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Matt Cameron Profile picture
@matt_cam
May 29, 2018 • 12 tweets • 9 min read • Read on X
WHERE IS #WHEREARETHECHILDREN? A METATHREAD

Maybe #WhereAreTheChildren can't be salvaged, but not much risk of making it any *more* confusing than it is now. Want to try to sort through some the main takes on this mess out there right now?

Oh hey, me neither. Let's *do it*
1) MEDIA: 1472 CHILDREN ARE "LOST"! #WHEREARETHECHILDREN?

The first, and worst, take. The testimony to Congress in April was not that these kids were "lost," but only that #ORR couldn't account for them after release to sponsors. NOT the same thing.

azcentral.com/story/opinion/…
2) #THERESISTANCE: #WHEREISTHECHILDREN IS ON #ICE, LET 'EM HEAR IT

Separating families is kind of the whole point of #ICE, domestically. But #CBP encounters/processes minors, #ORR handles custody/release.

Please call #ICE, but re: EVERYTHING BUT THIS

3) CIVIL LIBERTARIANS: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Viral @jduffyrice take on #WhereAreTheChildren is good, read it if you haven't. I have some minor points of contention, but: she's not wrong, it's grounded in reality, & her explanation fits w/my experience

4) SOCIAL WORKERS: REAL TALK, #WHEREARETHECHILDREN

Sad to see social workers & immigration/civil liberties square off, but missing kids=worst-case for any child welfare advocate. I see & appreciate good-faith concern, but still w/@jduffyrice overall.

5/ YOU'RE ALL CONFUSING 2 DIFFERENT STORIES

Many responses simply point out that the unaccounted-for 1472 unaccompanied kids are a separate issue from new Sessions family separation policy. Literally true, but past is prologue & IMO we need context on UAC policy to fight this.
6/ DON'T GIVE OBAMA A PASS ON UNACCOMPANIED MINORS

Obama's response to juvenile "surge" (2012-2014) was bad, as many of us tried to explain as it was happening. Also important context for crisis Sessions family separation policy will inevitably cause.

7/ #WHEREARETHECHILDREN? WITHOUT LAWYERS, THAT'S WHERE

This rapidly-trending hashtag is a great time to plug @supportKIND, the single most reputable and well-run org connecting volunteer attorneys with kids in #ImmigrationCourts. Give directly here:

supportkind.org/donate/
8/ THIS WHOLE #WHEREARETHECHILDREN THING IS REALLY SUPER CONFUSING, I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

Many an attempted timely FAQ out there, but @JessLivMo straight *killed it* so just read this

9/ THIS WHOLE #WHEREARETHECHILDREN THING COULD ACTUALLY BE *BAD FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN*

There are several variations on this take, but I agree. Pushing Trump to "fix" a fact-deficient media-imagined crisis only gets us significantly worse policy

10/ LET'S PRETEND THAT THIS POLICY IS NOT SOMETHING MY OWN ATTORNEY GENERAL CREATED AND/OR IS NOT WITHIN THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF AGENCIES UNDER MY DIRECT CONTROL, AND ALSO BLOW UP THE ENTIRE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM BECAUSE I AM THE ABSOLUTE GODDAMN WORST

11/ SO UPON SOBER REFLECTION #WHEREARETHECHILDREN MAYBE WASN'T THE BEST THING TO TRY TO EXPLAIN ON TWITTER DOT COM

Thanks to @thebafflermag for giving me the time and space I needed to get into the history & context of these stories beyond the hashtag

thebaffler.com/latest/somebod…

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More from @matt_cam

Matt Cameron Profile picture
Sep 25, 2018
1/ One of the worst parts of the proposed new DHS "public charge" rule would resurrect a 400-yr-old idea, punish lower-income immigrants, AND deliver a massive new giveaway to Wall Street.

Not seeing much out there on this piece right now, so here's what you need to know:
2/ The idea of a "public charge bond" goes back to the earliest colonial days. If someone coming over from Europe didn't seem like they would be able to support themselves, the ship's captain would have to put up a given amount of money to keep them off the dole or take them back
3/ As part of the "Passenger Cases," SCOTUS struck down the city of Boston's attempt to collect public charge bonds from ship captains as unconstitutional in 1849, finding that only the federal government had this kind of power. But it didn't actually exercise it until 1882.
Read 16 tweets
Matt Cameron Profile picture
Aug 27, 2018
Appalling, but no surprise here.

No member of Congress should ever be able publicly comment on immigration--alone work on imm legislation--without answering one simple question:

"How does an undocumented person get a greencard?"
Not, like, step-by-step but generally what are the paths available under current law. If the answer is any variation on "get in line like everybody else," an automatic 6-month bar on any immigration rhetoric/legislation until finishing a mandatory US Immigration 101 course.
If you or your staff are not willing to take the time to understand the system we have, there is no place at the table for you in working toward a new one. None.
Read 4 tweets
Matt Cameron Profile picture
Aug 22, 2018
1/ Ten years ago this June a recent immigrant was sentenced to life for the vicious, violent, cold-blooded murder of his wife and infant daughter before trying to flee to his home country.

Here's what *didn't* happen:

wickedlocal.com/news/20180626/…
2/

--@bostonherald didn't run an angry editorial blaming our imm. vetting processes

--No one used this tragedy to call for an end to all British immigration

--The media never used a booking photo; always images like this one to remind us of his wealth & whiteness
3/ Neil Entwistle shot his wife in the head, and then his infant daughter in the stomach as she lay sleeping in her mother's arms. He then withdrew every dollar they had and fled to London. Mass state troopers grabbed him on a tube platform.
Read 12 tweets
Matt Cameron Profile picture
Aug 22, 2018
If you're ever up for listening in on what your local Deep State is up to, may I recommend one of my favorite eateries in #Boston: the cafe in the JFK fed. building. Decent, reasonably-priced food with a nice view and plenty of space to relax while waiting for #immigrationcourt
1/ Two VA managers are having a lunch meeting nearby, talking through how to deliver faster/better services to a 94-year-old veteran & review implementation of a new process.

A USCIS officer is having a quick salad before another round of immigration interviews. In + out in 10
2/ Friends, this is your actual "Deep State."

Career public servants who take pride in keeping their agencies on mission and making the best use of tax dollars doing it, no matter the President or policies. Dedication, commitment, and institutional knowledge. We can't lose them.
Read 8 tweets
Matt Cameron Profile picture
Aug 4, 2018
ICE IS BAD BECAUSE IT IS BAD.

The people running it & the President directing its policies are also bad.

But ICE was still bad when the President was better.

Its purpose is bad.

Its mandate is bad.

Its unaccountability is bad.

Okay, so any questions on that

#AbolishICE
SO WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO INSTEAD?

Maybe *not* have a rogue, unaccountable, armed secret police force & threat of indefinite detention in a disgusting American gulag archipelago terrorizing immigrant communities in the name of enforcing civil immigration orders
BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Coordinated internal immigration enforcement is a very new idea in US history. But apart from that: we've only been doing it this way for 15 years. If you are doing anything to make this model inevitable, you're on the wrong side
Read 6 tweets
Matt Cameron Profile picture
Jul 30, 2018
1/ Live-tweeting from the Boston immigration court's detained docket:

Detainee is on video. I can't see his face but he has a heavy Massachusetts accent--you'd never know he wasn't born here. He is seeking bond.
2/ He has a series of drug-related convictions together with a record consistent with an addiction. Judge leaves his bond at "no bond" without hearing from him.
3/ Like most people on the detained docket, he doesn't have and can't afford a lawyer. (No appointed counsel here.) He is now speaking for himself.
Read 32 tweets

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