While President Trump distracts the nation with plans for his pet projects, he is sentencing people to almost certain death abroad and, domestically, trying to destroy an important component of our Democratic voting system. While the media and pundits are obsessed with stories about Natalie Harp, the proposed White House ballroom, and Lake America (Ontario), people are being deported to war-torn countries.
Here at home, the United States Postal Service is instituting a new mail-in vote counting process that is both deceptive and disenfranchising. While Republican pols fake disgust about benign comments made about Ms. Harp and stand by as Trump’s $2 billion ballroom fiasco is built, the fate of many deportees are in dangerous hands. And while Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario is sucking up media attention, he is trying to illegally aid Congressional Republicans in the upcoming Midterm elections.
Trump Sends Deportees to Uncertain Futures
As part of their crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people not to their country of origin but to countries where war and civil strife are occurring. Such was the case this past week when they deported people from Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal, and Nicaragua to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
Last November, the U.S. State Department issued a Do Not Travel warning to U.S. citizens regarding the Central African Republic (CAR). The reasons given for the advisory included.
- Do not travel to the Central African Republic due to the risk of unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, health, and terrorism.
- There is a continuing risk of civil unrest, demonstrations, and election-related violence. This includes renewed outbreaks of armed conflict occurring throughout the country, including the capital city of Bangui.
- Criminal gangs and armed groups kidnap for ransom on a frequent basis, mainly outside of Bangui. Local law enforcement officials are not equipped or trained to handle the threat of kidnapping.
Death sentence
Not only is President Trump sending these immigrants to a war-torn country, but their next destination could also be a death sentence. Their stay in these third countries is not meant to be permanent. Take the case of Khalil, a refugee from Afghanistan. His father, brother, and sister assisted U.S. forces during the chaotic 2021 American troop pullout.
Deporting relatives of Afghans who assisted the U.S. Military during its 20-year war with Afghanistan breaks a longstanding American promise to protect its wartime allies. Afghans, who fled the country after the Taliban overthrew the U.S.-backed government would face almost certain death if they returned to their homeland.
Already, one of Khalil’s brothers, who was a pilot trained by U.S. military personnel, has been executed by the Taliban. After Khalil is forced to leave CAR in roughly three months, he is scheduled to be deported directly to Afghanistan.
Trying to Kill the Vote
In March, Trump signed an executive order directing the Postal Service to implement new requirements on mailed ballots, including placing specific bar codes on ballot envelopes and having each state identify voters who are eligible to receive ballots by mail. The Postal Service indicated it could refuse to deliver ballots that do not comply.
The starkest aspect of the proposal is a plan to deny mail-in privileges entirely to states that do not turn over voter data, which the feds want to use to identify noncitizens on state voter rolls. Democratic states tend to vote by mail in proportionally higher numbers, so the effects of these new requirements would impact these states the most. In fact, one misread barcode could halt delivery of up to 10,000 ballots.
Mr. Trump knows that there is not widespread voter fraud. In fact, his own 2017-18 Commission on Election Integrity found no proof of widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections. The 2020 presidential election, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, saw the expanded use of mail-in voting and is considered one of the most secure elections in U.S. history. The president, himself, often votes by mail, including in this year’s Florida primary.
The process to implement this new requirement is being rushed by the Postal Service a scant two months before the crucial Midterm elections. Two federal judges have blocked the requirements while they consider whether to issue longer injunctions. The latest ruling on the matter was issued just this past Friday.
Even the possibility that the changes will be implemented has caused widespread panic nationwide. As state election officials try to assure concerned voters that their ballots will be counted, the seeds of mistrust of mail-in voting have already been sown. And in that sense, Trump has already partially succeeded in his efforts to stop the Blue Wave that is expected to hit this November.
The Distractions Continue
Mr. Trump has proposed moving forward on another pet project to distract the media and the public’s attention away from his from his most heinous policy proposals. Last week, the president indicated that his administration would soon break ground on his 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, before the National Capital Planning Commission has approved the project.
They are moving forward with the project even though a group of Vietnam War veterans has filed a lawsuit to stop the construction of the arch. The group is advocating against this action due to the lack of congressional approval for the project and the fact that the arch would obstruct the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
But the president moves forward on another vanity project as he continues to issue death sentences and plots the destruction of fair and secure voting processes.
