President Biden Joe Biden Biden offers support to union organizing efforts Senate Democrats nix 'Plan B' on minimum wage hike Kavanaugh dismays conservatives by dodging pro-Trump election lawsuits MORE is facing pressure from all sides as migration swells at the southern border — posing one of the first major policy tests for his administration. Progressives have hit Biden officials over reopening a housing facility for young migrants used briefly during the Trump administration. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ocasio-Cortez: Detailed sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo 'painful to read' The GOP's uncertain future Democrats don't trust GOP on 1/6 commission: 'These people are dangerous' MORE (D-N.Y.) and others argue the facilities are inhumane and represent a step backward for the new administration, which has made a point to distance itself from the Trump era on immigration in particular. Conservatives, meanwhile, say Biden’s approach has encouraged increased migration to the southern border, with former President Trump Donald Trump Sacha Baron Cohen calls out 'danger of lies, hate and conspiracies' in Golden Globes speech Sorkin uses Abbie Hoffman quote to condemn Capitol violence: Democracy is 'something you do' Ex-Trump aide Pierson planning run for Congress MORE joining the chorus of critics in a speech on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). ADVERTISEMENT But Biden officials and immigration advocates are urging patience, arguing the new administration will need time to make meaningful changes to a system that was upended over the last four years. “Putting in place policies to manage the situation in an orderly way is absolutely the correct approach, and I think they’ve done everything they can to communicate clearly and unambiguously about the direction they’re headed and what it’s going to take to get there,” said ...
Open borders and capitalism
Trump: Joe Biden Opens America to Refugees, Keeps Americans in Lockdown
President Joe Biden is opening the United States to thousands more refugees from around the world while keeping American citizens in lockdowns during the Chinese coronavirus crisis, former President Donald Trump said Sunday. During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump said that while millions of Americans remain under social and economic lockdown orders, Biden is increasing refugee resettlement by nearly 960 percent next Fiscal Year. “[Biden’s] already increased refugee admissions by nearly ten times, but in effect, it will soon be hundreds of times as millions of people flow up through our soon-to-be open borders,” Trump said. “Your families still cannot go out to eat at local restaurants but Joe Biden is bringing in thousands upon thousands of refugees from all over the world — people that nobody knows anything about,” Trump continued. “We don’t have crime records, we don’t have health records, what are they bringing in with them?” Trump also blasted Biden for restarting immigration to the U.S. from countries that export terrorism, one of his first executive orders signed last month: Within this first few hours, Biden eliminated our national security travel bans on nations plagued by terrorism. His first priority was to open our borders to unvetted travelers from Libya, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and many other countries where strict vetting cannot occur … countries that have tremendous terrorism problems. [Emphasis added] As part of Biden’s refugee resettlement surge, the president ended state and localities’ ability to have a say in whether they want to resettle refugees in their communities and towns. Trump, as president, signed an order giving states and localities veto power over refugee resettlement. Biden, though, revoked the order — returning to a policy where a handful of refugee contractors choose where refugees are placed regardless of the wants of local communities. John Binder is a reporter ...
Jen Psaki Blows Off Criticism Of New Border Detention Centers For Children: ‘This Is Not Kids Being Kept In Cages’
White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to questions on Tuesday concerning the reopening of a migrant detention center for children on the southern U.S.border, claiming that “this is not kids being kept in cages.” During the White House press briefing, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Psaki why President Joe Biden’s administration is opening the temporary facility , and noted that when former President Donald Trump’s administration did the same, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris criticized him for it. (RELATED: President Joe Biden’s Immigration Reforms Could Prompt A Surge Of Migrants At The Southern Border, Expert Says) “First, the policy of this administration … is not to expel unaccompanied children who arrive at the border … Customs and Border Control continue to transfer unaccompanied children to the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement. That can take a couple of days,” Psaki responded. “But because of COVID-19 protocols, like social distancing requirements, the capacity at existing Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters has been significantly reduced because, of course, you can’t have a child in every bed.” She explained that they “ensure the health and safety” of the kids who live in the facilities “for a short period of time” by adhering to spacing rules. She then stated that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened the “emergency facility” to add capacity where the children “can be provided the care they need before they are safely placed with families and sponsors.” It’s a temporary reopening,” she added. “Our intention is very much to close it, but we wanted to ensure that we can follow COVID protocols as unaccompanied minors come into the United States.” Doocy then noted that the facility is the same one that was open under the Trump administration in 2019, after which Joe Biden claimed there were “horrifying scenes at the border of kids being kept in cages.” He added that Harris also criticized the ...
