Alaska House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Alaska DOC Holding ICE Detainees

Overview

Purpose of meeting:  Status of Immigration Detainees in custody of Department of Corrections through a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement By Department of Corrections;  Witnesses:  Nicolas Olano,  Immigration Attorney, Nations Law Group; Cindy Woods, Alaska Civil Liberties Union; Civil Division, Department of Law; Sean Quirk, Kellogg Hansen Judiciary Committee members present:  Andrew Gray, chair; Genevieve Mina; Ted Eischeid  Other legislators who later sat with the panel and asked questions:  Donna Mears: Ky Holland, Andy Josephson Commissioner of Correction (DOC), Jen Winkelman, testifying by video.   You can listen to a recording of the meeting here. The bulk of the meeting was the questioning of Department of Corrections Commissioner Jen Winkelman.  Commissioner Winkelman sounded quite forthcoming about what she knew and promised to follow up on issues that came up that were new to her.   Though as the questioning went along, it appeared that there were a number of things that others brought up that she hadn't heard about.  The ICE detainees have only been at the Anchorage Correctional Complex (ACC) for ten days and she acknowledged that there has been a learning process, particularly dealing with rules and procedures governing ICE detainees.   Concern was voiced that ICE detainees are NOT criminals and that it is inappropriate for them to be housed in a facility built for criminals.   One person stated that Alaska was the only state housing ICE detainees in a state facility.  One reason, the Commissioner noted, was that Alaska, despite a large federal presence, has no federal prisons.   Another key point was that Alaska has had a contract with the federal government since 2013 to house federal prisoners, usually until they can be shipped to another prison.  Alaska has temporarily housed ICE detainees, but not for more than 72 hours.  And that there was no new contract for these new detainees from out of state. The ICE agent for Alaska is also the ICE agent for the prison in Tacoma where this new group came from.   Attorneys for ICE detainees in Alaska testified that many of the rules for ICE detainees have been violated.   Attorney Quirk, testifying from Washington, DC said neither he nor his client got advance notice of the transfer.  In fact Quirk got no notice at all and attempts to contact his client in Tacoma led to his learning that he was no longer there.  Nor did anyone say where he'd gone.  Quirk thought he was deported possibly.   And, also against regulations, his client's property was not given to him when he was transferred, including his passport, all his legal documentation including his contact information for his attorney.   Toward the end, someone asked about a rumor that ICE was preparing a detention center in Adak.  The Commissioner said she'd only heard about it on social media.     The National Detention Standards for Non-Dedicated Facilities (Revised 2019) were mentioned often and quoted from a number of times.  These are referenced occasionally as "the Trump guidelines."

The overview lists some of the highlights.  Below is my very rough transcript of the meeting. There's a lot missing, but it gives a sense of what was discussed.  I was a couple of minutes late (I thought it was 1:30pm and when I double checked, I had to hustle.)  The room was full and I had to sit on the floor.  The video screen only faced the panel.  Though I moved up to get a (bad) photo of one of the witnesses. The meeting was civil, even cordial, though serious concerns were raised.

Reps. Mears, Eischeid, Gray, and Mina (l-r)

Q, Gray:  Type of contract we have between DOC and Federal government - unusual?  

A, Winkelman:  Statute allows the commissioner to contract with other states or US to take prisoners.  Regard to US, we have agreements since we took federal prisoners because there is no federal prison in Alaska.

Q:  Describe the contract?

A:  Current contract in place since 2013.  Effective until terminated in writing.  I'll make sure committee has copy.  

Q:  How will Alaska be reimbursed?

A:  A daily bed rate for individuals in our custody, daily rate we bill federal government.

Q:  This decision to bring these people made through your leadership?

A:  Because contract, we have a good working relationship.  June 4 local ICE agent contacted staff and asked how many could Anchorage safely house.  We calculated that.  Anchorage is the only facility that could house for more than 72 hours.  Other prisons in Alaska cannot go over 72 hours.  Two big asks:

1.  Names and ?? of those coming and 2.  medical information.  They delivered.  We do not normally know who is coming in from any agency.  So this was hugely helpful to know who was coming.  ICE and DOC remarkable teamwork.  We knew who was coming.  Expecting 59, but only 41 came.  Two were picked up the next day and then 2 more.  35 now.

Q:  Was theree any public notice?

A:  Not from DOC. 

Q:  ??

A:  Longstanding process.  No public process, given our authority and statures.  Checks and balance falls on Legislative audit?  

Rep Eischeid Q:  ICE approached DOC?  A: Yes  They asked how many could DOC house?  Was there an answer?

A:  We agreed on 59 when ICE asked.  Our leadership checked available beds, staffing, etc.  we agreed on 59.

Q:  Requested on medical conditions.. How were detainees selected?

A:  Great questions.  Need to ask ICE.

Q:  How many transferred to Alaska 

A:  ??????  72 hour limit

Q:  Did DOC have to move anyone out of Anchorage facility?

A:  No.  We did move them..  Due to regional ???  We could have housed the extras without movement.  We decided to move some, to relieve burden on staffing.  Nothing different from normal.  We get heads up from local officials and move people out for med and safety reasons?

Q:  Cost to Alaska from moving detainees from Washington state to here

A:  Not that I know of.   ...  Daily costs covered by payments, food, clothing, staff, indirect costs

Q, Mina:  ????

A:  Per diem rate is $223.70 across the board.

Mina:  What about medical costs?  Per diem cover that?

A:  Covers onsite medical costs, anything offsite handled through ICE

Mina:  Training for staff AC  for longer than 72 hours prisoners?

A:  This is not unusual.  over 72 hours, it happens.  Staff trained to deal with that.  

,,,,  Moved here because of severe overcrowding in Tacoma

Q:  Orientation for trainees and staff.  

A:  Phones, immediately given food on arrival.  Following days, arrange for translation services for those with limited English.  How to use digital law library.  Answer questions.  Effort to orient everyone as we do with others.  Difference is how many came in at once.

[My note:  This all sounds fine in the abstract, but how do you practically tell detainees with limited English (in various languages) about how to get translation services, and then how do they understand all the other instructions.  This all depends on the sensitivity of the people doing this, and based on later testimony, there were lots of problems that this glosses over, or that Winkelman didn't know about.]

Q:  Do all detainees have ICE detainee handbook?

A:  I don't know

Q:  ICE rules, page 20,  say they need them. 

Q, Eischeid:  What Fed standards apply to detainees?  Are you using Fed standards?

A:  We are using Alaska State standards, we aim to achieve any national gold standard.  That said, my reasoning saying it was a question for ICE, they had to approve our standards.  They checked our policies and walked around our facilities and determined we have met their standards.  

[I would say this answer is a "NO".  There are specific standards in the Handbook which apply to ICE detainees, most of whom are not criminals, and have specific rights as detainees seeking legal decisions about their rights to stay in the US.  These are quite different from what a prison would have for criminal inmates who have been sentenced by a court.]

Q:  Can attorneys meet with detainees?

