91 Comments

Holy cats! I love this part:

----Brief in Opposition for Federal Respondents 6. But the current border crisis is not a

COVID crisis. And courts should not be in the business of

perpetuating administrative edicts designed for one emergency only because elected officials have failed to address a

different emergency. We are a court of law, not policymakers of last resort.

Wow is all I can say, coming from Gorsuch.

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Too bad he didn't think about this when he helped overturn 50 years of precedent and some of their other rulings.

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He was the only appointee by the orange sadist whom I believed had any sort of real intelligence or integrity. May this be the start of wise counsel from him. Please!

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It is absurd for SCOTUS to take this up. For once I agree with Gorsuch; not their job.

now let’s do the ‘reverse’ - class action against Abbot for intentional risking the health of migrants.

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Serious question, what right does Abbot have to do all of his nasty deeds. I still cannot believe he won the election. Beto was/is so obviously human and caring. Just don’t know if I will ever understand all of this hate.

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It's Texas, the state founded by cashiered army officers, failed politicians, bank robbers, slave catchers, back alley assassins, rustlers, bushwhackers. And they still run the place.

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Perhaps Texas has always perceived strength in the fierce and strong arm of white cowboys against the indians of an earlier time and that image stuck. Abbott fits their stereotype.

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He's just a Texas asshole, and all the other Texas assholes (there's no asshole like a Texas asshole) recognize him as one of them.

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They're also stupid assholes who don't understand that immigration, both legal and otherwise, is the backbone of their economy. Abbott wants to boot out all the people who cross the border into Texas to work and even spend money.

It's like Egypt. Most expats work there illegally because unless you are a legal resident or work for a business that arranges that residency, it's a long process and very inconvenient. There are millions of Americans, Europeans and Asians working illegally; I did it myself for 5 years. The government doesn't care because foreigners contribute to the economy. They know that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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Is that possible? Is there any legal option for holding Abbott accountable?

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Not knowledgeable on the law. But there must be a way to hold Abbot and DeathSantis accountable for their behavior. If not legal - send then a bill/withhold funding, on state lev3l mos use of funds. Can’t can’t on voters, they elected these cruel men, knowing what they do.

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Not all in Florida support DeSantis.

Note that the county that I live in has approximately twice as many registered Republican voters as Democratic voters. I feel that the Democratic Party doesn’t spend much effort in Florida because they feel that their time and money is better spent elsewhere. There are times when the Republican primary winner wins a position because no Democrat runs for the office.

DeSantis won as Governor in 2018 by a margin of 0.4%, triggering an automatic recount. This was with the support of the former President. In this last election, the Democratic candidate was Charlie Christ. Charlie Christ was Governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011, as a Republican. He then ran for the Senate, but was defeated in the primary by Marco Rubio; then Christ left the Republican Party & ran as an Independent, but lost again. Christ joined the Democratic Party in December 2012. He subsequently was elected to the House in 2016.

DeSantis won as Governor this year by a sizable margin. The GOP has a supermajority in the Florida House & Senate, & agrees to whatever DeSantis wants. DeSantis is running for President in 2024, even though he has not officially declared that’s what he’s doing. He is trying to outTrump Trump to get elected. Look at the way he runs Florida. He doesn’t care about what is good for Floridians, he cares about getting the voters to support him. He is eager for power. It would be good if DeSantis were to be charged with trafficking due to his shipping asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard to score political points. I would hope that would open some folks eyes as to what kind of person wants to be our next President.

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Agree 100% with holding DeSantis accountable for trafficking. From a distance (I'm in MA -- on Martha's Vineyard as a matter of fact) I wonder about the apparently new conventional wisdom that Florida is now implacably red. Florida seems to have at least as much potential as Georgia did when Stacey Abrams and Fair Fight got rolling in that state ten or so years ago. It was *Democrats*, not the Democratic Party, that have turned Georgia purple. Here's hoping the same thing can happen in Florida (and a few other places)!

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Agree! We need a Stacey Abrams in Florida. As of 12/09/22, of the registered voters in Florida, 36.48% were Republican, 34.04% were Democrats, 1.81% were a minor party, & 27.66% were “no party affiliation.” There is potential there for a Democratic wave. Unfortunately, DeSantis is doing all he can to discourage voter turnout.

