By Tom Henderson • Staff Writer • 

Immigration detainees in Sheridan lead to protests

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Comments

Joel2828

The whole "ripped from their families" and "separated from their kids" language seems a little odd. I guess it's a new tactic from those who don't believe in our nations laws.
From the beginning of time all law breakers, immigration or otherwise, have had to deal with being arrested and separated from their families.
The solution seems pretty simple and straight forward to me, if you want to keep your family together...obey the law!

Bufordthe1st

Agreed!!! Joel2828

rtistic1

Agree also. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. Unfortunately the kids suffer the consequences of their stupid actions. They knew this would happen. Come in legally...what part of that don't they understand?

sbagwell

I think you are all forgetting one thing. Many of these people simply presented themselves to authorities at the border, seeking nother more than a fair hearing on a petition for asylum.

What purpose are we possibly serving by deliberately separating young children from their parents? Are we trying to punish the parents, the children, or both?

And in the case of asylum seekers, for what offense? They have taken the only legal course of action available to them, violating no laws it the process.

The new Trumpian policy of forcibly wrenching children form their parents violates all standards of humanity, even in cases where desperate parents have entered the country illegally.

For God's sake, why? What possible purpose does it serve for us, and how does that purpose outweigh the horrors we are inflicting on these poor children.

This is as un-American as the Japanese internment during World War II. It is unconsionable. It is beneath us.

Steve

Java

sbagwell- I agree and well stated.

Jim

My son was part of a wrestling team that went to South Africa and camped along a river with the team one night. The people in charge told them if they crossed the bridge down the road they would immediately be shot. That’s how some country’s treat people that enter their country illegally. Does anyone even know if the people taken to Sheridan were gang members or criminals of some kind? Or where they just people crossing the border illegally?

Kat758

sbagwell, well said! I agree with you. Not only is it reminiscent of the internment camps, but also the persecution of German Jews by the Nazis. They separated families.

Sal Peralta

Well said, Steve. Totally agree.

MiffMaff1

Internment camps and Nazis! Such accurate comparisons lol. Poor little Pedro/Ahmed living in a tent behind barbed wire, patrolled by soldiers and dogs. Enforce current immigration law and MAGA!

Sally G

Most of the 123 immigrant detainee men at Sheridan FCI were from Central America (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala), seeking asylum from the extreme violence of their own country. Crossing the border is a civil offense not a criminal one. Never should they be put in prison, nor should they be separated from their families.

The women who crossed at the border seeking asylum have been imprisoned near Sea-Tac airport. We still do not know where their children have been taken --- and it's been a month since they were detained at the border. I find that abhorrent, inhumane, and immoral.

When my ancestors immigrated in the late 1600's to the country that is now called the United States, they had no papers. They bought a piece of land that had been "purchased" by a man from the local indigenous tribe which didn't understand the concept of personal property. By English law, that wasn't criminal, but it sure seems like a crime to me. One line of my ancestors even owned a few slaves in the early 1700's in what is now Brooklyn, New York.That wasn't considered a crime either, but we all know better now.

I can't pass judgment on people who try to emigrate to the United States to escape violence or poverty, to seek freedom or education. I would do the same for my children. It is a shame that with current immigration law, there IS no way for most people from Mexico or Central America to immigrate to the U.S. legally.

I prefer to live in an America that is compassionate, diverse, and welcoming. That's what makes America great.

Kat758

Sally G, YES!! Agreed.

Jim

Why don’t you people try to expend some of your energy on the problems that face people in our own country instead of people trying to enter this country illegally. We have starving children,homeless,battered woman and numerous other things that need to be fixed for the people that were born and raised here.

Joel2828

Jim, Yes!! Agreed.
And honestly what do they good do they think it is going to do to stand on an overpass in Sheridan and wave little card board signs at people who are coming home from the coast? Do they think one of those people driving by is going to pull of the highway, come into the prison, have a chat with the warden and walk out with the 123 guys? Good grief. If these people really want to make a difference they need to put down the posters and go out and do some kind of work/service project to help someone in need. Problem is that takes effort. Much easier to march around town or stand on bridges waving signs.

Joel2828

And I could be wrong on this, but I think this is much more about their frenzied hatred of President Trump then it is about immigration. I have a feeling that if this same policy had been enacted by the Obama administration these same people would be standing on the bridge with a bull horn saying "we are so grateful that Pres Obama has welcomed these desperate, cold, hungry refugee's into our community and sheltered them in this warm, clean, well lit correctional institution where they receive a warm bed and free meals and free medical/dental care while they petition for asylum and await their hearings.

country97

Joel:
I think you are on to something. Prior to Obama's election it was quite usual at the for a group of sign waving people to gather on the corner of Second and Adams Streets to protest whatever war we were in then. After Obama was elected they never showed up again. My neighbor was an active participant. I asked her what happened. She said "Oh, people were just not interested anymore".