A:  Yes.  Bumpy at first.  We have people protesting every day.  Need to check if visits authorized.  We are adding additional rules, work with ICE on who is approved to visit detainees.  We have attorneys, family, and others trying to meet with inmates.  I would say yes.  

Q:  Do you have standards about seeing an attorney within 24 hours.  

... A: We do.  we saw new people coming in and out

Grey interrupting:  "New rules, p. 166, should permit visits 7 days a week including holiday.  p. 168 able to meet with prospective attorneys... Attorneys here not that aware.  It seems should be pretty open access.

National Detention Standards p. 166

A:  I will state my understanding.  That is why initial days, staff thought they had to go through vetting process, told that by ICE agent, but shown invalid.

Eischeid:  Seems from outside looking in, seems that since detainees from ICE but it's a facility that doesn't usually deal with detainees.  Not good?

A:  We have custody of both criminal and non-criminal detainees.  Difference was how many came in at once.  That caused the bumps

Q:  Previously, you said you got 2-3 detainees before?

A:  Didn't give a number, but yes,

Mina:  ICE decides who is approved for meetings with detainees?

A:  Our first understanding, but some of those restrictions have been lifted.

Mina:  For just legal or members of the public?

A:  Yes. 

Mina:  Immigration hearings - can they attend in a timely manner.  What happens if hearing is out of state, but they are here.  

A:  Yes.  ICE are the gatekeepers.  Their court dates are not something we are aware of.  ICE schedules that.  Need to ask ICE. 

Mina:  Process for detainee wanting to communicate with their counsel

A:  They have access to phone system and help on how to use it.

Gray:  P. 171 guidance - detainees MUST be advised.  Allowed to meet in a private room - none of that mentions phone meetings.  [Guidance here refers to National Detention Standards mentioned above.] [I think he meant p. 168.  Page 171 is about consular (not counselor) visits.  

Mina:  What's the process...

A:  ICE determines when ready for release.  We do not handle that paper work

Mina:  A lot of articles on conditions.  Access to go outside, exercise, religious services

A:  One hour outside daily.  Day room for exercise, religious.  DOC chaplain.  Dietary preferences, need to request for things not available.  Dietary - any special diets DOC provides.  Many special diet

[My comment:  These may be the rules, but how they are carried out is another story.  The attorney testimony below offers examples of the rules not being adhered to.]

Eischeid:  ???

A:  Don't know.  Part 2 - nothing brought to me that has been an issue.

Eischeid:  Problems with family requests?

A:  Not to my knowledge, hasn't been long enough to really know.  I know about legal rep, and we worked through that.  Haven't been doing this long enough - nothing has risen to my attention.  Only ten days so far.  

[My note:  'nothing has risen to my attention' is probably accurate, but allows for lots of problems that she doesn't know about.]

Eischeid:  Under what conditions handcuffed?

A:  Only time when being transported, other than ???, handcuffed in front. 

Eischeid:  Any use of force?

A:  Incident in unit where verbal demonstration, aggressively, did not want to lock down, No one was gassed, moved to rooms for lock down.  

Gray:  I believe that was June 12 afternoon.  What are reasons for lockdown.  How long?

A:  Happen routinely multiple times a day, or emergencies.  The incident in question, don't know if routine or emergency.

Gray:  P.3 of Trump guidance.  Any lockdown reported to ICE.  Was that done?

A:  I'm going to say yes.  I know we do that regularly, but I don't know that specific one.

Gray:  I heard about that incident from many people.  One detainee asking for access to his property so he could get contact info for his counsel, and then everyone was pepper sprayed.

A:  No one was pepper sprayed.  

Gray:  Rules - medical officials check on health issues before

A:  I don't know

Gray:  We do know that at least one was on a respiratory and others get sick

Mina:  Mental health services provided?  Paid by?

A:  Yes, both medical and mental health.  Cost of care.  In person in their module multiple times a  day, explaining how to request information.  Fill out form, triaged by nursing.  

Mina:  Law libraries.  How to get access to Anchorage libraries?

A:  Law library is not available.  Get info, working with someone getting translated.  Any other info is available.

Mina:  Turnaround time reaching out to ACC and making it happen.

A:  Wed June 4 and ???

Mina:  Current contract ...?

A:  Tough questions,  how many can we safely house.  This was not unusual, except for the # in one day.  We had a heads up.

Gray:  From several sources, two lockdowns, one pretty lengthy.

A:  Not aware, but knew lockdown on No Kings Day.

Gray:  Not allowed to shower of change clothes after pepper spray.  Wasn't able to change underwear for three days.  Guidance says one day.

A:  First I've heard about this.  I will look into that.

Gray:  Thanks.  Hope you can stay on as we get other expert testimony.

Woods, ACLU attorney:  experience 8 years on Mexican border.  These individuals are not incarcerated from criminal offense, just immigration issues.  Protected from harm, medical and mental health care.  Brothers, partners, fathers.  Some have been granted .... but being held in punitive conditions.  3 people per cell with one open toilet.  Two showers per week.  No spare clothing at all.  No windows.  Out of cell are shackled.  Been on a lot of lockdown.  Deprived of personal belongings, including contact info.  Only 4 telephones only 2-3 available.  Only two free phone calls. No international calls.  No way to buy phone accounts, others have others do that.  Pepper spray, lasers, isolation.  Very concerned about well being.  Struggling with punitive setting and isolation.   Access to religious materials gone unanswered. 

Concerned ability to deal with legal needs.  No access to immigration case law or ways to copy documents.  I have heard personally.  Does not comply with standards

Gray:  how many have you met with?  5 personally

Other experiences:  Family detention centers have different standards, Legal trailer, attorneys on the ground, detainees able to walk to trailer.  Also experience elsewhere, didn't have to prove my legal id.

Gray:  Different here?

A:  Very different from Tacoma and elsewhere.  In Tacoma they have tablets in cells to call family, no handcuffs, more outside, no strip search after speaking to legal counsel 

Gray:  Commissioner, is that your understanding?

A:  I will find out.  They will follow any protocol criminal detainees follow.

Gray:  Woods says they do not have access to property?

A:  I know there was delay.  Property an issue at the beginning.  I believe resolved.

Eischeid:  Trump guidance says, Before trainees transferred all items returned to detainees.  

Mina: 

Woods:  Complicated legal issues.  Type of immigration, entry location, asylum,  Some detainees are legal residents and have durable legal status to be in US

Gray:  We'll go to next witness .. Nicholas Olano

Olano:  Immigration attorney.  14 years in Alaska f5 years before that

Gray:  What do you do with Alaskans picked up?

Olano:  If arrested by ICE ...???

Gray:  How often held in Alaska.  A:  Normally 72 hours.  ICE would want to move them out of Alaska as fast as possible.  

Olono:  Designed as criminal setting.

Gray:  Still getting people sent to Tacoma?

Olano:  ?????

Gray:  Your experience that Alaska detainee could put up bond?