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Yes. He is horrible. Can’t stand him. Right now. Republicans suck 🤬

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All one has to do is look to Uvalde and how that turned out and Abbott was still re-elected. No accountability there that I know of.

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Exactly. It is so frustrating. 🤬

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And DeSantis!

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That’s a tough one.

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Against Florida gov. Ron DeSantis too, please -- although maybe that should be a separate suit? I do wonder how much coordination goes on between FL and TX. The migrant asylum-seekers that DeSantis trafficked to Martha's Vineyard in September started off in Texas. The operation's ground game was in Texas. I'd be surprised if no one in Texas officialdom was part of it.

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Dec 28, 2022Liked by Joyce Vance

Where are the purported Christians: Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.

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I’d go with likely some of the only direct words attributed to Jesus—the Beatitudes!

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And forgive piling on the argument, Jesus not only welcomes the Gentiles, non-Jews, into multitudinous crowd, and asks everyone to share what little food they had. The Sermon on the Mount, or Mount of Beatitudes, is the last of five discourses in the Gospel of Mathew: Chs. 5-7:28-29 These stories also appear in Luke, making parallel Gospel texts helpful in following and comparing both.

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Nothing to forgive! That is something I'd never thought of: that Jesus was welcoming two different groups who normally would not be sharing a meal with one another. I've just always thought of it as "a multitude of people". Thank you!

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Actually, other than in a service role, it was strictly forbidden that Jews mixed with, much less ate with Gentiles (non-Jews). So, at least in the culture of the first century audience, Jesus crossed the boundaries of the law in his discourses with non-Jews, Roman tax collectors, women of ill repute, lepers … all the undesirables you could name. It’s striking, to me, that the “Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes” is at its core about the miracle of a “mixed-race” crowd sharing what little food was there … since it goes against human nature to share when basic needs are scarce.

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WOW!!! Thank you so much for this eye-opening information! I knew about Jesus crossing all the barriers in his relationships with those you name. But your information about the story of the loaves and fishes is nothing I ever heard of, nor thought about.

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You can’t forget about the Greeks, who were trading in beer and wine in Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee, then. being rebuilt by the Romans after its sack under Herod (I think). Jesus’s inclusion of “the other” forbidden cultures prefigures post-crucifixion accounts of Paul preaching in Athens and his attempts to take the Gospel to Rome and farther west. So, I’m not certain how so-called Evangelicals could rationalize the cruel migrant treatment or how under the synonymous label, Christo-Fascists, could support Putin’s slaughterhouse in Ukraine. I myself would call this hypocrisy “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” I’d easier say g-dammit.

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Do you follow Steve Schmidt on "The Warning"? His work is outstanding. His article yesterday was about the words that can destroy evil. He then wrote out the Beatitudes! Great minds, and all of that?

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I do know him and his work but do not subscribe. I’ll check out further, thanks!

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It’s purely partisan these days. The rich against the poor. Think of all the money that was wrongly amassed by the Big Law. Somewhere along the line accountability will show its face and things will turn in our favor. It has to. It’s the Law of Attraction.

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The Christians are out trying to live their lives with as much caring as possible. The "christians" are up to no good, nor are they Christians.

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I specially like the end of Justice Gorsuch dissent : ‘ We are a Court of law, not policymakers of the last resort.’

Would that the group of Conservative Justices pay attention to this adage.

Thank you Joyce !!

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This is an important takeaway. We now find our Supreme Court making policy. Our founding fathers are cringing in their graves. Folks, we must be proactive to preserve the balance of power as it was intended.

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Dec 28, 2022Liked by Joyce Vance

Thanks for keeping me informed, Joyce. I’m beyond tired of a lack of a humane immigration policy. It seems to be more advantageous for politicians to use it as a political tool. These are human beings! Enough!

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Yes, and this is not a 'state' problem. These folks are seeking United States residency and citizenship, that is a federal issue.

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That’s exactly it, a political tool to maintain a white supremacist majority not realizing we need immigrants to fill jobs that there is a great need for. And they have a much higher regard for America than many Americans do. It would refresh our country into gratitude.

