checking, no context, just listen and repeat.
Show threadSue B.Dec 29, 2022
@ScottSoCal @rbreich "Illegal immigrants", "not the right way", and even "illegals" are nothing but racist and xenophobic dog whistles bleated by bigoted Republican politicians who want to end non-white immigration and the asylum system altogether.
Show threadJayson MasseyDec 28, 2022

@rbreich Maybe there wouldn't be so many asylum seekers if we stopped sending assault weapons out of our country and to the hands of drug cartels.

ā€œTrafficking illegal guns to and from Mexico is currently not a federal crime. It really doesnā€™t get much crazier than that" --Eliot Engel

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-flow-of-guns-from-the-u-s-to-mexico-is-getting-lost-in-the-border-debate

The flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico is getting lost in the border debate

The Trump administration has not addressed a root cause of the violence that drives the displacement of many families in Mexico and Central America: the flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico.

PBS NewsHour
Show threadJohn LoveDec 28, 2022
@rbreich Exactly.
Show threadTimDec 28, 2022
@rbreich under international law yes itā€™s legal but as for their property it can vary by jurisdiction so consider that
Show threadSteven Damian Imparl šŸ„ŠDec 29, 2022
@rbreich Seeking asylum is a time-honored, international human right. It's an important part of our humanity.
Show threadAutisticMumTo3Dec 29, 2022
@rbreich
If they want to stop asylum seekers crossing the channel in dingies they need to open up a way for asylum seekers to come to the UK from France by ferry etc. Safe routes of which currently there are very few. It is not a requirement that you claim asylum in the first safe country you come to. The UK govt doesn't want any asylum seekers to come here except for those from a few select places such as Ukraine. That is wrong.
@JoeGrowling
Show threadSarah Pallett - MP for IlamDec 29, 2022
@rbreich Iā€™d be happy with nobody uncritically repeating politiciansā€™ lies. Just generally.
This is but one of them.
Show threadOldTurkšŸ—½Focus: #FreePeltierDec 29, 2022
@rbreich fyi the media calling them ā€œundocumentedā€ is also a problem. As you said. Seeking asylum is legal
Show threadPatrick ByersDec 29, 2022

@rbreich This a good reminder that others need to be reminded.

Weā€™ve certainly strayed a long way from ā€œThe New Colossus.ā€