Biden's New Immigration and Border Plan, Donna Deegan's Closing Ad, Tue Briefing

Welcome New Subscribers!/My Monthly Political Briefing is Tuesday, 1pm EST

Happy Friday all! A few things today:

The President’s New Immigration and Border Plan - America is entering a new moment in our ongoing struggle to manage a very complex set of issues around immigration and the border. We will be talking about these issues a lot in the coming months, but this morning I send along a few excerpts from a very thoughtful Washington Post editorial on the President’s new plan being rolled out today:

In preparation for the expected fresh tide of migrants seeking entry to the country — some forecasts suggest thousands more will attempt to cross the border each day, on top of the 6,000-to-8,000 daily tally of recent months — officials have forged some clearer-eyed policies, although at least one is likely to face legal scrutiny.

The dismaying truth about the U.S. immigration system is that it is hardly a system at all. That failure has been caused by political dysfunction in Congress, which for years has been unable to fashion major reforms….

Mr. Biden is right to end the use of Title 42, under which the federal government has conducted an expulsion program masquerading as a public health initiative. He also deserves credit for keeping migrant families together, a departure from President Donald Trump’s pitiless policy of separating them. Most of all, Mr. Biden should be applauded for taking steps to vastly expand the admission of refugees, including hundreds of thousands from Ukraine and Afghanistan, along with establishing wider legal pathways for others to enter the country.

Those steps include the administration’s move, in conjunction with the United Nations, to open processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala, with more planned elsewhere. The centers are sensibly intended to encourage migrants from South and Central America to apply for entry to the United States without making the dangerous trip through Mexico to the U.S. border, during which many are victims of predatory human traffickers.

In a similar vein, the administration has established a humanitarian sponsorship program to admit up to 30,000 migrants monthly on a two-year entry permit from four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua, where varying combinations of economic meltdown, lawless chaos and political repression have driven an exodus of desperate people seeking better and safer lives in the United States. In conjunction with those legal admissions, the administration struck a deal with Mexico to continue accepting deported migrants from those four countries who arrive in the United States without having applied for the humanitarian sponsorship program. That policy has been effective until now in discouraging those migrants from seeking to cross the border illegally.

The most controversial part of Mr. Biden’s plan is his announcement that migrants from elsewhere will be swiftly expelled if they cross the border without first applying for asylum in Mexico. That stance sits uneasily with long-standing tradition, laws and treaty obligations, written before so many migrants overwhelmed the U.S. asylum system, which extend to them the right to apply for asylum once they are on U.S. soil. Federal courts previously blocked a somewhat similar Trump policy. Though it might discourage border crossings and the often dangerous travel that precedes them, the Biden administration’s new stance, which comes into effect Thursday, is certain to face a court fight that will test whether the exceptions it includes allow it to pass legal muster….

The U.S. asylum system, designed for another era, has been in dire need of an overhaul in the 21st century. Until Congress manages to act, administrations will be forced to rely on improvisations and stopgaps, inevitably challenged in court. Mr. Biden, dealt a bad hand, has at last crafted an array of enforcement and admission policies that attempt to respond to the push driving millions of migrants toward the U.S. border. Yet the goal of an orderly border remains elusive.

“This Campaign is About Hope, Unity, Change for Good” - Our friend Donna Deegan has dropped her closing ad in her quest to become the next Mayor of Jacksonville, and it’s a good one!

Thanks to all of you who have supported Donna. The election is Tuesday. She has led in every public poll and can win if we close strong. It is no longer possible to donate to her campaign due to local campaign finance laws, but you can help by doing a shift of texting or calling. Early vote continues through Sunday night and we are likely to win or lose the election in the next few days. You can volunteer either by heading to Donna’s website or signing up with the Duval County Dems. Thanks again everyone for helping Donna, and let’s finish the job this weekend!

Political Briefing Next Tuesday - My next monthly political briefing and discussion is next Tuesday at 1pm EST. RSVP for Zoom links here. For those who can’t make it live, it will be recorded and posted here at Hopium on Tuesday afternoon. Sure is a lot to talk about!

With Democrats Things Get Better - a new and updated version of our core Hopium presentation dropped on Tuesday, and hope everyone will take the time to watch it this month. Much of what we do here flows from the understandings in this presentation so try find 30 minutes in the coming weeks to check it out. Consider it a Hopium Chronicles orientation session!

Keep working hard all - S