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I am glad you brought this up. The jobs issue is a tough one because it is uncomfortable to know that immigrants fill jobs that most Americans won’t do. The haters spew hate for immigrants yet would never vote for policies that support a livable wage for this work. Up until hypocrisy was the norm in Republican politics, there seemed to be a desire to grapple with the reality of what it means for both immigrants and the economy. A lot to unpack!

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This is the second time Gorsuch has surprised me with a simple, well constructed opinion/dissent. He's done some real reaching on prior cases and then does something like this. I wonder if he goes back and reads his more convoluted writings and sighs. I know I do. Of the conservative bunch on the court he gives me the most pause because there are times like this one when I think he actually made the right call. I just wish he did it more often. Thank you as always for the information and the analysis.

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Here's hoping for more. Let this be a turning point for him.

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Perhaps there is an underlying shift going on.

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I would like to think that this was an indicator of a shift, but Roberts would need to show more backbone. He strikes me as a weak Chief Justice who is letting his radical colleagues drive the bus while he’s just holding on.

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Sorry state of affairs indeed! Thanks again Joyce for the timely information I was just stewing about.

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The immigration situation is going to continue with all its stupidity until we use some common sense. People wanting to enter the U. S. to stay for whatever reason should be heard, be physically checked out, including if they have been vaccinated for anything, and if permitted to entered we need the Fed Gov to provide temporary housing (not tents), English classes and job/professional opportunities. I get that we should be doing this for our own current citizens, but that is another situation that needs fixing.

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It’s also a matter o’of the types of jobs. Many workers in America do not want the jobs that are available right now.

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Must not be hungry enough.

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The "if" is crucial. I have always taken a very liberal stance on immigration. A conversation with my (liberal) daughter made me think twice. She said that the MAGA's are mostly the poorer white people of America who are terrified of losing what identity they currently have, and of dropping to the absolute bottom of the barrel. I am trying to see it through her eyes. I think that a middle-ground approach is the only one that can possibly "work" in our nation. Other thoughts welcomed!

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I’ve seen it’s more about indoctrination than anyone’s financial status.

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You are definitely right about that. I guess that's the only part I've ever thought about, but what my daughter said did give me a peak into another possible motive. (Working VERY hard to see both sides.)

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That's not necessarily true. The big, dark money flowing into Republican coffers comes from right wing billionaires and corporate entities. They are the machine that is fueling the horror coming from the GOP daily. It's not the typical voters who nominate or fund campaigns, nor do they have anything much to do with gerrymandering.

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💯 agree. Well said.

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Thank you Joyce Vance. While I will never understand how Abbot gets by w/all his hate-filled actions. Ugh

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Texas wants turn to blue. It’s when all those voting restrictions were put into place behind closed doors that it started to look hopeless but for just a minute think of all those furious with the situation who want their votes to count and feel hopeless. Believe me that rage will build as they organize, prioritize and turn out in numbers too large to be ignored as this new coalition grows into 2024.

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God, I hope your right. We’ve had enough. My opinion. 🇺🇸

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It has to.

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The problem of immigration is global and it ties into climate concerns, as well as practices that the USA has had in other countries for decades. I think Professor Kethleen Belew does a good job of discussing the Iran-Contra piece of this in her book Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. We contributed to unstable conditions in a lot of the world, as have other countries which necessitate people leaving their homes. Canada seems to have a plan and we should be discussing our plan with them because we are the American countries that are going to get the bulk of the immigrants from the rest of the continental landmass, as well as the nearby islands.

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-levels-plans.html#:~:text=Under%20its%20Immigration%20Levels%20Plan,reunite%20families%2C%20and%20help%20refugees.

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-levels-plans.html#:~:text=Under%20its%20Immigration%20Levels%20Plan,reunite%20families%2C%20and%20help%20refugees.

We take in around 1.18 mil a year, Germany, which has about 82 million people takes in about 1-1.5 million a year.