Stoney’s to open third pub in Denver along South Broadway
Stoney Jesseph will soon be toasting “Salud” on South Broadway. The Denver pub owner, who started Stoney’s Bar and Grill on Lincoln Avenue in 2010 and added an outpost in Uptown in 2018, has leased the former Gozo space at 30 S. Broadway St. and plans to open Stoney’s Cantina. The owners of Gozo planned to rebrand the space as a Lime and started the renovations, but didn’t reopen. “This is the worst possible time to open a restaurant and it doesn’t make sense to most people,” Jesseph said. “But the reason it worked for us is the space was already remodeled and it doesn’t need a ton of capital to develop.” The 45-year-old said his vision for this location will be a departure from his sports pubs, known for TVs blaring with every sport possible. He said he’ll invest up to $100,000 to get the space ready with a rustic theme with lots of wood décor. “It’ll be a great place to watch a game, but not as rah rah rah as the other two,” he said. As for the food: “A blend of Mexican street food with TexMex and Southwestern style.” This will be Stoney’s smallest pub at 4,000 square feet. The one on Lincoln is 18,000 square feet, and he leases 5,000 square feet uptown. Pat Henry, the landlord of the space, said he and Jesseph have a lease that lets the pub pay part of its rent as a portion of sales until COVID restrictions are removed and the business can run in a pre-pandemic manner. “We’re trying to do what we can (as landlords) to get operating expenses paid and cover the mortgage,” Henry said. “I don’t know if many landlords are making any money. But we’re trying to stop the bleeding.”’ Henry said he was willing to improvise on the lease because of Stoney’s reputation. “These guys are really strong operators and got their act together,” he said. “They are large enough, they can weather these difficult times.” Jesseph said he thinks the South Broadway location will be a draw to different consumers than his other spots. “What we learned in Uptown ...
15 African Migrants Drown in Shipwreck Trying to Reach Italy
ROME — At least 15 African migrants lost their lives Sunday in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya when their vessel capsized while attempting to cross the perilous Strait of Sicily to Italy. The Libyan Coast Guard managed to rescue 95 survivors of the shipwreck, bringing them back to the African coast. The international organization for migration (IOM) said that others may still be missing, since the rubber dinghy reportedly was carrying some 125 migrants when it embarked from the Libyan coastal town of Zawiya on Friday. “The IOM teams are now assisting the survivors, many of whom suffer from burns and hypothermia,” the organization stated . “At least 15 migrants drowned while 95 others were returned to shore by the coast guard today,” wrote IOM spokeswoman Safa Mhsehli on Twitter. “Tragedies and avoidable loss of life continue as a policy of silence and inaction persists.” “Last night 125 people called us on a raft off the coast #Libia,” wrote the open-borders NGO Alarm Phone on its Twitter feed Sunday. “They said the dinghy was deflating and there were people overboard. They asked for urgent help.” “They were 8km from the coast but the so-called Libyan coast guard does not intervene!” the NGO complained. “We have warned all the authorities but the so-called Libyan coast guard replied that it refuses to intervene,” the group said in a separate tweet. “As usual, the European and Libyan authorities prefer to let people die at sea than to get them to Europe. We demand immediate help for the 125 people.” After a similar occurrence last month, the leader of Italy’s Lega party, Matteo Salvini, sounded the alarm over growing numbers of illegal immigrants reaching Italy’s shores. “Five million legal immigrants in Italy, they are my brothers and sisters,” Salvini wrote on Twitter. “On the other hand, landings and illegal immigration generate problems. I believe that with Draghi we will be in harmony, the borders of Italy are the borders of ...
