-Written by Linsay Rousseau, media affairs director for Continue To Serve
Part one of a two part article.
This article started out as an examination of the notorious busing of immigrants from Texas to DC. But in light of the leaked SCOTUS memo that outlines how they will be ending Roe v. Wade, we’ve decided to expand the thesis to cover the ways in which Republicans are fundamentally gutting freedom and democracy in this country. I assume most of you keep up with the news, but just in case, let’s recap.
On April 6th, Texas Governor Greg Abbot announced that he would start busing immigrants from the Texas border to Washington, DC. People are being further displaced after attempting to immigrate and, in many cases, seek asylum in the US. After already completing a treacherous journey, to a foreign land, they are now being further displaced with access to few resources, save for the generous volunteers that are struggling to keep up. An externally displaced person is one who has left his/her home temporarily, crossed an international border, and who expects to return eventually. Depending upon their ability to return, and whether they are subject to persecution in their home country, externally displaced persons may be entitled to recognition as refugees under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) mandate. During a virtual discussion at the UC Davis Law School, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, addressed the threats to migrants in this country and others. “Migration policies can mean the difference between life and death. It is for this reason that they must be based on human rights. Instead, many countries seemingly have based their policies almost entirely on border security. Pandemic-era decisions heightened this effect. Border closures or tightened border restrictions have undermined the right to asylum or due process guarantees” for migrants, Bachelet said. All that being said, the number of migrants being bused to DC is actually quite small (buses had only 12-24 people on board), according to reports from Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition Director, but it is indicative of the larger failed immigration policies in this country and the continued discrimination towards people who are merely seeking a better life. As to the busing, it’s unclear how much the effort has cost the state, which is asking for donations to fund the effort.
Right wing populists have been increasingly threatening the lives of immigrants making their way to this country, many of whom are fleeing poverty, violence and persecution. While the Obama administration had their fair share of deportations, the Trump era policies that put people in cages and ripped children away from their parents were beyond the pale. The remain in Mexico policy puts people at risk for robbery and gang violence. According to an analysis by The Witness (no longer in publication), due to the policy changes in 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials now have broader authority to deny initial immigration filings without granting applicants an opportunity to supplement them, issuing case denials over mistakes and missing documents without giving applicants an opportunity to fix them and provide additional documentation. The change in enforcement policy directs USCIS to expand situations in which it will be permitted to issue Notice to Appear (NTA) documents against immigrants applying for immigration benefits, including lawfully present immigrants. Furthermore, the policy change dramatically increases the situations that will trigger when an NTA is issued by USCIS and will likely lead to more people being placed in removal/deportation proceedings. But the Republican Party seems to have no problem with the undocumented immigrants slaving away in the farms, factories and meat packing plants across the country, with most of their liberties being blatantly ignored and violated.
Discrimination against immigrants and people who aren’t conservative white Christians, can be directly tied to the efforts to disenfranchise minorities. The cult of Trump has only grown stronger over the years and the adoption of extremist alt right views into the core of the republican platform are a fundamental threat to our democracy to cling to power are a fundamental threat to our democracy. According to a 2021 analysis by Represent.Us, 27 states fall under the “extreme threat of rigged maps'' category with regards to extreme gerrymandering. The threat is at a crisis point right now because we won’t have another chance to redistrict fairly until 2030, so maps that are rigged now will disenfranchise voters for the next ten years. There are also the efforts to replace impartial election committees with partisan appointees, wrest control of elections from the attorney general and put it in the hands of the Republican controlled legislature. and Republican lawmakers across the country have passed a wave of restrictions that overwhelmingly disenfranchise minorities. Georgia is one of the most egregious examples. In March 2021, a new law in Georgia made it so others must now meet strict voter-ID requirements to request an absentee ballot, get less time to make the request, and will find fewer drop-off locations. Voting in person is harder too: In a state where some counties are plagued with long lines at precincts, it is now illegal to provide food or water to those waiting. State and local election officials can no longer send out absentee-ballot applications to all voters. The new law allowed Georgia’s Republican-led legislature to wrest control of the election board from the secretary of state. Perhaps most dangerously, state lawmakers can suspend local election officials at will, a power that seems destined to be used against election supervisors in large, majority-Black communities such as those in Fulton County. The 2022 midterm elections could decide whether future elections are conducted fairly.
The conservative influence on the courts is having a huge impact on the lives of people in this country and seems poised to only get worse. The leaked memo from Justice Samuel Alito on May 9th, detailing how the court will strike down Roe v. Wade, seems to be just the start. This means that Kavanaugh and Barrett lied during their senate confirmation hearings when they stated that Roe was “settled law.” It also seems to be the start of a slippery slope of future limitations on the rights and freedoms of American citizens and is just the latest example of minority rule. Talking Points Memo points out four of those justices were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote (Alito by George W. Bush, and Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett by Trump). Every single one of them were confirmed by senators who represent a minority of voters. These minority-supported and appointed justices will go against the will of most Americans, who broadly support abortion access. Americans support upholding Roe by a two-to-one margin, and 80% believe that abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances. This decision would push abortion access back down to the states, where as many as 32 states already have near or total bans on the books.
Circling back to our voting restrictions analysis above, this is in no small part the result of gerrymandering and restrictions on ballot access creating nearly insurmountable Republican control of states that would otherwise be more competitive and moderate. But what about passing a federal law to protect abortion rights? Democrats tried once again to do that with the Women’s Health Protection Act. After narrowly passing the House, it failed to pass the Senate on May 11th because it couldn’t get the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster. The only other options to try and protect abortion federally is if Democrats overwhelmingly take the Senate and House in the 2022 mid-term elections, or Biden stacks the Supreme Court with more liberal justices. Neither of which seem likely scenarios.
Join Continue To Serve and our partner organizations on June 4th, the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment (The Women’s Suffrage Bill), on the steps of the Supreme Court as we rally to have our voices heard. You can find more information here. You can read the second half of this article on Thursday at noon pst.