Shorty

Agree with Steve Bagwell. Serious bad karma to the rest of you heartless jerks

tagup

Kinda comes down to who we are as individuals and who we want to be as Americans.....unfortunately there are a lot of people in our country that make decisions out of fear.

Jim

So you people really thinks as a nation we need to spend more time worrying about illegal immigrants than a Veteran that is penniless and destitute or a child that can’t get three meals or a woman that gets beaten by a husband or boyfriend? If you do you live in a America I want no part of. We need to take care of our own people first and if that’s heartless somebody better go to their crying closet. This is the greatest country on earth and I’m proud to be here.



tagup

It doesn’t seem to me to be an either/ or decision....both can be achieved with decency and compassion....

Shorty

Doesn’t have to be an either/or decision. Honestly Jim, I don’t get your logic

Jim

I have no problems with legal immigration. My grandparents were immigrants. I have a huge problem spending money chasing and detaining a bunch of people that don’t want to come here legally. I have friends that ranch In Arizona and New Mexico and what they have been put through on Century old family ranches is atrocious by the illegal immigrants. They now get to sleep with guns next to their beds. If we didn’t spend the money we spend trying to catch,House and feed these people our country could take care of our own people a lot better. Maybe you have forgotten 9/11 but most of this nation has not. If you liberals want all these people in this country then I suggest you each take 10 each and pay for their health care,housing and food out of your own pockets not the rest of the taxpayers.

m or s

Telling parents that their children are being taken to the "shower" only to be carted away is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Not letting the workers in the "shelters" touch and console small children is evil (as reported today by a visiting doctor.) We are a nation of refugees, of immigrants, and yes, of laws. It is amazing that a few commenters equate caring about refugee children and families as not believing in the nation's laws. Many of these families have done exactly what the law requires from those seeking asylum, yet these families and their children are being used as political capital.

It is interesting that some commenters think that community members who care about refugee families and children do not care and do nothing to help and support veterans, homeless, etc. The people who walked on Thursday evening are the same people who work hard every day to provide housing, clothing, food and utilities to struggling community members. Their hearts are big. Their compassion real. Their concern is not just about the refugees but about our country and what kind of people/government we are that we would treat refugees/children so callously.

marilyn walster

tagup


Therefore, whomever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. And whomever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me.

Matthew 18

T.W.S.

I would like to know exactly how many of these so-called protestors house illegal immigrants in their home who are not vetted and they do not know by any means.

0, right!

Hypocrites, each and every one of them!!!

tagup

So only those with the means to house immigrants should be allowed to protest ?...Not sure I follow your logic....

country97

We need to give American citizens equal protection. Those charged with breaking and entering should be allowed to take their little ones with them to the detention center.

Clay

Facts & Consequences
Facts - The men being held are in one of two categories, convicted criminals that are pending immigration hearings (they have the ability to bond out unless they are aggravated felons) or those who have had their asylum cases adjudicated and found deportable in an immigration court by a federal immigration and absconded after being told they need to return to their home country. Fact: Illegally crossing the US border is a criminal & a civil offense; Title 8USC1325 (misd.) & Failure to Depart is a felony; Title 8 U.S. Code § 1253 (felony) / Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (civil). So, they've either been criminally convicted in a local, county, or state court and are pending an immigration hearing or they have absconded with an outstanding warrant of deportation and were caught by ICE agents.

Consequences - They have made several deliberate and preventable actions that now require them to be jailed until they have their immigration hearing or be deported. Since we cannot jail their children with them (the same as any jail in the USA) this becomes the consequence. Their children can also join their families at their countries of citizenship which avoids all the separation.

Immigration enforcement is not un-American - it's the law, and we are a Nation of laws. The same laws we as a People determine we need, want, and will enforce. The same laws that allow people to protest and unless something has drastically changed with the Constitution I will support both. That is what being an American requires.

Clay

*by a federal immigration judge

BT

For those still in favor of separating children from their parents, Bill O'Reilly has a few words for you: “The government should know how bad this looks and how innocent children are actually suffering.” he wrote. “That kind of scenario is unacceptable to most Americans.”

