Donald Trump launches fear as a failed campaign strategy

Trump launched his re-election campaign with fear-mongering
Opinion echo published in the Texas newspaper the El Paso Times

When a candidate is insecure in his electability, fear-mongering and hateful, divisive rhetoric becomes their hallmark. 

Unfortunately, and possibly due to the interference of foreign governments in the 2016 election, this was a winning position for our current president.

Apparently utilizing the theory that “if it works, don’t fix it,” and building upon a well-documented history of lying to the American people, Trump has launched his re-election campaign with the same fear-mongering and hateful, divisive rhetoric that colored his prior campaign and tenure as our nation’s leader.

He began by escalating tensions in our international alliances; separating from time-honored policies that won our nation’s title and reputation of “leader of the free world,” creating more hostilities between the U.S. and our collaborating allies than at any time in history.

Now, we are at odds with Iran, threatening further destabilization of already fragile relations with the majority of Middle Eastern nations. By deploying more troops to the near-Middle East in advance of his campaign rally, it is likely Mr. Trump has created and will continue to create the appearance of aggression on our part, leading us into yet another unnecessary and endless military conflict.

With continuous diatribes against our sister nation of Mexico, the brutal treatment of refugees, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied migrant children, and threats of economic sanctions and disruption of trade with Mexico, Mr. Trump continues to treat Mexico, and the 22 other nations south of the U.S., as enemies. By calling immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and unaccompanied migrant children “criminals,” referring to them as a blight upon our society, Mr. Trump continues his creation of an imaginary army of people bursting across the border to take over our nation, our culture and marry our daughters and sons.

But, people migrate from all over the world, both legally and without complying with the immigration processes. 

Moreover, people have historically sought refuge from persecution, poverty, violence, and civil strife by coming to the United States and applying for asylum. It is their right to do so under existing laws and has been for over seven decades. It is the Trump administration violating the existing laws with the “Remain in Mexico” policy, the blockade from approaching the port of entry by Customs and Border Protection officials at the top of the international bridges, and the refusal to timely process asylum applications once received.

And then, he announces that there will be roundups of every undocumented immigrant in the U.S. Good luck with that. The following day, officials from the Department of Homeland Security advised that there is insufficient staffing, detention facilities, and travel accommodations to do so. Agents are focusing on people under recent removal (or deportation) orders — who may not actually even be deportable.

So, Trump tweeted his campaign announcements from a “throne” of power — threatening war with Iran, threatening immediate and massive raids of the homes and workplaces of undocumented immigrants, falsely portraying his accomplishments. And he used these talking points in his campaign rally, lying as is his wont, about his administration’s accomplishments. This is the tone of his campaign — receiving rousing cheers from his supporters.

No surprises here — he has lied to us over 10,000 times, including at least six times in his Tuesday (campaign kick off) speech. He called people inappropriate nicknames, demeaned international leaders. As revealed in the Mueller investigation, he, his family, and his closest political allies have engaged in conduct to subvert the orderly process of elections in our country. He and his family, through their corporations and business entities, have enriched themselves at taxpayer expense. He whips up his base, calling forth the most frightening and hateful aspects of human nature.

All of this to the detriment of our republic. Pay attention, America. We are surely in for another wild ride. 

I hope the result is different this time.

Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. She can be reached at Ouisadavis@yahoo.com.

Migrants are suffering cruelty in "no man's land"- echo opinion from El Paso

South of the Border Wall, North of the Border: Life in Texas’- a place labeled "No Man’s Land"

Immigration is a difficult and dangerous choice for the people who are faced with living in a violent, corrupt Latin American nation."...thousands of refugees, primarily women and children, arrive at the U.S.-Mexico Border, former congressman and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has been an uncompromising voice of justice calling us to see the humanity in these victims..."- Ouisa D. Davis in El Paso Times.

El Paso Times opinion editorial helps to describe the situation:

The violence and poverty in Mexico and Central America have forced men, women and children into the flow of migration. While migration from these countries has always been a part of the reality of the Pass to the North, the increasing number and large migration of asylum seekers raises an alarm to many in the U.S.

The flow of new life and energy is the source of the pilgrim story of America. This migration journey is no easy one — refugees make the bitter choice to leave their homeland because their lives and families are at risk. Between civil wars and government oppression, and violent cartel oppression, men, women and children are caught in the middle. They are forced to leave home, family, friends and community to seek safety. The violence has even infected our sister city, Juárez, and other Mexican border communities, pushing people toward the shining gates of America.

