FAKE NEWS EXPOSED: A Service of PoliticalChat.com

[RickeyM]

That refugee assistance program is quite a bit different from the FAKE NEWS of "undocumented migrants receiving $5,000 gift cards, cell phones, and airline tickets from the U.S. government after crossing the southern border" designed to rile up the folks to get them to vote for him. Him being Pinal County Sheriff and Republican Senate candidate Mark Lamb. Not surprising that a Repub candidate would resort to falsehoods to get elected.

[Human]

Originally Posted by whell

While the gift card reference might be off-target, he's not wrong about the myriad of federal, state, and charitable funds that are available, including cash payments. Here's an example from my state:

https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/assis...ograms/refugee

Migrants are not the same as Refugees. But you probably know that.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Human

Migrants are not the same as Refugees. But you probably know that.

He will never let the truth get in the way of a good argument.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by finnbow

He will never let the truth get in the way of a good argument.

Or a bad one.

[RickeyM]

Originally Posted by Human

Migrants are not the same as Refugees. But you probably know that.

Some people, and I'm not saying whell is one, don't care. They're what certain people consider "foreign invaders".

[whell]

Originally Posted by Human

Migrants are not the same as Refugees. But you probably know that.

Originally Posted by finnbow

He will never let the truth get in the way of a good argument.

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Or a bad one.

I cited a single example of a state program while also saying there are other state, federal and charitable assistance programs. You don't like that example? Go find your own. There are plenty to choose from, likely in your home state. Example, if there is a public university in your state, undocumented folks are still eligible for financial aid. Check your state's eligibility rules for SNAP. Etc.

As far as migrants and refugees being "different": in a perfectly functioning system, I might agree with you. The US system is VERY far from perfectly functioning. One case in point:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...e-us-rcna68687

What's also funny is that WaPo's Kessler tried to fact-check a Mike Pence claim that 90% of migrants don't show up for their court dates. He ended up giving Pence 4 Pinnoccios, not because he could prove Pence's claim was factually wrong, but because Pence used data that Kessler deemed unreliable. Why was it unreliable? Because Kessler could find no hard numbers that any Federal bureau is tracking for the total number of failures to appear.

Or, if you're in New York and you need to demonstrate your eligibility for asylum, that's fine. However, you'll need to come back in 2033 for your hearing: https://apnews.com/article/immigrati...a7f28231ff0edf

Bottom line: the legal definitions certainly specify a difference in the terms. You may be an asylum seeker when you cross the border. You're not a refugee until granted that status by a judge. You're PRUCOL, or something similar. In practice, the differences are far more difficult to parse because no one really has a handle on US immigration practices, neither the Border Patrol or ICE can keep up, Immigration Courts are backlogged, etc. There's also a brisk business in forged documents and identity theft in the mix. With all that wonderous diversity of mass uncertainly, I have zero confidence that federal or state benefit eligibility is being approved or denied with any level of consistency.

Its a mess, and I don't think anyone in DC has any idea how to fix it.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

Its a mess, and I don't think anyone in DC has any idea how to fix it.

The Wingnut Caucus killed Dubya and the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 after Rush Limbaugh and other such retrograde clowns started screeching "amnesty" to fire up their credulous audience. Read about its provisions here. In a similar vein, if and when Sen. Lankford negotiates a deal with the White House, your MAGA buddies in the House will do their damnedest to kill it.

The bottom line is that the GOP doesn't really want to solve the immigration problem. They'd rather keep it as a wedge issue. They just love showing up at the border for a photo op with Fox News wearing their latest in border junket fashion from REI.

[RickeyM]

Poor whell, trying to minimise a post about FAKE NEWS that was spread by a (typical) Repub. Tsk-tsk.

[Mark B]

Originally Posted by whell

I cited a single example of a state program while also saying there are other state, federal and charitable assistance programs. You don't like that example? Go find your own. There are plenty to choose from, likely in your home state. Example, if there is a public university in your state, undocumented folks are still eligible for financial aid. Check your state's eligibility rules for SNAP. Etc.

As far as migrants and refugees being "different": in a perfectly functioning system, I might agree with you. The US system is VERY far from perfectly functioning. One case in point:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...e-us-rcna68687

What's also funny is that WaPo's Kessler tried to fact-check a Mike Pence claim that 90% of migrants don't show up for their court dates. He ended up giving Pence 4 Pinnoccios, not because he could prove Pence's claim was factually wrong, but because Pence used data that Kessler deemed unreliable. Why was it unreliable? Because Kessler could find no hard numbers that any Federal bureau is tracking for the total number of failures to appear.

Or, if you're in New York and you need to demonstrate your eligibility for asylum, that's fine. However, you'll need to come back in 2033 for your hearing: https://apnews.com/article/immigrati...a7f28231ff0edf

Bottom line: the legal definitions certainly specify a difference in the terms. You may be an asylum seeker when you cross the border. You're not a refugee until granted that status by a judge. You're PRUCOL, or something similar. In practice, the differences are far more difficult to parse because no one really has a handle on US immigration practices, neither the Border Patrol or ICE can keep up, Immigration Courts are backlogged, etc. There's also a brisk business in forged documents and identity theft in the mix. With all that wonderous diversity of mass uncertainly, I have zero confidence that federal or state benefit eligibility is being approved or denied with any level of consistency.

Its a mess, and I don't think anyone in DC has any idea how to fix it.

A simple my bad would suffice.

[Human]

Originally Posted by whell

Its a mess, and I don't think anyone in DC has any idea how to fix it.

On this we can agree.

It's a very complex problem that I'm not convinced either side really wants resolved, for very different reasons.