Lulu

With Health and Human Services "overseeing" this disgusting internment, you know there will follow abuses, sexual, physical and psychological, suicides and more. Maybe they can assign them jobs--consider "Albeit macht frei," [work sets you free], the sign greeting the deported to Auschwitz.

tagup

Clay While your explanation may be accurate for the group in Sheridan, it doesn't explain the large scale actions at the border..

Jim

If all Clay presented is true its the usual fake news by people like Jeff Merkley. If these guys are criminals they aren’t doing their own children any favors by bringing them along for the ride while breaking the law. I couldn’t imagine the government bringing people from Texas to Oregon if the people involved weren’t criminals.

tagup

Clearly there is way more to this story than just those guys in Sheridan...

Mudstump

Jim - "We need to take care of our own people first and if that’s heartless somebody better go to their crying closet. This is the greatest country on earth and I’m proud to be here."

The greatest (and richest I will add) should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. When you talk about "our own people"....do you mean God's people? Does God the creator have a designation for those that deserve help and those that don't? Did Jesus talk about helping only deserving Jews? Where did Jesus draw the line when it came to helping people....did he say that we should shun the immigrant, the poor or the oppressed? It is heartless, Jim....and it isn't what Christ instructed us to do. Hating the down trodden is unChristian and we should all be ashamed of Trump/Sessions immigration policy that is anti-family and abusive to children. We and the world will pay for the lifelong damage we are doing to these little ones. Trump has brought shame upon this once great nation.

Jim

Mudstump I wasn’t looking for a free sermon when I commented on this. I don’t know what you are thinking. Do we open up our whole country for every person that wants to be here unchecked and not vetted. We are not the worlds dumping ground. We only have a finite amount of land and money. I’m tired of everything our President has done turned upside down by the liberal media and leftist elites. You better go back to the religion you preached to me and forgive the man you hate so bad. He has done some great things and some not so great things. Donald Trump is not a professional politician and he can’t hide everything like his predecessors did.

tagup

Yeah....We were just kidding about the stuff written on the Statue of Liberty.....

Jim

Yeah Tagup immigrants went right by that statue on the way to Ellis Island to be vetted.

Joel2828

Not to change the subject, but it's great to see those on the left suddenly have such a great interest in the Bible. Never thought I'd see the day that here in the comments they'd be a quotin' scripture and preachin' sermons. Wow.

tagup

I missed the part where their kids got separated while they waited....

Joel—Maybe those quotes were meant as a reminder for those Evangelicals out there to try and remember what that word means.....although “adultery” no longer means much.....

Joel2828

Well it looks like we've learned today that this whole thing is just a big 'ol fifty gallon drum of fake news ginned up by none other than the good old Dem's and their lap dog's at CNN, WaPo, HuffPo et. al.
The Secretary of the DHS said today that not one single child has been separated from parents who stopped at the border and petitioned for asylum. Turns out it's just those who decided to cross the border. They decided to break the law and decided to carry the kids along during the commission of the crime. That's what got them separated. And the dame thing would happen to any other law breaker...citizen or not.
I can imagine Merkley and his friends that stood out at the prison the other day are feeling pretty embarrassed today. They done got duped by fake news.

Mudstump

Joel2828 - Where did you get the idea that people on the left weren't religious? You don't actually believe that people on the right have a monopoly on faith...do you?

T.W.S.

tagup - 'So only those with the means to house immigrants should be allowed to protest ?...Not sure I follow your logic...." Nice straw man fallacy.

lulu - "With Health and Human Services "overseeing" this disgusting internment, you know there will follow abuses, sexual, physical and psychological, suicides and more. Maybe they can assign them jobs--consider "Albeit macht frei," [work sets you free], the sign greeting the deported to Auschwitz." ~~~ Still up to your nonsensical argumentation I see. There is no "internment" when these kids have by all standards luxurious accommodations (soft beds, great 3-meals, xbox and playstation with large flat screen televisions, living room furniture, etc.) compared to what the homeless veterans and children have in America (hint: they have NOTHING).

shagwell - asylum for mere domestic violence, as is often claimed, is just justification to gain entry here. That same domestic crime could be just as easily experienced here by their own family members (which is often the case).

Jim - exactly! If America cannot fix its own problem first with the homeless, poor and starving running from their own domestic violence issues; how in the hell is America to help let alone solve other country's peoples problems running here allegedly trying to escape it?

