border wall

The tragicomedy of the U.S. immigration debate

BY: - April 15, 2022

The debate about the elimination of Title 42, a public health measure that expels migrants attempting to seek asylum, with certain exceptions, is just another chapter in the sad saga that is the migration discussion in this country, which is not based on solutions, but exploiting the issue for political-partisan ends. It’s the same tired […]

No, undocumented immigrants don’t commit more crime. Research shows they commit a lot less

BY: - August 3, 2021

New study undermines claims of a dangerous border It’s an article of faith in some corners of politics and the media: All those undocumented immigrants crossing the southern border are making crime much worse in the United States. But new research gives the lie to that assertion.

Burr, Tillis stick with Trump as Senate passes another resolution to block border emergency declaration

BY: - September 26, 2019

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted again on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency along the southern U.S. border. The Senate voted 54-41 to end the declaration, delivering a rebuke that’s likely to be symbolic. Both chambers of Congress already voted to block the resolution, but the effort failed after […]

COMMENTARY

As Trump sets sights on the border wall, are North Carolinians willing to pay for it?

BY: - September 5, 2019

This is what happens when a preposterous campaign promise becomes an offensive reality. No one outside of Donald Trump’s base particularly wanted the president’s expensive and ill-conceived border wall. It was, from the start, a promise made out of craven political opportunism, a bid to score points with rabid, red-meat, anti-immigrant neo-cons. The question is: […]

Tillis defies Trump on emergency declaration

BY: - February 26, 2019

WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis plans to vote against President Trump’s emergency border wall declaration. The North Carolina Republican penned an op-ed in The Washington Post Monday laying out the reasons he plans to vote for a resolution that would terminate Trump’s declaration of a national emergency along the southern U.S. border. “As a U.S. […]

COMMENTARY

GOP fiddles while Trump shutdown mess grows more dire by the day

BY: - January 18, 2019

In case you missed it, be sure to check out a story posted Wednesday at NC Health News by former Policy Watch investigative reporter Sarah Ovaska. In “Federal shutdown starting to leave mark in NC,” Ovaska details the growing crisis that Donald Trump’s border wall shutdown is is causing for average people in North Carolina […]

Local TSA employee on working without pay during shutdown: “We can’t keep doing this”

BY: - January 8, 2019

As the federal government shutdown plods through its third week thanks to Republican demands that Democrats agree to fund President Trump’s border wall scheme, its impacts are starting to have real and serious impacts here in North Carolina. Take, for instance, the issue of airport security. A veteran Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer who works […]

COMMENTARY

Environmental expert explains utter absurdity of Trump’s border wall

BY: - January 7, 2019

As the Trump border wall government shutdown drags on into its third week, it’s worth considering an important but rarely reported fact that stands in the way of the very idea of a wall along the U.S. Mexico border: a little thing called the Rio Grande River. Environmental policy expert, Dr. Joe Romm of Think […]

Misleading “missing children” narrative gains traction amidst an already terrible month for immigrant community

BY: - June 4, 2018

Even by the standards of what has become a disturbing status quo as of late, the past month has been plagued by dehumanizing rhetoric and violent actions directed at immigrants and children of immigrants. It is part of a growing and horrifying narrative encouraging violence and reprisals toward the immigrant community in our nation – […]

COMMENTARY

Charlotte Observer editorial documents Tillis flip-flop on border wall

BY: - January 9, 2018

In the aftermath of yesterday’s latest destructive immigration policy announcement from the Trump administration that it will end Temporary Protected Status for 200,000 Salvadorans, the Charlotte Observer has a solid editorial this morning on another immigration topic: Trump’s absurd border wall proposal and Senator Thom Tillis’ inability to stick to a position on the matter. As […]