Click on state immigration data sheets

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/

https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/readingroom/state-immigration-data-sheets

https://www.statista.com/statistics/894223/immigrant-numbers-germany/

So, what is the difference in policies? By international law we are supposed to be taking in people who arrive at our borders not sending them on. However, once they are here, we clearly need a better plan. Federal resources should follow immigrants, and they should be spread out amongst the states. Unfortunately, the states with the fewest are often the most unwelcoming and make the transition to living here even harder for people who are already traumatized. It still bothers me a lot that agriculture states like Florida, who need immigrant workers not only for helping the economy in that way, but recently we have found that they are critical in helping with clean up after the frequent hurricanes that Florida faces, all, while DeSantis has the temerity to complain and ship them elsewhere. Who is going to harvest the crops in Florida? Who will help clean up after the hurricanes? DeSantis and governors past have allowed slave labor to do some of this work. Not just because they use prison slave labor, and then when people have done their time don't seem to let them vote, but also because they don't always pay immigrants that work there.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/05/17/how-slave-labor-built-the-state-of-florida-decades-after-the-civil-war/

https://ciw-online.org/blog/2021/10/latest-slavery-indictments-expose-exploitive-nature-of-h-2a-guestworker-program/

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/03/grown-in-florida-oranges-and-modern-slavery/36857/

https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/30/world/ciw-fair-food-program-freedom-project/index.html

https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/09/23/3-charged-in-florida-with-years-long-forced-migrant-labor-conspiracy/

I like that Canada acknowledges that they need immigrants to keep their economy healthy. The USA has a shortage of labor in part because we have lowered our life expectancy due to guns, drugs, auto accidents, and poor handling of covid by many states. So, the current crisis is a covid crisis in that a lot of people died and we have a shortage of workers. We should be acknowledging this, and sending workers to where they are needed as they come into this country. I am the daughter of an immigrant and married to an immigrant and both of them have offered this country a lot. I live in a university community with a huge international population, and many of my friends are immigrants, so I march for immigrants rights. Of course, Chicago is considered a welcoming place for immigrants.

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As we approach the New Year, there are many thousands of people sleeping on the ground, in the cold, on our doorstep. They aren't homeless by choice. They worked very hard and took unimaginable risks to get there. They are ready and wllling to to work. They'll do any menial task that you and I disdain. Some are highly educated and trained. Some are children. One thing common links them all. They seek a better life than they could find where they started out.

This has been America's story since the day the first immigrant landed on our eastern shore. And, the US CAN absorb them, just as it did for generations. We are over 300 million strong. Our rural areas suffer population loss. There is inter-generational loss of interest in occupations like farming.

We DO have a poor and homeless problem, but it isn't these people. They aren't what they have been blamed to be; viral vectors, criminals, morally defective, undesirables. They are labelled as "problems". They are actually a natural resource. The first generation will toil at whatever work we deign to offer them. In a short 10-20 years their kids will be graduating from high school and college, ready to enter our workforce educated to our standards. COVID produced a durable effect; a permanent labor shortage, partly due to early retirements. We'd be wise to acknowledge this and make plans to utilize the single most willing, available and motivated source of workers directly in front of us and stop treating them like an under-class.

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Thank you for keeping us updated, even when the news unnerved us.

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Anyone who expects anything but a dump truck loaded with "cow pies" from any "Supreme" Court decision now must have jut arrived from Alpha Centauri.

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i have no words only tears for the human beings so meanly treated by this ongoing tragedy.

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A sorry state of affairs is a gentle statement describing the failure of both parties to do something about immigration. Immigration has been around since America was founded. It has become a political football for no other reason than American's prejudices. Be it against the Irish, against the Catholics, against the Italians, against brown skinned people, and so on. It is a microscope into the ugliest part of America's society and until we come to grip with this we will continue on as we have. Maybe the younger generation in a couple of decades will be able so solve it. I don't see it happening in my life time, however.

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Sadly, a microscope into the ugliest parts of human society.

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This issue always makes me sad because I think most Americans don't really care about it. This is why people like Trump, DeSantis and Abbott get away with their dangerous stunts. They also spread racist misinformation and portray immigrants as criminals and people who will steal their jobs.

Asking for asylum is a sacred human right. We are monsters if we allow asylum seekers to be bussed, flown or dumped without any concern as to their safety. This is being done, and I ask why this ugliness is not a crime in America.

We're coming very close to being one of the most shameful, selfish societies in the world, and we don't seem to care much.

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