Olano:  Yes

Gray:  Compare to Florida experi3ence

Olano:  Very different.  Florida designed for this.  These individuals used to system and not prepared to be in criminal center.  

Gray:  What risks?

Olano:  Couldn't say?

Gray:  Anything wrong in being in criminal setting?

Olano:  Being held in punitive setting, not what  would happen elsewhere. 

Gray:  Commissioner Winkelman, do you know if they are being shackled when meeting with attorneys?

A:  No, but know that there are different requirements for prisoners.

Gray:  Protocol for shackling when meeting with legal - they aren't criminals.

Mina:  Do you know if detainees had opportunity to be released on bond?

Olano:  Some were elegible in Tacoma.  

Gray:  Final attorney Sean Quirk  

Quirk:  Sean Quirk, Washington DC.  5 years in Navy.  Briefly talk about what has happened with my client who was transferred to Alaska from Tacoma without explanation to him or me or prior notice.  Tried to contact him in Tacoma.  This Monday finally received answer we could contact him.  Then they said he wasn't here, they didn't know.  Thought he was deported.  No one contacted us he was transferred.  Happy to answer questions

Learning a lot from testimony today.  Communications hard from the beginning, and got passed off to others.  Took a while to get 30 minute call Wednesday.  First contact since transferred.  Client said they took away all his papers.  He hadn't memorized my phone number so couldn't call me.

Gray:  Commissioner can you speak to different phone time rules.

A:  Rec time is one hour per day.  Will follow up on discrepancies.

Gray:  One hour a day outside five days a week.  Seems they are getting that.  Trouble contacting attorneys via phone.  Why?

A:  I know at the beginning of transfer there were problems.  This is the first time I'm hearing about it.  I will be following up.  

Gray:  p.160 of guidance - facilities shall not restrict # of calls to reps.

Mina:  Attempts to contact your client?

Sean Quirk:  Everyone we contacted told us to contact someone else.  Emails.  Found out he was in Anchorage on Monday and took til Wednesday.  Time difference and language makes it harder.  8-4 Alaska time difficult.  

Mina:  Also looking at p 160 of Trump standards.  This pertains to emergency calls, staff should help has fast as possible.  Mon-Wed seems longer than the 8 hour ideal.  Question for Mr. Quirk.  Facilities should help making confidential call, staff should help them make the call confidentially.  Your client get this?

Quirk:  Once we did confirmed no one in the room with him.  I don't know about process.  He has not contacted me since Wednesday.  

Mina:  Staff made it possible to contact attorneys?

DOC:  Yes, aware of and working on it.  Challenge in this situation.  From out of state, language barriers.  I'm working on.  

Gray:  Situation Mr. Quirk described not learning about client transfer for a week.  Common?

Alano:  common

Wood:  There is a requirement that ICE notify you.

Alano:  In my client's case notice did not happen.

Quirk:  ICE has to notify 24 hours in advance.  Didn't happen

Eischeid:  Describe the papers that were lost

Quirk:  All his documents, passport and docs to prove his asylum case, and what we sent to him, engagement letter, and others.  All gone with transfer.  As far as I know from Wed.  he has not received them.  

Gray:  Open Questions to public.

Rep Mears:  I have concerns with what is happening with ICE.  2 big areas:  1  Elsewhere in ICE facilities and here we have criminal incarceration facilities.  2.  Alaska is far away.  No contact with family, friends, and other local sources.  Contracts .... Opportunity to ask questions.  Hope hearings lead to changes.

Gray:  p. 163  "To maintain detainee morale and family relationships encourage family visits"  How are family from Lower 48 encouraged to come.

DOC:  I don't know.  Treating like any other criminal or civil detainee.  Extremely hard when folks are far away.

Gray:  Have any family or friends had visits    

Reps. Gray, Mina, Holland, and Josephson (l-r)

Josephson:  Why are we investing energy and time treating guidance as advisory, not compulsory.  We are only being refunded for out costs.  Why are we doing this at all.

DOC:  Fair questions.  Because of military presence and us not having a federal detention center, we will continue to be a federal partner, and one of those partners is ICE.  Don't usually stay in Alaska more than 72 days.  Same ICE agent in that area is same as for Alaska.  Asked if we could we safely house detainees for 30 days.  We said yes.  That's where we are at.

Josephson:  Asked if contract requires us to cooperate?  Admin could have decided not to do this?

DOC:  That's fair to say.  Longstanding contract in place and we were asked how many we could safely house?  If we had been full, it could have been a different answer

Josephson:  You said deployed and then said not used.  If pepper spray was used, not directly against detainees?

DOC:  Used on the ground, not directly on detainees.  

[my short break]

Gray:  Change in per diem price change, related to new ICE detainees?

DOC:  Coincidental - old contract ended May 31.

Gray:  Were they able to bring medications with them  Enough supply?

DOC:  Yes, Yes.  One of our big asks, before they arrived  - that we had medical abstract for each detainee and their medication.

Rep. Holland:  Is there a duty or procedure at DOC to protect the rights of people held in custody to be sure not moved in way to disrupt their proceedings

DOC:  That is something we do for all incarcerated.  But ICE is responsible for who is moved and when.

Mina:  Alaskan ??    ICE

DOC:  Currently undergoing recertification

Mina:  Timeline for recertification?

DOC:  You need to ask ICE

Mina:  We heard 30 minute limite on phone call.  Is that enough time for translation services or legal advice?

DOC:  Fair question and I'll follow up on that.  

Mina:  3 people to a cell normal?

DOC:  Thanks for the question,  when it came up I wanted to comment.  There is enough room in the module, there is enough - we asked if they want to move to another cell, they have banded together and so despite having room to move out of three in a cell and many have chosen not to.

Mina:  to attorneys, do you agree with that?

Wood:  I haven't heard that people choose to stay in a cell with three.

Gray:  repeated q

DOC:  I asked before this hearing and was reassured that was their decisions.  

[Of course we don't know what the conditions of moving were that caused the detainees to stay put?  Into cell with people who don't speak their language?  Other issues?]

Mina:  30 days - ??

DOC:  When ICE contacted us, they contacted ACC knowing we could hold longer than 72 hours, need to stay for up to 30 days.  So, beyond that, I don't know their plan going forward.

Mina:  No restriction, right now DOC just waits to see what will happen?  

DOC:  Short answer is yes, but we are in regular contact with ICE agent to be in the mod once per week.  He has made frequent visits to the facility.  The idea that we are in constant communication on when individuals are moving out.  Six have already moved out.

[No one has asked who this ICE agent is for Alaska and Tacoma]

Mina:  Other states have overflow?

DOC:  I'm not aware and have a good working relationship with the ICE agent and he overseas Alaska and Tacoma and contacted us.  Unusual request and one we could meet

Mina:  To attorneys:  are you aware of other states?

Woods:  Others have federal detention facilities.  To our knowledge, Alaska is only state where detainees in State facilities.

Gray:  Some negotiations that facility in Adak being considered.

DOC:  I have not in any knowledge in my professional capacity, though I read in news article or on social media heard about it.

