We've all seen the stories: thousands of poor kids from Central America pouring into the US, turning themselves in to the Border Patrol, and creating an enormous humanitarian crisis because of limited facilities to house them. Corporate media is having a ball, showing the hordes of kids and their moms, the crowded inadequate holding centers, the angry (white) citizens demanding that the kids not come to their town. Lots of right-wing pols and ordinary citizens demanding to know "why can't we just send them back where they came from?". Busloads of outsiders arriving at Murietta CA to block the busloads of immigrants and dominate town meetings. The SCLM paying lip service to the violence and poverty these kids are fleeing, but NOT a single major media outlet, in all this coverage, telling the truth: that Obama CAN'T "just send them back where they came from" because of a bill signed by GWBush in 2008. This bill, William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, REQUIRES that underage immigrants from Central America be humanely treated, not arrested, and allowed to join family members already in the US until they appear in immigration court. Obama's hands are literally tied in this matter.
And I'm reminded of something: the screaming town hall meetings organized by the Koch brothers to demonize the ACA with wild accusations of "death panels" and "Bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor". Same deal: use the mighty right-wing Wurlitzer to spread a lie that makes Obama and the democrats look evil; spend money creating astroturf support, and count on the mainstream media to propagate your propaganda without even trying to refute it. It gained them the House - now they're using the same playbook to grab the Senate. Instead of pushing granny's wheelchair over a cliff, Obama is flooding the country with hordes of diseased kids who will suck up taxpayers' money, commit crimes, and illegally vote democratic the minute they can get away with it. The beauty of it for the right is that Obama can't win: if life is hard for the kids in the holding facilities, Obama's a heartless monster. If the kids get decent food, shelter, and education, he's "giving them something our own kids can't get" and "encouraging more illegals to come."
When this story first broke, I immediately wondered, "who's paying for all this?". Because it costs thousands of dollars to smuggle someone from Central America into the US. Thousands of dollars times thousands of kids - do the math. While there's always been a steady trickle of illegal workers saving up enough money to bring their kids to them, the sudden flood we're seeing now would require an enormous influx of cash. I don't believe that landscapers and maids all over the US all suddenly won the lottery at the same time. Someone is paying to manufacture this story. I think it's the same people who brought us Death Panels and people waving guns at Town Halls. I think this story will grow over the summer as we lead up to the next election.
What do you think?