Immigration

Federal courts reject Trump immigration policies

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The Trump administration’s family separation policy — state sponsored kidnapping and child abuse — may result in making orphans of 572 children for whom the government has opted not to try to reunify with their parents, despite a court order, and instead passing the buck to the ACLU: “If you want them reunified so bad, you do it.”

The judge was not amused. Judge calls Trump administration family reunification efforts ‘unacceptable’:

The federal judge overseeing the court-ordered reunification of the 2,551 migrant children separated from their parents at the border blasted the Trump administration Friday for lacking a plan to reunify the remaining 572 children in its custody with their parents and the slow pace of progress.

In a Thursday night status report filing, the Trump administration said only 13 of the parents had been located by the American Civil Liberties Union, which U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw of the Southern District of California called “unacceptable at this point.”

The parents of 410 children are currently outside of the United States, likely having been deported before reunification, according to the court filing.

The Trump administration had proposed the ACLU take the lead in locating and identifying what the judge had called “missing parents” of children still in government custody. Sabraw said that plan was not acceptable and placed that responsibility squarely on the government.

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Birthright Citizenship is an Original American Tradition

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By Michael Bryan

I created this rather silly (but legally accurate) video several years ago as a poke at then-State Senator Russell Pearce (remember that sack of crap?). I viewed it again recently and while I would cut out some of the more Socratic moments, it really does hold up very well now that the GOP and Trump are picking on birthright citizenship again (See here, here, here, here, here, and here). Just replace Pearce with Trump and the video becomes quite timely.

Listen all the way through and you will be more than ready to destroy anyone who advocates that we can, or should, abrogate birthright citizenship.

Julie Gunnigle pledges to fight corruption as a State Representative for LD 15

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LD 15 Democratic State House Candidate Julie Gunnigle

In what has become the designated meeting place for Legislative District 15 Democratic Candidates, the Starbucks at Tatum and Paradise Parkway, Julie Gunnigle ardently relayed why she would be the best candidate to work for the district’s constituents as one of the two State House Representatives after the November elections.

Ms. Gunnigle is one of three Democrats running for two State House seats in LD 15. The others are Jennifer Samuels and Tonya MacBeth. In what is a likely result of the prevailing political winds (The Trump Administration, the reactionary state Republican Legislature, and Governor beholden to Dark Money-Koch Interests), this is the first time in recent memory more than one Democrat is running to secure at least one of the State House seats.

Who is Julie Gunnigle?

 A native of LD 15, Ms. Gunnigle graduated with a Law Degree from Notre Dame University and served as a Cook County Prosecutor in Illinois (where she participated in the indictment of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Cook County) before moving back with her family in 2011 to practice education (special needs including gifted), midwifery, veteran’s affairs, and reproductive rights law. Some of her work (veteran’s law for example) is performed on a pro bono basis. She also taught at Summit Law School and has been a member of the Arizona Association Advocating for the Gifted and Talented, advocating for special needs children and restoration of funding for them in front of the Arizona State Legislature for three years. She is also a wife and mother.

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Trump administration fails to meet deadline to reunite immigrant families

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Under the order issued by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego, TODAY is supposed to be the deadline for reuniting the more than 2,500 children who were taken from parents apprehended while crossing the border. Yeah, that didn’t happen. As deadline for family reunification arrives, reports of chaos, confusion as to immigrants’ next steps:

Government lawyers have conceded they will fail to reunite all the families by that deadline — hundreds of parents already have been deported without their children, and the government has been unable to locate many others. Officials said in court Tuesday they expect to have reunited just over 1,600 families by the deadline.

Despite the administration’s hardline stance, hundreds of those families have been released on immigration parole, pending hearings on their asylum claims, typically with the adults wearing ankle monitors. Scores of other families, however, have been sent to immigration detention centers, including two in Texas where at least 80 families are being held in custody.

Why some families have been released and others detained remains unclear, as is how long those detentions may last, according to lawyers for the families. Government officials have refused to provide answers.

Axios.com has a breakdown based upon the latest court filings from the Justice Department:

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Overcoming adversity, LD 24 Candidate Jennifer Longdon has devoted herself to a life of public service based on compassion and human interests.

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LD 24 Democratic State House Candidate Jennifer Longdon

Jennifer Longdon symbolizes what a person can do when he or she overcomes great adversity. A native of Chicago (she favors Deep Dish Pizza to New York Style), Ms. Longdon has lived in Arizona since 1999. A successful businesswoman and mother, she was the victim of a random shooting in 2004 that permanently paralyzed her from the waist down. The shooting financially ruined her with her health insurance dropping her coverage while she was in a medically induced coma. After recovering, Ms. Longdon dedicated her life to championing for the most neglected, “disenfranchised,” and persecuted minority group in the country, the disabled. In the course of becoming a public advocate for the disabled, Ms. Longdon became a champion for other social justice and progressive causes, including education, LGBTQ rights, reducing gun violence, and health care. Believing that she is the best candidate because of her life experience on health care and gun violence and her activism in those areas, she believes “legislating is an extension of the work I have been doing for a long time.”

LD 24 encompasses all or part of Phoenix and Scottsdale. A reliably Democratic District, Republicans have not seen a victory here in several election cycles. There are seven Democrats, including an incumbent (Ken Clark) vying for the two state house seats in the primary election. Based on recent history, the results of the primary will undoubtedly determine which two candidates are seated in the legislature in January.

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