These are people, human beings whose lives are precious and sacred. It is difficult for us to imagine their circumstances and these choices. In the U.S., we live in relative prosperity and safety. Our corner of the world has never experienced the realities of our brothers and sisters to the South. It is difficult to comprehend the context in which these people live, the realities that they face, the choices they must make. For many, it is hard to be empathetic to their plight; easier to dismiss them as “lawbreakers” because we don’t know or understand the issues.

Our current administration continues to demonize these human beings who flee levels of violence and persecution that boggles the American mind. Customs and Border Protection officials stand at the top of the border transit bridges, in the “no man's land” belonging to neither the U.S. nor Mexico, denying incoming migrants and refugees their legal right to come down the hill and apply for asylum or admission at the U.S. ports of entry. 

If they make it over the bridge, they are housed like animals by U.S. immigration officials. (MaineWriter- This is evil Trumpziism!)

The U.N. High Commission on Refugees has clearly stated that although countries have a sovereign right to determine conditions of entry and stay in their territories, they also have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of all individuals under their jurisdiction, regardless of their nationality or origin and regardless of their immigration status. As part of a world community that believes in the sanctity of life, we are called to grow into an understanding of that obligation.

We, as Americans, have a responsibility to understand the root causes of migration. We have a responsibility to be aware of existing immigration laws and policies providing mechanisms for admission to our country, and to advocate for just treatment of these human beings in distress.

As thousands of refugees, primarily women and children, arrive at the U.S.-Mexico Border, former congressman and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has been an uncompromising voice of justice calling us to see the humanity in these victims, to look at the root causes of migration, and to uphold refugee protections under existing immigration laws.

Filmmaker Charlie Minn has documented the border violence and migration stories to educate and inform us of root causes of migration and the human cost of our current policies. His 2012 film, “The New Juarez,” tells the story of the cartel violence that plagues Latin American countries.

Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. She can be reached at Ouisadavis@yahoo.com.

Stuck in Tijuana - Documentary opinion published in the El Paso Times

Documentary about migrants "Stuck in Tijuana" opened in El Paso, Texas

Echo opinion from El Paso Texas- America is about hope, not fear: By Ouisa D. Davis

Migration to the United States from the south is nothing new to the border region; many can trace their ancestral heritage to Mexico and the Latin American nations through the Camino Real Paso del Norte. The push/pull factors of migration are many and varied, still reflecting the pilgrim journeys of our American ancestors, across land or ocean.

The foundation of U.S. migration policy stands upon four pillars reflecting the journey: (1) people migrate for economic opportunity; (2) to reunify with family members already in the U.S.; to flee war, persecution, (3) violence and natural disaster; and (4) to become part of the demographic diversity of the U.S. population. The immigration laws and policies reflect those avenues of movement — the family immigration system, the labor certification and employment immigration system, refugee and asylum admissions, and the diversity lottery. Each avenue has subcategories and subprocesses, difficult to navigate for the uninitiated, very complicated to understand even by some of the most proficient immigration lawyers.

Immigration regulation began soon after the colonies won independence from Great Britain. 

In 1790, immigrants were required to live in the United States for two years and their respective state of residence for one year prior to applying for citizenship. As the country grew, so did the regulation of migration from the European continent to the Eastern seaboard, south and “claimed” lands, with revisions reflecting the politics and migrant flows of the times.

In the meantime, migration through the southwest region was unregulated — simply because these lands were not a part of the U.S. Even after the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas, establishing the U.S.-Mexico border, fluid migration from the south was a reality.

Since the 1952 codification of one immigration statute, Congress continually limits legal migration from Latin America, the African continent and the Asian-Pacific region. The final disruption of the not always orderly process of migration occurred when the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 was passed, toppling the four pillars of the system.

Migrants from Latin America routinely come to the U.S. to escape violence and poverty. There were avenues in place for these men, women and children to legally come to the U.S. through the asylum laws, as family immigrants, as workers, or under the diversity lottery system.

These avenues to migration, gutted by the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and disrupted by the harsh policies implemented under the current administration, cause the human bottleneck we see today. The current administration’s policies and unlawful actions deny immigrants and refugees lawful entry, treating them like cattle as they follow the Camino Real to the Paso del Norte – the Ellis Island of the southern border. Unlike Ellis Island, we have only remote and privately operated prisons for men, women and children who have not committed any crime.

