Brief # 124 – Immigration Policy
By Kathryn Baron
Recently, the Biden Administration announced its intent to expand the existing American immigration system. The administration’s goal is to reverse anti-immigration efforts from the Trump Administration that led to lower levels of foreign workers, families and refugees, and numerous procedural hurdles.
Democracy Now! U.S. RESIST NEWS OP ED
By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan
You know the United States is emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic when the pace of mass shootings gets back to “normal.” As of June 2nd, there were 244 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. That’s one to two per day.
The place and time of the next of these horrific acts is unknown, but that one will happen is a certainty. Then another, and another. One consequence of the number of mass shootings in the U.S. is that we possess data related to the crimes, which show a correlation between mass shooters and domestic violence. A majority of the men who commit mass shootings (and men commit at least 97% of them) also have a history of domestic violence.
That knowledge, along with sensible, fully-enforced gun control measures, could help stem the epidemic of mass shootings that blights our society, and save the lives of women threatened by intimate partner violence.
Brief #16—The Environment
By Rosalind Gottfried
On this Memorial Day it is time to remember the post-Civil War achievements of Black communities and the violence suffered to halt their progress.
One hundred years ago today, the thriving Tulsa community known as Greenwood was incinerated by two days of riots, replete with arson firebombs, and dynamite dropped from airplanes above. The entire Black community was ravaged, leaving 300 dead, thousand homeless, and businesses permanently lost.
Thirty five city blocks were razed in the riot and the ultimate cost to the community can never accurately be assessed.
Brief #117—The Environment
By Katherine Cart
Intentional social inclusivity is, once again, generating backlash and the vexed use of the word “all” is causing reaction to a highlighting and attempted remediation of historical discrimination. The March 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARPA) released by the Biden Administration included a $5 billion dollar package designated for the support of “socially disadvantaged farmers.” In the bill’s language these include Black, hispanic, indiginous and other nonwhite farmers.
Brief #20 — Elections and Politics
By Zack Huffman
For four years, President Donald Trump was able to use his position as Commander in Chief to shield himself from legal action for alleged crimes committed both during and before his time in office. Four months out from President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Trump is starting to feel the burn of no longer having the presidential shield to protect him.
Brief #163—Civil Rights
By Rodney A. Maggay
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Populist and Labor Movements in the United States helped usher in reforms, such as referendums and initiatives, that paved the way for direct democracy mechanisms to be implemented in a number of states.
Brief #19—Elections & Politics
By William Borque
With President Biden now leading this country, many analysts shifted their attention to the 2024 presidential election, where Republicans will once again have a chance to bring the balance of power back to their side of the aisle. The question, however, is who they will choose to lead their party in a key time that will decide the direction of the party for decades to come. Some suggest that they should re-nominate President Trump in an effort to revitalize his political and historical image after the tumultuous end to his presidency. Others suggest his son, Donald Trump Jr, a similarly polarizing and loud-mouthed public figure. Yet another suggestion, along the same vein, is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a well known Trump supporter and ardent conservative. DeSantis is seen as the favorite to secure the nomination, but there are still plenty of others who may sneak into the picture in the coming months and years.
Brief #114—Foreign Policy
By Will Solomon
For the last several weeks, the world’s focus has rightfully been on the horrific, American-backed Israeli assault on Gaza. Even as a ceasefire (hopefully) takes hold in that region, events continue to unfold elsewhere on the planet. One potential flashpoint remains the island of Taiwan.
The history of modern Taiwan is complex, and essentially begins with the Republic of China’s retreat to the island, in 1949, after effective defeat on the mainland by Mao Zedong and the People’s Liberation Army. The legal status of Taiwan (and the People’s Republic of China) has since been complex, and shifting. At this point, most states have some level of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but stop short of full recognition. China does not recognize Taiwan as independent, per its “One-China policy,” and Taiwan typically has a limited status in international institutions.
Brief #117—Economics
By Lily Lady Cook
President Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan (AJP) will allot about $400 billion towards the caregiving workforce. In particular, funds will be allocated towards home health care workers, who provide services that run the gamut from short-term nursing care to longer-term daily visits. Many home health care workers are women, immigrants, or people of color. About 40% are on SNAP or Medicaid; their median hourly wage in 2020 was $13 with an average annual salary of $27,080.
Brief #162—Civil Rights
By Rod Maggay
On May 18, 2021 the United States State Department announced new policy guidance and interpretation for U.S. citizenship transmission to children born overseas through assisted reproductive technology.
Under the old rule children who had been carried to term by a surrogate and been born outside the United States were considered to be “born out of wedlock” and could not be granted U.S. citizenship even though the child’s legal parents were married at the time of the baby’s birth. Additionally, children who were born abroad needed to have a genetic or gestational relationship to the U.S. parent.