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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 12:15:56 GMT
I'm sure most of us have heard news of this recent controversy. It seems to have come a real political "hot potato". It is having a large impact here in Louisiana where thousands of children have come across the border from Mexico via Texas. Florida is having it's own issues with it with children from Cuba and parts of South America. The unfortunate fact is that politicians seem to be using it in an opportunistic fashion and an excuse to attack the Obama administration at the expense of these children's lives.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 13:55:09 GMT
It's a big subject around the world since so many refugees are minors now, and the right wing will always accuse the other side of being "laxist" for not shooting them on sight or whatever other "solution" they might have in mind. I see the Afghan and Iraqi teens in my neighbourhood every morning when they get tossed out on the street when the night shelters close at 8 a.m. It's not too bad during this season, but when the weather starts getting colder, it is heartbreaking to see five or six of them shivering on a bench together.
An additional complication in Europe is that the possible sources of illegal immigrants seem infinite and sometimes defy comprehension. For example, it was recently announced that the biggest groups of immigrant minors flooding into France at the moment are from Eritrea, which isn't even at war but which apparently has some sort of dreadful military conscription that these teenagers are fleeing before they get rounded up. And what are we going to do with all of these Eritreans? Who knows? But the opposition is accusing the government of being the most totally laxist in the entire EU regarding immigration (which is totally ridiculous but when you repeat lies often enough, people begin to believe them).
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Post by mossie on Aug 5, 2014 14:36:22 GMT
I will be controversial. Immigration is a big big problem for many regions caused basically because the world is becoming overpopulated and shortages of vital essentials are becoming noticeable. In the past "Mother Nature" controlled the population through wars and disease but these options are becoming limited due to advances in medicine and cooperation among nations. However things are showing signs of breaking down, antibiotics are becoming less effective because of blanket usage and factory farming, the latter necessary to feed the growing populations. Now we have the Ebola epidemic in Africa which could overwhelm the medics and even up the problems. We may stem the tide with that one, but who knows, the next epidemic or the one after will decimate mankind as the plague in medieval times did. Not a pleasant thought, but, in the words of the song, "somethins gotta give".
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 15:02:11 GMT
I respect your opinion Mossie. Actually, I was mistaken in my original OP in that it seems that President Obama is in support of appealing the 2008 law which then President George W. Bush mandated that supported immigrant minors taking refuge here in the U.S. and would like to speed up the deportation process. This is unusual for Jindal (who has his sights on a Presidential run in 2016...) who is almost always critical of the Obama administration. I believe that this is where my personal conflict lies. Several presidential hopefuls have visited the border sites with high publicity on their agenda. The vast majority of the minors here in NOLA are from Honduras and have come here to be with other family members. (New Orleans had a huge influx of immigrants arrive after Hurricane Katrina because there was so much work available and many, many people took full advantage of the situation to procure cheap labor). In the meantime, these children, many who cannot seek out proper health care and certainly cannot be enrolled in the schools here because of their status sit in detention centers throughout Texas, Louisiana, and other border states.
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