#hatewon

“If they had their way, our entire way of life would be eradicated. They don’t like us. In fact, they despise us because of what we are. They cannot coexist with it.”

Why does that sound so familiar?

“They hate me. They hate you. They hate rallies and it’s all because they hate the idea of MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

“They hate our history, they hate our values, and they hate everything we prize as Americans. And we’re right, because our country didn’t grow great with them.”

“These are people who in my opinion hate our country.”

Notorious GOP operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, who have a “known reputation for spreading misinformation,” allegedly “created and funded a false robocall discouraging mail-in voting that targeted Detroit and other urban areas.” Their robocall falsely told minority voters, especially African-Americans, that “their personal information will be part of a public database that will then be used by police if they vote by mail.”

“The CDC is even pushing to give preference for mail in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines. Don’t be (inaudible) into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe, and beware of vote by mail.”

England also has some Very Fine People.™

Because “essential business” must continue.

Another Very Fine Person.™

It is difficult to imagine something bad happening without also imagining people politicizing it for the benefit of those who share their views. Whether rightly or wrongly, both the left (mass shooting --> “Get rid of the guns!”) and the right (terrorist attack --> “Get rid of the Muslims!”) share this particular trait.

Sometimes, however, those politicizing a tragedy aren’t 100% truthful. (Shocking, isn‘t it?) In this case, during the recent government shutdown anti-immigrant forces claimed (falsely) that “18 Million Illegal Immigrants got their government checks this month” while federal workers remained unpaid. Because there may well be another shutdown in a couple of weeks, it’s worth addressing this “Pants on Fire!” lie.

There are “legal restrictions that limit immigrants from receiving most federal benefits. ... Undocume[n]ted immigrants are ineligible to receive the following federal benefits: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), non-emergency Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and its precursor, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).”

“All the van’s occupants were in the country legally, either by virtue of their U.S. citizenship, legal residency or valid visas. Stephanie Martinez and her three children are U.S. citizens.”

This, of course, made no difference whatsoever:

Immigrants who are not in the United States legally can seek deferrals to “remain in the country and avoid deportation while they or their relatives receive life-saving medical treatments.” Medical deferrals “do not provide families a pathway to citizenship,” and they do not change anyone’s legal status. They simply give these deportations a lower priority. Like DACA.

Also like DACA, Trump hates the program and has unilaterally terminated it. His administration sees no distinction between deporting actual drug lords and murderers and deporting “families with children fighting cancer, HIV, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy and other serious conditions.” Every single immigrant who has applied for a medical deferral, and every single immigrant who has applied for a renewal of an existing deferral, has instead been ordered “to leave the country within 33 days or face deportation.”

“Can anyone imagine the government ordering you to disconnect your child from life-saving care — to pull them from a hospital bed — knowing that it will cost them their lives?”

No need to imagine it.