BOTTOM LINE: Every country in the world is sovereign, and as such each as a right to defend its borders as they see fit. No one complaints about the wall that was just built along Turkey's border. Or the great wall of China. Or any other walls that any other country has. Nor their all but barbaric immigration laws - like Mexico, hell no! These liberal ignoramuses have to complain about how America is trying to keep them safe and the country safe.

Mudstump

Can someone please explain why separating kids from their parents is a good strategy? What is the purpose of this policy? Why is it better than leaving them with their parents? Seriously.

Finch

Many of these kids were not separated from their parents because the people trying to use them to get over the border are not their parents or even family members. The asylum cases are a separate issue. There's a problem with criminals in many different forms trafficking and using the children to get across our borders.

Our borders need to be secured and this mess straightened out in some form. This is so far out of control at this point.

Mudstump

The Trump administration and Jeff Sessions are abusing children and holding them hostage as a negotiating tool which is pure evil imo. They have the power to stop this immediately.

Clay

Here is an excellent article that explains the process, particularly the asylum and detention requirements, when an alien is taken into custody. Immigration law is complex, much like tax laws, but unfortunately dealing with people and families stirs a lot more emotions. The portion that mentions that anyone seeking asylum can do so from their home country, the first country they feel safe, or at a last resort at a US port of entry.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/illegal-immigration-enforcement-separating-kids-at-border/

Rotwang

Reminder:

The left would happily rip you away from your children, destroy your family and throw you in a cage for a "crime" as arbitrary as having more rounds in a magazine then they think you should be allowed to have.

They don't care about families being separated; they care about using them to destroy you in politics.

Bill B

Steve Bagwell says: "The new Trumpian policy of forcibly wrenching children form their parents"

Uh, from everything I read, this is not a new policy. Own up Steve.

Mudstump

Bill B - "Uh, from everything I read, this is not a new policy. Own up Steve."

It is the new interpretation of an existing law by Trump and AG Sessions. In the past, no one could have imagined enforcing a policy so heartless, cruel and dangerous. Trump and Sessions could change this instantly and stop this insanity, but Trump wants to keep them as hostages so he can get the funding for his boondoggle (aka waste of taxpayer money) of a wall. Trump said these people are animals that have "infested" our country. That's how the Nazis portrayed the Jews too...as animals that needed to be exterminated.

Lulu

What about this? Canada's dignified and gracious Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously announced his country welcomes all refugees.
Why can't the United States transport the people currently seeking asylum? In the long run, it would cost less than what's being spent on the detained children's lavish lifestyle with all the play stations and three sumptuous meals daily, not to mention soft beds. This practical plan has merit. Who could object?

sbagwell

Bill:
You must limit your reading to sites embracing your ideology. You've been fed some serious misinformation.
The trump administration adopted the new policy of separating children from their parent deliberately in an attempt to: 1) discourage immigrants and asylum seekers; 2) apply pressure for appropriation of $25 billion he is seeking for the border wall he promised Mexico would fund.
Trying to blame this fiasco on Obama and the Clintons is laughable. Maybe you need to broaden your reading.
Steve

Bill B

Well Steve, I read all the media, but I have yet to find one that takes the middle ground. CNN and NBC are so biased it's ridiculous and Fox is right up there too. The News Register and you are following the CNN path. If you go any further left, you will fall down!

Not sure what the answer is, but everything I'm seeing from both sides, there is no comparison to the Japanese internment camps.

BT

One problem with Bill B and anyone else who sees media bias in television is that they don't read the national newspapers and magazines. Not the editorial pages in them, but the straight news. You are being trained by Trump to find bias (or "fake news") everywhere. That is simply not the case. But you have to actually read.

sbagwell

The News-Register is owned by a lifelong Republican. He inherited it from a lifelong Republican who once ran for Congress as a Republican.
For you to brand it radically left-leaning is preposterous. It suggests your vantage point is so far to the right, you've lost all perspective.

Bill B

Well thank you BT, you've figured it all out. Anyone who does not see bias in the media is not really listening or reading. Outside of editorials, the role of the media as I see it is to report the news not to put their spin on it or use adjectives or verbs that clearly slant the news.

As for the News Register, go back and look at all the opinions for the past year and tell me how many could be considered conservative or even middle of the road.

BT

Bill B, you can see what you want to see, but newspapers don't win Pulitzers for news coverage that's biased, and the Washington Post and New York Times are winning them for their coverage of this administration.

Lulu

What about Canada???

Jim

BT you can win Pulitzer’s when the people voting and awarding them are liberals. All news has become biased if you hadn’t noticed. I don’t care if you’re left or right none of it gets reported straight up.

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