Olano:  Anchorage is already very far away.  We are not El Salvador.  How to get people there, This will cost Alaskans money.  Bad idea.  

Woods:  Practice to get them to facilities where it's hard to access and potential expansion to Guantanamo.  I haven't heard of it but will take it seriously.  

Escheid:  Anything that prohibits state legislators touring the ACC and seeing the conditions?

DOC:  Nothing and I would encourage it and welcome it.  

Gray:  Not an easy hearing from Commissioner Winkelman and appreciate you being here and responding.  

DOC:  I appreciate the comments.  Hard questions and not easy.  Ultimately at the end of the day. I have a passion for this work. Often difficult.  Two types of authority.  Encourage everyone to reach out and if there are things, let us know.  I want a better DOC.  Kudos for my staff for how they have handled this.  Increased pressure surrounding social unrest surrounding this issue.  I have phenomenal staff and couldn't do my job without them.  

Gray:  To media, pages 172-4 says media can schedule meetings with detainees.  Also like to thank Department of Law.  They chose to answer in writing and they are available on BASIS. You can see the letter here.  

Concludes hearing at 3:10 pm

Spring Time In Anchorage And Other Thoughts

Springtime In Anchorage

Spring in Alaska is different.  We still have a significant amount of snow on the ground.  

And streets look like streams and small lakes.

But the sun is galloping toward the solstice at nearly 6 more minutes a day between sunrise and sunset.  People still say things like "more daylight" but the daylight starts well before the official time of sunrise and lasts longer than the official sunset.  

Georgia's Voting Wrongs Act

The news, of course, distracts me if I let it.  Reports of Georgia's new Jim Crow laws to suppress voting mention making it a crime to bring food or water to people waiting in line to vote.  Yes, that's outrageous.  But the food and water focus overlooks the fact that these new laws will continue making long lines for undesirable voters into something normal.  Lines long enough that they'll need to get water and food.  Apparently they didn't outlaw bringing bottles that another story says that Amazon drivers carry because they don't have time to pee under their demanding delivery schedules.  

Let's be clear, if people have to wait in line for an hour to vote, it means there aren't enough voting places or staff.  Requiring such long lines are clearly an attempt to prevent people from voting.  Republicans argue voter restrictions are to overcome voter fraud, a phenomenon Trump's lawyers failed to prove in over 60 court cases.  

And that's what the Republican party has been reduced to:  preventing people from voting, ads that lie and unfairly characterize Democrats,  gerrymandering, and voter suppression.  

In the Supreme Court an attorney siding with Arizona's Republican National Committee defended such practices as the only way Republicans can win:

“What’s the interest of the Arizona RNC in keeping, say, the out-of-precinct ballot disqualification rules on the books?" Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked, referencing legal standing.

“Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats,” said Michael Carvin, the lawyer defending the state's restrictions. “Politics is a zero-sum game. And every extra vote they get through unlawful interpretation of Section 2 hurts us, it’s the difference between winning an election 50-49 and losing an election 51 to 50.”

Just as McConnell pledged to make President Obama a one term president, the Republicans in the Senate and House vote on legislation based on how it will help Democrats or hurt Republicans, not on what's good for the US.   

Democrats and those disillusioned with what the Republican Party has become, have to continue to do everything they can to get all those folks who don't normally vote to the polls.  They have to find ways to revise the filibuster rules so that the minority can't veto every piece of legislation.  

Word Matter - Especially In Headlines

I think it's important for every consumer of news to pay close attention to the words used in headlines.  Getting clicks means making headlines edgier and more confrontational than is warranted.  Republicans are working hard to frame what's happening with immigration as "Biden's Border Crisis."

Let's remember Biden has been in office just over two months.  And that the Trump administration delayed transition briefings that have always been routine parts of the transition of power from one president to the next.  Until Trump.  

By focusing on the border, the Republicans and the media that follow them, reduce the problem to the lump and not to the underlying disease that causes the lump - the dangerous conditions people endure in key Central American countries that force people to flee for their lives.  If you dig deep enough into these conditions you'll find the fingerprints of American Imperialism, from protecting US corporate interests, say in bananas, to the Iran-Contra arrangements that led to the US supporting repressive wars in the area.  

I also saw a link to the first Biden press conference that was headlined something like "hard hitting questions."  The video showed Kaitlin Collins pressing the president on whether he would run for reelection in 2024.  Really?  He's being evasive if he doesn't say yes two months into office?  That's hard-hitting?  No, that's not anything that takes any sort of research.  It's the kind of question that perhaps she's hoping she can get a momentary bump on her Twitter feed for being the first to get Biden to say he's running for reelection.  But it's a political question, not an informed question about policy that would be important for people to hear.  And Biden handled it appropriately, saying it wasn't something he's focused on.  That there are more important issues he's facing.  

Why Hasn't Biden Pushed Immigration and Gun Reform Already?

Biden's also getting criticism from some in his party for not pushing harder on immigration or gun control.  Politicians have to weigh what is important against what is achievable.  Immigration and gun control are still quite controversial.  Look at how the Republicans voted on COVID relief.  They were almost 100% no votes among Republicans.  Voting Rights should also be an easy vote.  Like COVID relief, it has strong the backing of US people, if not of all of their representatives in Washington DC.  Infrastructure is another highly popular and needed endeavor and one with lots of carrots for Republican lawmakers who want better roads and bridges in their states.  

My interpretation is that Biden wants to go after the' easiest' of the important tasks first.  He doesn't want to get bogged down in the most controversial issues.  Once he gets Voting Rights and Infrastructure in place, he can focus on Immigration and Gun Control.  If he starts with the gun control and immigration, everything else could get bogged down and he'd have nothing but COVID relief (a big deal on its own) to show for the 2022 election.  But reporters on deadlines with pressures for clicks and no time for in-depth research, grab what's easy rather than what's important. 

But media that allow their journalists time to dig deep are able to come up with stories that give us background that helps us understand people and situations that are normally just names passing our eyeballs briefly.  

Today's LA Times had a lengthy story about the Ball family's making Chino Hills into a basketball center.  Before this, the only awareness I had of the Ball family was the incident where one of them was suspended from the UCLA team after shoplifting during a team visit to China.  There's a lot more to know - though the article barely mentions the China incident.  It's not the same as many of the stories in the NYTimes or Washington Post on critical issues of the day, but it is a piece that has some depth to it.  

[UPDATED 5:30pm -  Just got back to finishing today's LA Times and there's another article that goes into more depth about something - this time about racism in LA's surfing culture.  It focuses on two black friends who surf every morning and then one day got involved in an incident at Manhattan Beach.

"As emotions climaxed, a different surfer — white and older — inserted himself into the fray. He began calling Brick the N-word repeatedly. Then he called him a “donkey” and violently splashed water in his face. He also called Gage, a 25-year-old dancer and choreographer with painted nails and arms full of scribbly tattoos, a gay slur and told him to “go back to the streets.”

