AMERICA'S ECONOMIC MELTDOWN - TRUMP OFFERS $400 - GLOBALIST DEMOCRAT SCRAP UP MILLIONS FOR ILLEGALS

 Donald Trump: I’m Giving Unemployed $400 a Week; Democrats Delivering Nothing

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CHARLIE SPIERING

12 Aug 2020782

1:22

President Donald Trump on Wednesday berated Democrats for refusing to work with Republicans to boost unemployment benefits for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Democrats have abandoned the American people over the simple subject of politics,” Trump said, referring to the failed negotiations with Congressional Democrat leaders House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The president noted that through his executive order signed on Saturday, he was able to deliver an additional $400 a week to Americans on state unemployment benefits.

“That is $400 more than the Democrats have provided,” Trump said. “Remember that.”

Trump said that governors could join the federal government by adding their own additional benefits.

The president also touted his decision to defer the payroll tax for working Americans making $100,000 annually or less.

“That is a tremendous amount of money that is being supplied and given to families,” he said.

The president promised to eliminate the payroll back taxes at the end of 2020.

“When we win the election, and when I win the election, I will completely forgive all the payroll taxes,” Trump said.

 

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee speaks to reporters in Seattle on March 16, 2020. (Elaine Thompson/Pool/Getty Images)

US NEWS

Washington State Creates $40 Million Fund for Illegal Immigrants

BY ZACHARY STIEBER

 

August 12, 2020 Updated: August 12, 2020

 

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Washington state officials this week announced a new fund of $40 million that will be dispersed to illegal immigrants who can’t access federal stimulus programs because of their immigration status.

Aliens will need to submit an application. If approved, they can get $1,000, or up to $3,000 per family.

“We have to ensure that no one in our state is left behind as we fight this pandemic,” Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said in a statement. “COVID-19 doesn’t care what your immigration status is. We must support every family affected by the virus, especially those who lack the necessary means to quarantine or isolate and prevent further spread. This is the right thing for the well-being of individuals, the health of their colleagues and the safety of our communities.”

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Inslee’s office said the governor and his aides worked with a coalition representing 430 organizations fighting for rights for immigrants and social service organizations on the fund.

“Immigrant community members are facing some of the worst outcomes of this pandemic and have been systematically excluded from a social safety net for too long,” Rich Stolz, executive director of OneAmerica, which bills itself as an immigrant advocacy group, said in a statement released by the governor’s office.

“A coalition of immigrant organizations came together to develop this fund that recognizes the dignity of our undocumented community members and works to get some relief to their families during this difficult time.”

According to the Migration Policy Institute, Washington state has some 229,000 illegal immigrants, primarily from Mexico. The Center for Migration Studies estimates the population is more than 271,000.

Border Patrol apprehends illegal aliens who have just crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico near McAllen, Texas, on April 18, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Like many states, Washington is facing a budget shortfall of $8.8 billion through 2023 amid a sharp economic downturn caused by harsh restrictions imposed to try to curb the spread of the CCP virus. Inslee has tried to pressure the federal government to give more money to states in the stimulus package lawmakers are currently negotiating.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which is described as a nonpartisan research organization “animated by a pro-immigrant, low-immigration vision,” told The Epoch Times that Washington state taxpayers are free to subsidize illegal immigrants but should think twice before committing to actions like the fund.

“Washington state taxpayers should be careful what they wish for, because this is the kind of thing that could incentivize even more poor illegal immigrants to move to Washington state,” he said.

“Why would you stop at COVID relief? Once people have been supported by the government, they’ve been essentially subsidized by taxpayers in the state, they’re going to want other subsidies, even when the virus emergency passes.”

A similar action was taken by California in May.

Under Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, state officials began distributing $500 per illegal immigrant, with a cap of $1,000 per household. Officials projected 150,000 illegal immigrants would receive assistance, which would amount to $75 million in funds distributed.

“This is a state that steps up to help those in need, regardless of status,” Newsom said at a press conference.