The accompanying rhetoric, inhumane treatment and brutish military tactics employed in response to this humanitarian crisis compound the situation. With state-sponsored kidnapping of thousands of children from their parents, the unlawful denial of access to lawful ports of entry by immigration officials who turn people away in the “no-man’s land” at the top of the U.S.-Mexico bridges, the U.S. government prevents these migrants and refugees from lawfully applying for immigration status. (MaineWriter- this is an evil policy shame on US!) In testimony before a congressional oversight panel Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen refused to take responsibility for the actions of her agency.

America is about hope, not fear. Migrants and refugees are human beings. To fully understand the issues, enter into the experience. Acclaimed filmmaker Charlie Minn traveled to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico to closely examine the “caravan” of asylum seekers and the many shelters they are residing in while enduring this brutal humanitarian crisis. His recent movie, “Stuck in Tijuana” opens Friday at the Bassett Place Premier Cinema.

Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. She may be reached at Ouisadavis@yahoo.com.

Trump continues to cause cruel chaos - immigration reality

An El Paso Times echo opinion

An opinion by Ouisa D. Davis

The alleged “humanitarian and national security crisis” created by the irresponsible actions of the current inhabitant of the White House has contributed to more insecurity in the lives of federal employees, border dwellers, immigrants and refugees, and the people who serve them. 

Donald Trump continues to use the governance of this nation as his personal reality television show. From the constant diarrhea of his thumbs issuing from his Twitter-feed to the bombastic, hateful rhetoric he spouts every time he is in the presence of the press, this president has created more chaos and distress in the nation than, I hazard to guess, any president in the history of this nation.

Trump's useless propaganda Oval Office address was no different than the other lies, misstatements of fact, and divisive commentary to which we have become immune. It is clear that this administration intends to continue to lie about border conditions, immigrants and refugees, and immigrant crime statistics.

The protestations issued by Trump were not based in fact or reality, as fact-checking resources revealed in real time during the brief disruption of prime-time television. 

On Wednesday, this same “leader of the free world” stormed out of a meeting with congressional leaders because he did not get the exorbitant amounts of money that he insists are necessary to build the “Wall” described in his campaign promises to crowds hungry for the red meat of xenophobia, and a time-worn target to project imaginary resentment and anger — the immigrant community.

This created crisis is un-American and unhelpful to meaningful debate on immigration reform.

A physical and technological boundary already exits and is in place on the U.S-Mexico border. Moreover, where a physical boundary is not possible, the rugged terrain prohibits foot traffic across the geographic border.

Asylum seekers and potential immigrants surrendering to U.S. border enforcement officials and then processed for evaluation are legally in the U.S., contrary to Trump’s assertions. Of course, he has no appreciation for or desire to learn about immigration law, so he would not know this.

Declaring a “humanitarian” emergency, Trump continues to wreak chaos in our society. This time the welfare of thousands of hard-working federal employees, including immigration and border enforcement officers, face financial hardship because he insisted upon a government shutdown and withholds their paychecks during their furlough. His shutdown is increasing the already overwhelmed immigration courts, causing more backlogs on the docket. Transportation Security Administration officials are calling in sick, rather than working for free, placing our airways in danger.

We are not under threat by exhausted men, women, and children seeking entry into our country, fleeing persecution in their home countries. We are not under any threat of harm from these hardworking men and women who take the jobs Americans don’t want, at wages at which Americans sneer. There is no “rushing” of the border by thousands of people, allegedly overwhelming border security officials. There are not “thousands” of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants; in fact, the statistics show that immigrants (in any status) commit fewer crimes than U.S.-born citizens. This is an imaginary crisis, used to gain political advantage.

This is not good government. This is not the appropriate climate for thoughtful immigration reform and border security development. This is a temper tantrum that, for any other official would result in a resounding defeat at the polls. And the economy will quickly reflect the impact of this explosive behavior.

In the meantime, El Paso is still in one of the safest cities in the nation, peacefully co-existing with our brothers and sisters in our Mexican neighborhood to the south. The president would do well to learn and understand that we are a nation of immigrants and that our nation’s creed welcomes newcomers with open arms.

Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. She can be reached at Ouisadavis@yahoo.com.