“Go down there … that’s where the Blacks used to surf,” the man added, referencing Bruce’s Beach, a once-thriving Black-owned resort at the center of a fierce land battle in Manhattan Beach today. (The property was taken through eminent domain more than 100 years ago. Local activists are calling for Los Angeles County to return the land to the living descendants of the Bruce family and for the city of Manhattan Beach to publicly apologize and provide restitution for its role in institutionalized racism.)

As the altercation ensued, a crowd of mostly white surfers surrounded Brick and Gage and refused to intervene. A Black passerby named Rashidi Kafele took notice and started filming. He wasn’t used to seeing Black surfers in the water and, upon hearing the N-word, knew he had to document it.

This was the first time Brick and Gage had been involved in a racially charged altercation in the water, but locals had seen instances like this before. Kavon Ward, founder of the organization Justice for Bruce’s Beach, says the situation “shows that nothing has changed in Manhattan Beach.”]

LA Times has an obituary of Larry McMurtry today..  Obituaries of famous people are a little different because newspapers tend to have drafts of them ready, especially as they get older.  

It talks about his growing up in Archer City, Texas listening to cattle herding stories from his grandfather to his opening a bookstore and writing books like Lonesome Dove and screenplays for movies like The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment.  Later, recovering from a heart attack and by-pass surgery, he joined friend Diana Ossana who worked to overcome McMurtry's depression.

"Ossana eventually got him back to the typewriter with the story of the 1930s outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd. “It was the way to jump-start him into life,” she said. “He was shriveling up and would have died.”

The pair collaborated on a number of novels and teleplays, but their cultural and aesthetic sensibilities most famously aligned in 1997, when Ossana recommended an 11-page short story about two gay cowboys that was published in the New Yorker.

“I don’t read short fiction,” McMurtry told her.

Twenty minutes later, they were writing a one-page letter to Annie Proulx asking to option “Brokeback Mountain.” They had a first draft in three months and, in 2006, accepted the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

Standing with the golden statue in hand, McMurtry, who had paired an Armani tuxedo jacket and shirt with bluejeans, gave a special nod to “all the booksellers of the world,” whom he thanked, 'from the humblest paperback exchange to the masters of the great bookshops of the world ... contributors to the survival of the culture of the book, a wonderful culture which we mustn’t lose.'”

I also spent time responding to a long comment about White Privilege.  I won't repeat it here, but if you have any interest, you can see the discussion here.

Enjoy the weekend.   Passover begins tonight.  

 

Highly Recommend Watching Stateless On Netflix

Stateless is an Australian TV series about an immigration detention camp, "based on true events".  The key event is an Australian woman who ends up in the camp.    

 

An Afghan family on the run to Australia.  

Two of the guards.  We see how the life of the one on the left deteriorates because of what he has to do in the detention center.  But his life is further complicated because his sister is a fervent immigrants rights activist.  

Tamil refugees who confine themselves to the roof and put razors to their throats when officials try to get them down.  There was no explanation of how they ate or took care of other needs, or why they couldn't be gotten when they were asleep.  But they did like to send these messages to media in helicopters.

The series was released on Australian television in March this year and on Netflix in July.  

Compared to the views we've gotten of kids in cages and refugees packed into much too small areas in the US, this camp looks pretty good.  But these detention centers in Australia were shut down in 2013.  Now refugees are detained offshore.  From Human Rights Watch:

"Since July 2013, Australia has forcibly transferred more than 3,000 asylum seekers who traveled there by boat to camps on Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

This experiment in human suffering as a deterrent has not worked. Seven years on, more than 370 people still choose to endure horrific hardship in Papua New Guinea and Nauru rather than return to conflict and persecution in their home countries. They languish in limbo, separated from families, futures uncertain. The United States has taken more than 700 people in a resettlement arrangement with Australia, and over the years the Australian government reluctantly transferred more than 1,200 asylum seekers and refugees back to Australia for medical treatment. Some of those in Australia live in uncertainty in the community on temporary bridging visas, but more than 200 are detained in centers or hotels."

I'm posting this  because the story is well told from different perspectives and reminds us that there are lots of desperate human beings who have displaced for various reasons who face persecution at home.  And with climate change, more and more people are going to be displaced.  

The US has not just wasted four years, but put tens of thousands of these fragile people under increased stress because we have a president whose longest lasting close advisors include hateful people like Stephen Miller.

This show is a reminder of why immigrants come, that they are intelligent human beings, and that we're contributing to the wretched conditions of their lives.  

Will it help convince anyone if I mention that Cate Blanchett has a supporting role in the series?

Stephen Miller - Trump's Fanatic Racist Aide

I thought I had put up a post on Stephen Miller long ago, but I couldn't find it.  Eventually, I looked in my drafts - started posts I never posted and there was one just after Trump's inauguration that offered links to background on Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Roger Stone.  I eventually covered Stone in one post, and Bannon.

The link on that page for Miller looked at his high school days and beyond.  He was clearly troubled already then.

I was reminded of that by this new piece from the New Yorker which looks at how he leads the extreme and cruel immigration policies.

"One participant in the November meeting pointed out that El Salvador didn’t have a functioning asylum system. “They don’t need a system,” Miller interrupted. He began speaking over people, asking questions, then cutting off the answers.
As the meeting ended, Miller held up his hand to make a final comment. “I didn’t mean to come across as harsh,” he said. His voice dropped. “It’s just that this is all I care about. I don’t have a family. I don’t have anything else. This is my life.”
Miller, who is thirty-four, with thinning hair and a sharp, narrow face, is an anomaly in Washington: an adviser with total authority over a single issue that has come to define an entire Administration. “We have never had a President who ran, and won, on immigration,” Muzaffar Chishti, of the Migration Policy Institute, told me. “And he’s kept his promise on immigration.” Miller, who was a speechwriter during the campaign, is now Trump’s longest-serving senior aide. He is also an Internet meme, a public scourge, and a catch-all symbol of the racism and malice of the current government. In a cast of exceptionally polarizing officials, he has embraced the role of archvillain."

"He asked to head the Domestic Policy Council, an influential but amorphous group inside the White House. The position gave him proximity to the President and insulation from congressional scrutiny; he would issue, rather than implement, orders. “The rest of us have to testify before Congress. That’s a check. If you’re going to have your ass hauled before Congress, you’re not going to feel comfortable breaking the law,” a former top Administration official told me. 'Miller will never have to testify for anything.'”

"In the days leading up to Trump’s Inauguration, Miller and a close associate named Gene Hamilton, another former Sessions staffer in his mid-thirties, drafted an executive order called “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”—the travel ban.
When Trump signed it, none of the top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which was in charge of enforcing the ban, had been notified in advance. Travellers with valid visas were suddenly trapped at American airports, unable to enter the country; refugees who, after years of waiting, had been vetted and approved for entry were turned back. Thousands of protesters and civil-rights attorneys began congregating at airports across the country, and Senators Graham and McCain issued a statement saying that “we should not turn our backs on those refugees who . . . pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors.” Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser, was enraged. The next day, when the President’s senior staff assembled in the Situation Room, Miller told John Kelly, the head of D.H.S.; Tom Bossert, the President’s homeland-security adviser; and officials from the State Department, “This is the new world order. You need to get on board,” according to an account in “Border Wars,” by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael D. Shear."

