Congressional Hispanic Caucus Comes Out Swinging Against Trump
Also, a federal judge issued a temporary 14-day restraining order against Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order
On Thursday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) held a press conference to speak out against President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Members of the caucus pulled no punches in calling out Republican hypocrisy and the unconstitutional nature of many of his orders. Among the speakers were chair of the CHC Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), and Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) among others.
“The vast majority of undocumented immigrants are hardworking people who have paid taxes and contributed to American society, some for decades,” said Rep. Castro (D-TX), who is the CHC vice chair of diversity and inclusion. “[Trump] says he’s targeting criminals, but he just removed the restrictions that stopped ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] from conducting raids on schools, on hospitals and in churches.” I would ask you who he believes among those kids is a criminal sitting in a first-grade class? Who are the criminals that he’s going after in the Catholic Church, in the Presbyterian Church, in the nondenominational churches? Who are those criminals?”
New York Rep. Espaillat emphasized that the CHC doesn’t stand alone
“This is a caucus that has members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, members that are part of the Congressional Black Caucus, CAPAC, Blue Dogs, New Dems, Problem Solvers. We got everybody. This is a big tent caucus, but we stand together, and we’re going to continue to stand together and take a stronger stand on this issue.”
Watch the full press conference below.
Judge Blocks Trump Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
After hearing about 25 minutes of arguments, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughneour issued an order blocking the “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” Executive Order which aims to redefine the 14th Amendment. According to NBC News, Coughenour, a President Ronald Reagan appointee said, "I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order."
Coughenour blocked the executive order for 14 days pending a briefing on a preliminary injunction while the case proceeds to block it permanently.
“The Order harms the Plaintiff States directly by forcing state agencies to lose federal funding and incur substantial costs to provide essential and legally required medical care and social services to resident children subject to the Order. Plaintiff States’ residents are also irreparably harmed by depriving them of their constitutional right to citizenship and all the associated rights and benefits, including: subjecting them to risk of deportation and family separation; depriving them of access to federal funding for medical care and eligibility for basic public benefits that prevent child poverty and promote child health; and impacting their education, employment, and health.”
Read the Order
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Thank you for posting this; I hope their voices go far
They need to keep speaking, Loud and Proud!