George Floyd’s death sparked nationwide conversations about civil rights, yet the liberal establishment never mentioned border control as a civil right to stop illegal drugs and guns decimating Black neighborhoods and illegal labor suppressing Black Americans’ wages.
We don’t see Al Sharpton examining whether illegal immigration ravages Black jobs, even as Black unemployment rates stagnate under President Joe Biden.
We don’t hear political elites calling to halt the release of thousands of illegal immigrants into our borders without testing for COVID — a disease disproportionately killing Black and Latino Americans, who are more likely to have underlying health conditions.
Meanwhile, Biden enforces strict policies for travelers entering America (even U.S. citizens) legally via airplane. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) requires that all air passengers entering the U.S. show a negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery. But illegally enter our Southern border? No test required.
Civil rights guarantee equal protection under the law — regardless of race, religion or gender. Illegal immigration disproportionately hurts Black, Latino and blue-collar white Americans. Labor organizer Cesar Chavez staunchly opposed illegal immigration, seeing harm to those who entered legally.
Alveda King, niece of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told me during the 2020 elections that an immigration ban to help workers, especially Black workers hit hard during COVID shutdowns, was a “human right.”
“We’ve got to strengthen our own borders, our own lives, our own families, our own communities. Once we do that, then we can help others,” King said.
This Administration has their priorities backwards. Last fall, the Justice Department reportedly negotiated large cash settlements, as much as $450,000, for families separated while illegally crossing the border. Polls showed a large majority of Americans disapproved of paying compensation to these illegal immigrants, especially while many poor American families languished.
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