While many of Trump's appointees have either seen themselves as people who could hold Trump back, or people just happy to be able to put their Trump service on their resumes, Miller is one who clearly has Trump's ear and pushes Trump towards his worst decisions on immigration.    

"The solution was clear, Wendell said: Buy the votes of Senators" - Being Better Citizens Today By Knowing The Past

Alaskans are likely aware of William Seward more than the rest of the country.  After all, he was the man who arranged to buy Alaska from the Russians, and we even have a state holiday honoring Seward.  But that doesn't mean know much about him.  A local journalist, Mike The Man Who Bought Alaska:  William H. Seward.  He also wrote companion book - The Man Who Sold Alaska: Tsar Alexander II of Russia.  The books came out in 2017, to celebrate Alaska's 150th year as part of the United States.
Dunham, made an effort to educate us when he wrote the book

I read the Seward volume flying down to LA.  It's short and easy to read.

I learned that Seward did a lot of other things besides buy Alaska.  And I already did a post on some of that.

This post is to remind us that history is worth studying so that we understand more about the present.  I've got a few quotes that don't need much comment from me.

Immigration Fights

"Prejudice against Catholics,  especially Irish, was perhaps more intense in New York than prejudice against blacks.  Religious instruction was part of every elementary school curriculum and the doctrine taught would be Protestant, with a good measure of virulent anti-Catholicism thrown in.
Irish immigrants balked at sending their children to such schools and, as a result, many children of Irish parents didn't attend school at all.  Seward's efforts to see that educational funding was shared with Catholic schools raised the ire of the anti-immigrant party that took the name "Know-Nothings."  (p. 26)

Ignorant Voters

"To win the big Northern states of New York and Pennsylvania, Clay positioned himself as the pro-immigration candidate, hoping to obtain the support of German and Irish newcomers who tended to vote Democratic.  It backfired.  Anti-immigrant riots broke out in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.  The Know-Nothings backed Martin Van Buren, an unabashed nativist.  Clay lost New York and Polk won the election.
The Know-Nothing movement was to me a source of apprehension,"  Seward said.  "When I saw not only individuals but whole communities and parties swept away by an impulse contradicting the very fundamental idea on which the Government rests, I began to doubt whether the American people had such wisdom as I had always given them credit for."  (p. 30)]

Congressional Relationships I

"The first blows of he Civil War came in May of 1856.  Sumner gave a two-day speech dripping with pornographic innuendo and pillorying South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, comparing him to Don Quixote, infatuated by a harlot.
Two days later, Butler's cousin, Representative Preston Books, stalked into the Senate, found Sumner at his desk and demanded an apology.  Sumner refused, not even looking up from the paper he was writing on.  Brooks used his cane to pummel the Massachusetts Senator nearly to death.
Brooks was exonerated by the House of Representatives. . ." (pp. 39-40)

Bad Supreme Court Decisions

"In March 1858 the Supreme Court gave its verdict in the case of Dred Schott, a slave whose master brought him to a free state.  Scott argued that, as an American citizen in a state that did not allow slavery, he ought to be free.  The court, however, declared that under the Constitution blacks were not and could never be citizens.
Seward denounced the Dred Scott decision in terms that would be considered impolitic if applied to a Supreme Court decision today. "Judicial usurpation is more odious and intolerable than any other among the manifold practices of tyranny," he said, and argued that it was time to reorganize the judicial branch to bring it 'into harmony with the Constitution.'"  (p.  40)

Congressional Relationships II

"Through all the bitterness of the Kansas-Nebraska debates, the attacks in the press and even from friends, Seward remained personally on good terms with members of the other side, dining, drinking, joking and playing whist with them when they weren't in verbal combat on the floor of the Senate.
He closely cooperated with pro-slave Democrat Texas Senator Thomas Rust and even planned a trip around the world with him.  When Rust killed himself in 1857 after being diagnosed with cancer, Seward called it a tragedy for both himself and the country.
In the following year, Mississippi's Jefferson Davis spent weeks in a darkened sickroom because of an eye infection.  Seward visited almost every day, reading the newspapers to him and filling him in on the gossip of the capital."

Impeachment

"Seward took the lead in preparing Johnson's defense.  Working with Democrats and the few moderate Republicans still speaking to him, he obtained a top defense team and raised funds to cover their costs.  He turned to the most powerful lobbyist in Washington, Cornelius Wendell, a man who knew the minds - and the price - of every member of Congress better than they knew themselves.
The solution was clear, Wendell said:  Buy the votes of Senators.  The cost:  a quarter of a million dollars.  Seward raised the money.  Wendell got it to the right people."

El Sueño Americano

The only word in the title that might give non-Spanish speakers any difficulty is Sueño, and the poster on the left should clear that up.

This post is based on an exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.  We went because they have an excellent children's space called Noah's Ark which I've posted about before.

There was enough for four or five posts, and given I still have grandchildren around, I'm just going to focus on one and try to get this done quickly.

Here's the artist's statement.  I saved it in higher than normal resolution in hopes you could read it.

Let me highlight this paragraph:

"These confiscations struck me as wrong.  The cruelty of stripping away such personal items from vulnerable people is dehumanizing, both to those whose belongings are taken and to those who enforce the policy."

Combs and Brushes

A few things here:

• The artist, Tom Kiefer,  started this in 2007, during the 2nd Bush administration, so dehumanizing immigrants isn't something that began under Trump.
• As someone who worked at a US Border Control Facility, he noted that it dehumanized the officials who enforced these policies as well as the victims.

And people are leaving ICE.  From the Los Angeles Times in January 2019:

"In March 2017, McAleenan said Customs and Border Protection normally loses about 1,380 agents a year as agents retire, quit for better-paying jobs or move. Just filling that hole each year has strained resources."

This is from an article that is focused on recruitment:

"In a sign of the difficulties, Customs and Border Protection allocated $60.7 million to Accenture Federal Services, a management consulting firm, as part of a $297-million contract to recruit, vet and hire 7,500 border officers over five years, but the company has produced only 33 new hires so far. " [Emphasis Added]

Some Items Confiscated

A large percentage of ICE agents are Latinx according to this Pacific Standard article by Khushbu Shah.  He reports on the 100 interviews by Assistant Professor David Cortez who examined the relationships these officers have with their jobs and why do their jobs.

"Cortez has found that many of the agents he spoke with drew a distinct line between their empathy and their careers. A Latino agent in Texas recently told Cortez he is aware that he might be on the wrong side of history, but the money was too good to quit. The cities where many of the agents come from in the Rio Grande Valley are some of the poorest in the state of Texas, a state in which nearly one in five people lives below the poverty line. The starting salary, in turn, under Customs and Border Protection is nearly $56,000, well above the region's median household income of $34,000."