Illegal aliens are barred from tapping into federal funds granted through the CARES Act, a stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

Congressional Democrats have tried to alter those rules. The Democrat-controlled House voted against a motion in May that would have ensured illegal immigrants wouldn’t receive stimulus funds.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and 26 colleagues wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on July 31, requesting him to let taxpaying immigrant families who have tax identification numbers access both CARES Act funds and any future CCP virus relief money.

“No one should be denied critical economic relief benefits they would otherwise be entitled to simply because they are part of a mixed-status family,” the senators wrote.

Follow Zachary on Twitter: @zackstieber

Federal immigration officers pull two detainees from buses in Bend, Ore., after a large demonstration prevented the buses from leaving a parking lot, on Aug. 13, 2020. (KTVZ)

US NEWS

Bend, Oregon, Activists Block Immigration Buses, Prompting Federal Response

BY ZACHARY STIEBER

 

August 13, 2020 Updated: August 13, 2020

 

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Federal agents responded late Wednesday to a large protest that blocked immigration buses from leaving a parking lot in Bend, Oregon.

New Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz refused to take action but warned the crowd via loudspeaker that federal agents were on the way.

Agents arrived and clashed with demonstrators while escorting two detainees and officers from the buses.

Krantz told reporters in a virtual press conference that officers were at the protest “to protect life and safety of our community, and are not there assisting the role of ICE,” or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal office inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a statement, ICE said the two detainees “each had a history of violent criminal behavior.”

“While ICE respects the rights of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with their federal law enforcement duties,” the agency said, adding that it will “take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees, and will vigorously pursue prosecution against anyone who puts them in harm’s way.”

Going on now. pic.twitter.com/R3TyPAsNoI

— Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) August 13, 2020

Bend Mayor Sally Russell, a Democrat, said she was told both men had warrants out for their arrest. “This is not a sweep for undocumented immigrants,” she said on Wednesday evening, using a description for illegal immigrants, before adding: “Let’s please keep our community safe. Please leave peacefully.”

“To be clear, in no way do I support ICE. Nor can our Bend police force, because Oregon is a sanctuary state and it is illegal. I am very worried for everyone in our community, and especially our Latinx community,” she added later.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, a Democrat, described what happened as a “stand-off” and said he “was impressed by the passion and empathy shown by our community.”

Lawmakers, including Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, another Democrat, were trying to broker a resolution with DHS to no avail, he said on social media.

Hummel later said: “Federal troops stormed the buses in full tactical gear. Unnecessary and outrageous. Never did I think I would see this in my country. #VOTE.”

Hummel also emphasized that his office doesn’t assist ICE with immigration enforcement.

Just after midnight, the Bend Police Department said federal agents had left the area and that protesters “appear to have dispersed peacefully.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seek to arrest immigration fugitives, reentrants, and at-large criminal aliens during an operation in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 9, 2017. (Bryan Cox/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images)

According to reporters on the scene, federal agents used pepper spray. It wasn’t clear how many times they used it or for what reason.

The demonstration appeared to begin when Luke Richter, the president of a group called Central Oregon Peacekeepers, live-streamed on Facebook as he stepped in front of one of the buses. Soon, others began arriving.

Richter told KTVZ: “If they’re going to take people from a sanctuary city, they need to have proper documentation of that. We have not seen any warrants for their arrest.”

In a statement allegedly from relatives of the male detainees, the families said: “We are simply trying to provide for our families but because of the color of our skin and our country of origin, that does not justify what is being done here today. False information is being put regarding their criminal records.”

Before the officers took the detainees away, the Innovation Law Lab, which says it was founded “to harness the power of technology, law, and activism all in a single organization to end the mass incarceration of children and mothers in secret jails and inhumane conditions,” filed a lawsuit (pdf) in an attempt to block the movement of the men.

The federal government was violating constitutional rights in the way the detained the men, the group alleged.

Follow Zachary on Twitter: @zackstieber