"THEY CALL IT KARMA"

[Judi Lynn]

BY ERIK LOOMIS / ON FEBRUARY 16, 2020 / AT 11:42 AM



Border Patrol agents patrol the US-Mexico border prior to an Easter mass at the fence separating the two countries at Friendship Park in San Ysidro, California on Sunday, April 16, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Sandy Huffaker (Photo credit should read SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images)

It’s hard to feel bad for a Mexican-American CBP agent who has now been found to be undocumented himself and is facing deportation. Of course the case is completely unjust. He had no idea he was undocumented but his family never told him. The entire system is a grotesque racist farce that only hurts people while doing nothing to help native-born Americans. But this agent also was an active participant in that program and had justified to himself all the actions he had taken to kick other people out of this nation. It’s a good window into the complexities and contradictions of the border, how when Latinos join these fascist agencies it creates lots of issues within their families and their lives. It would be nice for people to read this story and realize that all of these people should be allowed to stay in the United States, but if that was going to happen, we wouldn’t be engaging in widespread ethnic cleansing in the first place. Instead, he’s now just one of the “bad guys,” whatever that means. He may be killed in Mexico because he is well known for his actions as a border agent. Don’t even know what to say.

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2020/02/they-call-it-karma

[DonaldsRump]

1. Interestingly, this fellow voted for Trump

It's a sad story, but I guess this was the voting fraud Trump was referring to? More details about this story here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/a-former-border-agent-at-risk-of-deportation/606418/

[Judi Lynn]

3. Wow, I just saw the treatment given this story by The Atlantic. Looking forward to reading it all

later Monday. Noted there's a video, as well.

Thanks for the excellent link.

[wnylib]

2. Only minutes before seeing this

thread, I heard him tell his story on NPR's This American Life.

The program host, Ira Glass, said that, before Trump, the guy would have received a green card because he did not know that he was not a citizen and did not intentionally lie about it. The guy had voted, too, thinking he was a citizen, and had voted for Trump.

He should be eligible for asylum, I would think, since his life is in danger if he is sent back to Mexico. But, under Trump, only 1% of asylum seekers are being accepted and they have to wait in Mexico while their case is being reviewed.

[Judi Lynn]

4. So good to hear his story has been shared on PBS.

Hope Trump won't be able to shut down all communications soon. Somehow the truth must be shared, one way or another if we have any chance at all!

Thank you, wnylib.

[wnylib]

5. I have been following immigration

issues at the southern border and at the concentration camps within the US.

Years ago, I used to tutor immigrants in learning the English language and American customs through a volunteer program and then as a paid instructor in a community outreach program. Most of my students were from Latin American countries.-- Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Americans from Puerto Rico.

Several former students stayed in touch and became friends. All but one were here legally and the one who wasn't later applied for and received a green card, eventually became a naturalized citizen. My grandparents were immigrants from Europe as young children in the late 1800's (yes I'm that old). My grandfather's family were political refugees. He "arrived" as a newborn 2 weeks after his parents reached the US (rough trip for his mother).

So it feels personal to me. I am involved in my community in keeping people informed and letting them know what they can do to help.

If today's policies had been in effect in my grandparents' time, they might have been turned away (but maybe not since they were white from northern Europe.) If my students had tried to come here today, they would have been denied entry. I worry about some of them because they visit relatives in their native countries and might be refused entry on returning, although they are now naturalized citizens.