This is the inscription plate from a bible with notes on travel through the desert and other dates and notes.

Gloves

These are pain tablets.


It's important to remember that the oppressor is dehumanized as much as the oppressed.
And to connect a few more dots, the breaking of unions has allowed the lowering of salaries for many jobs as well as the loss of health benefits and pensions.  And these conditions make it easier to recruit people into the military and other sorts of occupations where people are dehumanized.

And today is nearly the end of 2019 and we're just seeing these images, which began in 2007, now, 12 years later.  Justice takes so much longer than the original acts of abuse and criminality.  

Thoughts On Returning To The US After A Month In Argentina

I wrote this yesterday.

I’m over the Pacific just west of Acapulco, about three hours from landing in LA.  We’ve been out of the US for just over a month.  This is the longest stretch out of the US since  twelve years ago when we were in Thailand for three months where I worked as a volunteer with an NGO that helped poor farmers.  .  

As our return was nearing this last week, I began to think about Jews who traveled outside of Germany - or other countries the Nazis would take over - during the 1930s and then returned.  Many, if not most, ended up in concentration camps.  Should I seek political asylum in Argentina?  

No, I’m not a target.  Yet.  For now the targets are people with darker skin than mine.  Jews are in a strange never-never land.  They’re, as always, in the scopes of white nationalists/neo-Nazis, but the president’s son-in-law is Jewish and his daughter converted.  Being pro-Israel is a conservative thing now, probably because of strong Evangelical Christians support of Israel.  So, what happens to Jews who have serious questions about the way Israel is treating its Arab citizens and the neighboring Palestinians?  

But that’s an aside to the terror Trump is causing among Central American immigrants to the US.  This fear isn't unlike what Jews, LGBTQ folks, Communists, Romani, and others felt about the Gestapo arriving at their door.  You can say that they aren't intentionally killing people on the border, but that came later in Germany as well.  People just knew it was bad and they may not see their families again.  Same as now.  This fear affects more than those seeking asylum - a perfectly legal thing to do.  It includes those in the US without documentation, including all the dreamers, and those with papers who could find themselves targets anyway,  The same thing happened in Argentina in the 70s and 80s, and in Chile under Pinochet.  In the later two places the US was supporting the abusive governments.  

And I thought about all this as we lined up in Lima for our last leg of our trip home.  Nearly all the people with us on this plane are NOT native speakers.  I didn’t hear anyone speaking English.  It was all Spanish, maybe some Portuguese.  Many dark skinned people.  We’re on a Boeing 787-8. Maybe 300 people.  How many planes like this fly into the US everyday from the south?  

What does that say about Trump’s policies on the border?  And the ICE raids? (Yes, I realize this past weekend’s raids didn’t actually happen in the scale expected.). Does it mean that all the focus on the border is simply for show?  Does it mean Trump isn’t worried about legal immigrants as he says, just undocumented ones?  Does it mean Democrats ought to acknowledge the many people flying in legally?  Probably all those questions are more complicated than yes/no answers could cover.  Clearly the treatment of people seeking asylum on the border is outrageous and easily preventable if the Trump administration cared at all.  But there’s also a high level of incompetence in the administration, and most likely the contractors for the camps are making a fortune.  

But what happens next?  Are things going to return to normal after the 2020 election?  

Even if the Democrats win the presidency and the Senate, I’m not sure they will.  Trump has pushed the norms of governing in the US so far beyond respect for the law, for decency, for precedents, for freedom of the press, for respect for one’s opposition, that it will be hard.  And Trump and his supporters will fight any loss in the streets and in the courts.  (Or the long shot possibility is that they will lose their steam.  But don't count on it.  They have lots of guns.)

But what if we don’t have a fair election, or a fair enough election, to get rid of Trump and the Republican majority in the Senate?  By that I mean more cyber and other propaganda from abroad and from conservative billionaires.  I mean voter suppression and hacking  voting machines.  Germans didn’t think that Hitler would last, but he meddled with the system, and the burning of the Reichstag, which many think the Nazi's instigated.  And so he stayed in power.  Trump’s majority on the Supreme Court leaves us with no guarantee that justice will be served if elections are challenged.  We already have the Florida election decision that gave Bush the election in 2000, from a less conservative court. And the court majority just recently had no objection to political gerrymandering.  

So asking about returning isn’t the silly question some might think.  And I’ve only been talking about the US.  I haven’t mentioned the catastrophe that is Alaska after Dunleavy’s vetoes weren’t overridden.  

These are dark times.  I guess the main reason to return is to fight to get my state and country back.  


[We didn't seek asylum in Lima.  We're back home.  And I know Argentina will stop dominating my brain very fast.  But it's time to more seriously and intensely work for a better Alaska and USA.]

Did I Get This Right? Trump Can't Stop Immigration Flow, So He Tells Mexico They Have To?

Binary choices are where there are only two options:  war or peace, socialist or capitalist, democratic or socialistic, us or them, friend or enemy, win or lose, old or young, rich or poor, good or bad.    

But the world is much more complicated.  When have we not been at war since WWII?  When have we had peace?  I'd say we have had varying degrees of both for the last 70 years.

One of the most socialistic institutions in the United States is also one of the most celebrated:  the US military.  Members of the military hand over all the major decisions in their lives for relatively little pay - where they will live, what they do, when they do it.  Health care.  It pays for their education.  It also requires them to kill other people and risk being killed as well.

Is Russia a friend of the US?  Is North Korea?  Is Cuba?  Mexico?  Canada?   Or are they enemies?  Or can they be friends some time and enemies other times?  Does it make sense to even use those words?  Would it not make more sense to say supporters at times and opponents at other times?

Some of the greatest scientists, artists, business leaders who made great contributions to the world, also did terrible things at times.  Are they good people or bad people?  Or can we all be both good and bad simultaneously?  Should we reject their contributions to humanity because they also were sexist, or racist, or had sex with the wrong people, or cheated one way or another?

A person's stature varies from year to year, from age to age, depending on how well their good deeds are publicized and their bad deeds suppressed and the changing norms of the people in power.

If you want to understand what's happening on the border, I suggest you know about one of Steve Bannon's favorite books - The Camp Of The Saints -which I posted about here - and apparently was taken to heart by Trump advisor Stephen Miller.   The book is hateful and pits the world between 'them' (the dirty masses of the poor nations) and 'us' (the white defenders of Western civilization.)  The post has excerpts to give you a sense of that binary mindset to give you a sense of what truly sick people are helping to run this country, without having to read it all.  But those who know nothing about this book, can't really understands the depths of depravity that Trump has been surrounded by, and probably is submersed in himself.

The book also shows the sort of propaganda strategies that the far right is using to turn enough people into haters so they can stay in power.

The Trumps' State of The Union Guests - What Do They Tell Us?

