If you are part of our grassroots reading audience, I apologize for the lack of inactivity on our website. While our Facebook page has generated a lot of traffic and provocative conversations, a recent illness has made it difficult for me to post original material on HispanicHorizons.com. But with mid-term elections about to take place in June, it’s time for all of us to pay attention. And yes, I’m ready to fight.
What weighs heavily on my mind right now is immigration reform and the lives of our Dreamers that remain in limbo. I feel like the on-going Russia probe, the Iran mess and the North Korea summit has been a convenient distraction. Then there’s the alt-right in Congress who refuse to work with the mainstream GOP and Democrats on a DACA-type bill. Lame duck House speaker Paul Ryan, a good man and a devout Catholic, has none the less shown zero leadership. He says he wants to create legislation that President Trump is certain to sign. Speaker Ryan, quit sticking your head in the sand and get some damn paperwork on the president’s desk.
Further complicating matters has been the caravan of Central American migrants who have left their homes in fear for their lives. Drug punk gangs rule the streets of urban Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, often better armed than the local police. They have turned these cities into lawless guerrilla war zones, equally as dangerous as parts of Syria and Iraq. The caravan was smaller this year with less than 1000 folks crossing from neighboring Guatemala to Tapachula, Chiapas. Mexico has agreed to process more than half of these immigrants for pending legal residency. Still, about 300 men, women and children chose to seek asylum in the United States. This angered President Trump, who ordered authorities not to let them cross and surrender because he doesn’t like people from “shit hole” countries. But apparently Trump was not aware of previously signed international treaties that give asylum-seekers every right to cross and plead their case. It’s a humanitarian crises that has allowed thousands of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East a second chance in life here in the States.
Unfortunately, the flames of hate keep getting fanned in our country, and it needs to stop. Polls continue to show that 80% of Americans favor a path to citizenship for Dreamers. Congress must do its job, and those who oppose the will of the people should be voted out of office. Here’s a short list of alt-right black sheep who do not serve our interests:
Steve King…Incumbent in Iowa’s 4th district and a stone in the shoes of every Republican and Democrat who want to fix the DACA issue.
Corey Stewart… Flip-flop guy neither party trusts running for a Senate seat representing Virginia.
Joe Arpaio… After losing his re-election for sheriff in Maricopa county Arizona, old Joe, 85, is how running for Senate after being pardoned by Trump for past mischief.
Arthur Jones… This ex-American Nazi Party member is running for Congress in Illinois. I smell trouble.
Sean Donahue… Running for Congress in Penn state primaries. Once said, “the United States was intended to be white.”
To do your homework on all the mid-term candidates, log on to VotersEdge.org/(your state).
