Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Uncle Joe

(58,112 posts)
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:10 PM Oct 2015

As the World Evolves






Vargas is a co-founder of the Dream Action Coalition, which is led by young undocumented immigrants, or Dreamers. The group has been heavily critical of Republicans on immigration, but has also chastised President Barack Obama over deportations and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, one of Sanders' opponents, over donations from private prison lobbyists.

Dream Action Coalition has applauded Sanders for his efforts to ban government contracts for private prison companies, which also operate many immigrant detention centers.

(snip)

"At the same time that Bernie is trying to chase them out of DC, Hillary is accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from GEO and CCA's registered lobbyists," he continued. "[O]ne day they will call in several hundred thousand dollars worth of favors and skew the discussion on immigration reform to keep their detention facilities full."

Later Thursday, the Clinton campaign said it will no longer accept contributions from lobbyists or PACs of private prison companies, and will donate previous contributions from them to charity.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-dreamer-cesar-vargas_562950fee4b0ec0a3893defa



Of course there is no economic, moral or logical reason for private for profit prisons to exist.
13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

marym625

(17,997 posts)
1. better late than never!
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:13 PM
Oct 2015

So glad she's such a follower and supporter of Bernie Sanders. I prefer the original though

#FeelTheBern #Bernie2016

 

JaneyVee

(19,877 posts)
3. Bernie voted against immigration and Vermont is 1 of only 4 states to send prisoners to...
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:19 PM
Oct 2015

Private prisons.

Uncle Joe

(58,112 posts)
8. Bernie on immigration and he was never Governor of Vermont
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:28 PM
Oct 2015


Q: What are Bernie's views on immigration generally?
A: Bernie believes America's current immigration system is broken and requires comprehensive reform. An important aspect of immigration reform, according to Bernie, is to establish some pathway to legal residency or citizenship for the 11 million undocumented workers living in the United States so that they need not work and live in the shadows.
Q: What about the border fence?
A: While he believes that border security is important for the country, Bernie doesn't believe that a fence is the way to achieve that security.
Q: What about guest worker visas?
A: Bernie believes that our visa system must protect American jobs instead of simply allowing corporations to score cheap labor via temporary work visas.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues" , Sep 5, 2015
Secure borders without building a fence

Bernie says that we are a "nation of immigrants. That is, in fact, the strength of America." He believes the US must create an immigration system that invites greater innovation, diversity, and economic opportunity for both American-born citizens and the people who want to make this land their home. Bernie supports immigration reform that will address the legal status of the 11 million undocumented people in our country, protect American jobs by way of visa reform, secure the border, and protect undocumented workers from labor exploitation.
Border Security: We can and must secure borders without building a fence.
We ought to provide a path to citizenship for people from many different countries.
DREAM Act: Supports the path toward permanent residency for young, undocumented immigrants.
Visa Reform: Reject the exploitation of workers and the use of visas for cheap, foreign labor. Increase opportunities for qualified individuals to take steps towards permanent residency.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues" , Sep 5, 2015
Offer path to citizenship; waive deportation for DREAMers

On immigration: Offer path to citizenship. Waive some deportations now.
Sanders generally agrees with President Obama that most of the undocumented immigrants in the country now should be given a path to citizenship. He voted for the senate immigration bill in 2013, which would have increased border security and issued a provisional immigrant status to millions of undocumented residents once some significant security metrics had been met. In addition, Sanders has supported President Obama's use of executive orders to waive deportation for some groups of immigrants, including those who were brought to the United States as children.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series , Apr 30, 2015
English-Only, based in xenophobia, hurts legal immigrants

As in other countries with economic problems, xenophobia is intensifying. The issue for some can be summarized by the writing I recently saw on a t-shirt: "If you can't speak English, get the f--k out of the US."
The "English Only" bill mandates that all official communication by the federal government be in English. This means that members of Congress from a heavily Hispanic or Polish district, for instance, would be prohibited from communicating with their constituents in Spanish or Polish. Election, tax, and other information needed by millions of citizens would be available only in English. President Clinton indicates that he will veto this legislation, and the bill will not go anywhere--not even to the Senate. But it passes in the House by a vote of 259 to 169. 8 Republicans, 160 Democrats, and I vote against the bill.
Source: Outsider in the House, by Bernie Sanders, p.136 , Jun 17, 1997
Voted YES on continuing federal funds for declared "sanctuary cities".

CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: To create a reserve fund to ensure that Federal assistance does not go to sanctuary cities that ignore the immigration laws of the United States and create safe havens for illegal aliens and potential terrorists. This vote is a motion to table the amendment; voting YES would kill the amendment.
SUPPORTER'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING NO ON TABLING MOTION:Sen. VITTER: There are so-called sanctuary cities which establish as an official policy of their jurisdiction: We are not going to cooperate with Federal immigration enforcement officials. That is wrong. What is more, it is completely contrary to Federal immigration law. My amendment says: We are going to put some consequence to that defiance of Federal law. We are not going to give them COPS funds. We are going to send those funds, instead, to all of those other jurisdictions which abide by Federal law.OPPONENT'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING YES ON TABLING MOTION:Sen. DURBIN: There are sanctuary cities in about 23 different States across America. What the Vitter amendment will do is to take away the COPS funding from those cities. Police departments will tell you they need the cooperation of everyone to solve crimes and stop crime. If you create fear in the minds of those who are here in an undocumented status that any cooperation with the police will result in their arrest, they will not cooperate and criminals will go free. Let's not use the COPS Program as some sort of threat. If you want to deal with immigration, deal with it responsibly in a comprehensive way. SUPPORTER'S RESPONSE:Sen. VITTER: If folks feel that way, they should come to Congress and change Federal law, not simply defy Federal law. This is another amnesty vote. Are we going to give folks in sanctuary cities amnesty for defying Federal law and refusing to cooperate with Federal immigration officials? LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Motion to Table Agreed to, 58-40



http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Immigration.htm

Luminous Animal

(27,310 posts)
13. Correction. Vermont is only one of four states to send prisoners "out of state" to
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 07:06 PM
Oct 2015

private prisons.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Bernie.

And he did not vote against immigration. He voted against a bill that included guest worker status. A status that the Southern Poverty Law Conference characterizes as "close to slavery".

liberal_at_heart

(12,081 posts)
4. She must not get nearly as much money from private prisons as she does from the banks
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:19 PM
Oct 2015

because she seems unwilling to give up that cash cow.

Uncle Joe

(58,112 posts)
9. The banks had best keep up with the largess if they know what's good for them
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 05:38 PM
Oct 2015





When asked during the Democratic presidential debate what enemies she was most proud to have made, Hillary Clinton named pharmaceutical and health insurance companies at the top of her list. But that hasn’t stopped the Democratic front-runner from accepting millions of dollars in campaign cash from both industries in the course of her political career, financial disclosure records show.

Since her first bid for Senate in 2000, Clinton has accepted nearly $1 million from drug and health companies and more than $2.7 million from the insurance field and its related sectors, according to an analysis of public records from the Center for Responsive Politics. While the analysis did not include campaign finance figures for the 2016 cycle, some of the same donors and patterns can be seen in Clinton’s lone financial disclosure filed in July.


Contributions tied to some of the same firms that gave to her 2008 presidential campaign appear in the latest disclosure, including donations connected to pharmaceutical companies Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; and insurers Aetna Inc., MetLife Inc. and Centene Corp., the latter of which is among Clinton’s largest donors this year.

In the course of her 2008 presidential bid, records show that Clinton was the third-largest recipient of campaign donations from drug and health product companies, receiving $738,359 in donations. The industry also contributed $86,875 to her 2000 Senate run, and spent $157,015 supporting her re-election in 2006.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/10/14/hillary-takes-millions-in-campaign-cash-from-enemies



Latest Discussions»Retired Forums»2016 Postmortem»As the World Evolves