The White House has announced 13 guests of the President and First Lady will attend the State of the Union.  It's a great way to have viewers connect to the speech, but is there any real substance to it?  This post is mostly based on the optics and descriptions the White House is presenting us, though I've done a little bit of further research.  The descriptions are taken from the White House announcement though a couple are abbreviated,)

From the pictures and names in the WH release there are:

• 9 whites
• 1 hispanic
• 3 blacks  (two of whom are former criminals saved from prison by God &Trump)
• 6 women (all of whom are there because they are victims of crime, drugs, or illness)
• 7 men (Four are police or military related, one an ex-con saved by God, one business man, one bully victim kid named Trump)

Let's look at the messages Trump is sending out:

1. Three generations of women relatives of Gerald and Sharon David of Reno, Nevada, who were tragically murdered in their home in Nevada by an illegal immigrant in January 2019.  [MESSAGE:  Illegal Immigrant Menace - We need a wall.  But   his crime only happened in January 2019, The suspect has not yet been charged with murder according to Snopes which calls this claim "unproven." Alternate message; Guilty without a trial.]
2. In 1996, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for selling crack cocaine and other related offenses. While in prison, Matthew found God, completed more than 30 bible studies, became a law clerk, taught GED classes, and mentored fellow inmates. On January 3, 2019, Matthew was the first prisoner released as a result of the First Step Act.  [MESSAGE:  I guess this is to the religious right and perhaps African-Americans.  See more about the First Step Act below.*]
3. At 9 years old, Grace was diagnosed with Germinoma, a germ-cell brain tumor, and in May 2018, Grace started cancer treatment. Throughout the rest of the year, Grace stayed positive and strong, making the rounds in the hospital, cheering up other patients, and always having a smile for the many caring medical professionals who treated her. [MESSAGE:  A feel good "child beats cancer with a smile" story.  She was a NY Jets honorary captain in August 2019]
4. Ashley Evans has struggled with opioid and substance abuse for much of her life.  In 2017, she was pregnant and suffered a relapse. Her recovery began with the birth of her daughter along with the help of Brigid’s Path, a medical care facility in Kettering, Ohio. Ashley has persevered and overcome many obstacles to maintain her sobriety.  [MESSAGE:  Not sure.  A recognition  of the opioid crisis?  A nod to Ohio, a swing state? BTW, Brigid's Path has not been rated by Charity Navigator, because, "7 years of full IRS Forms 990 are needed to complete a rating"
5. Elvin Hernandez is a Special Agent with the Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division. He has more than 18 years of Federal law enforcement experience investigating narcotics, gangs, and human trafficking. During his current 7-year assignment, Elvin has conducted numerous successful international human trafficking investigations involving transnational organized crime groups. [MESSAGE: Homeland Security is vital to your safety and we can check off Hispanic on the list.]
6. Roy James is the Plant Manager of the Vicksburg Forest Products lumber facility. He had worked at the sawmill for 26 years and become Vice President of Operations when he was told that the facility would close its doors. Thankfully, last year, Vicksburg was designated an Opportunity Zone through provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The plant soon reopened and Roy was hired to oversee the entire facility. [MESSAGE: Trump is creating jobs, putting people back to work.  Another nod to African-Americans.  See more below**]
7. Timothy Matson joined the Pittsburgh Police Department in 2005 and made the SWAT team in 2016. As a key member of the SWAT team, he would breach the entrance during raids, a very dangerous task. In October 2018, Tim responded to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and saved countless lives in that heinous, anti-Semitic attack. [MESSAGE:  Police are our heroes.  And an indicator that Trump is against hate?]
8. Judah Samet is a member of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. In October 2018, he survived the horrific shooting that killed 11 members of his community. Judah is also a survivor of the Holocaust. Judah immigrated to Israel after the war and was present for the declaration of the Israeli State in 1948. He served as a paratrooper and radio man in the Israeli Defense Forces and moved to the United States in the 1960s. [MESSAGE:  There's nothing here to suggest this is an anti-gun thing.  Probably, I like Israel.]
9. Joshua Trump is a 6th grade student in Wilmington, Delaware. He appreciates science, art, and history. He also loves animals and hopes to pursue a related career in the future. His hero and best friend is his Uncle Cody, who serves in the United States Air Force. Unfortunately, Joshua has been bullied in school due to his last name. He is thankful to the First Lady and the Trump family for their support. [MESSAGE:  The left is a bunch of bullies.]
10. Tom Wibberley is the father of Navy Seaman Craig Wibberley, a Seaman killed on the U.S.S. Cole. Craig grew up in Williamsport, Maryland, and enjoyed fly fishing, snow skiing, and working with his father on old Corvettes. He had a passion for computer science and decided to join the Navy to serve his country and pursue an opportunity to further his training in computers. Craig served aboard the U.S.S. Cole with distinction and was accepted to the Navy Information Technician School. His commander planned to recommend him for Officer Candidate School. However, on October 12, 2000, Craig and 16 fellow members of the crew were killed in a terrorist attack. [MESSAGE:  Thank you for your service.]
11. President Trump granted Alice Johnson clemency on June 6, 2018. Alice had been serving a mandatory life sentence without parole for charges associated with a nonviolent drug case. During her nearly 22 years of incarceration, Alice accomplished what has been called an “extraordinary rehabilitation.” [MESSAGE:  I listen to my friend Kim Kardashian who said I should do this one.]

So, the men are mostly John Wayne hero types, except for a Black con who was released by Trump and a young kid bullied because his name is Trump.  The women are highlighted for their victimhood.  Not their achievements.   There's a Hispanic hero, but there are three women victims of illegal immigrant crime to balance that off.

Just introducing this group will take up probably 20 minutes alone.  It's going to be a long night.  

*The First Step Act - passed and was signed into law in December 2018.  The Brennan Center notes:

While still President-Elect, Trump nominated Jeff Sessions, a vocal critic of any reduction to the U.S. prison population, to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Nonetheless, Grassley and Durbin reintroduced the SRCA again in October 2017 and navigated it through committee in early 2018. The bill looked poised to stall once again due to vocal opposition from Sessions.
But the momentum started to pick up in early 2018, when the White House brokered the Prison Reform and Redemption Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving conditions in federal prisons. This bill, which was renamed the FIRST STEP Act after some modest improvements were added, still lacked any meaningful sentencing reform component, meaning it would have done little to reduce the prison population. For the White House, that was part of the appeal: Republican leaders believed that SRCA’s sentencing reform provisions made it a nonstarter among conservatives. But because of that, the Brennan Center and a coalition of more than 100 civil rights groups opposed the bill, arguing that the votes were there for sentencing reform — if only Republican leaders would put a bill on the floor. Nonetheless, the FIRST STEP Act passed the House of Representatives by a wide margin of 360 to 59.  [You can read more at the link, how some Republicans worked hard to block this law.]

**Vicksburg, Mississippi Industrial Wood Products plant.  A timber industry journal, Timber Processing,  notes that this North Carolina company is taking over an existing facility in Vicksburg and credits $220,000 in assistance from Mississippi.  It doesn't mention any federal help, though Vicksburg did qualify for opportunity zones.