One_liners

_Please sign, and share widely, our petition to push back on Trump's latest #TanTrump for a border wall: to deploy the National Guard to the southern border region until he gets his wall. (See story below.)

_SBCC steering committee members Pedro Rios of American Friends Service Committee and Lillian Serrano of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium both urged the City of Escondido not to join Trump’s lawsuit against California policies that protect families from the president’s deportation force.

_The Tohono O’odham Nation is again having a “Standing Rock” moment opposing a wall that bisects its nation.

_Watch American Friends Service Committee new video pushing back against the border wall here.

_U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a harsh zero tolerance policy that will increase federal prosecutions of people who are only trying to make a living, flee from violence, or reunite with loved ones.

Must_reads

_ Throwing a #TanTrump for a Wall. It all started when Trump became furious that the FY18 government spending bill did not include $25 billion to build his “big, beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump went to the Pentagon and asked if the military would be willing to foot the bill for his border wall to which Senate Democrats responded that this was not only a bad idea, but probably illegal. Then, he seized on a seasonal increase in apprehensions at the border for March as (completely false) evidence that the border was “out of control” and justified deploying National Guard to the border until his promised wall is built. But, even with this usual and expected fluctuation, apprehension rates are still at a 46-year low. And let’s remember, the DHS Office of Inspector General found that CBP and ICE could not justify the need for additional agents. If more agents aren’t needed, why would we need more National Guard at the border? To us, it looks like resorting to scare tactics and tantrums to get a dumb, harmful wall.

_SBCC steering committee members call BS. Our response to the latest manipulative #TanTrump was united. Johana Bencomo, director of organizing for NM CAFé said “...This Administration has shown a clear pattern of targeting and scapegoating immigrants based on their race. It is not a response to a security threat but a political response to keep his base of voters happy.” Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego noted,  "It's an act of aggression quite frankly, if you station the military at your perimeter what does that say about your relationship with the neighbouring country." Astrid Dominguez, director of the ACLU Border Rights Center, noted that deploying National Guard to the border was irresponsible, adding that “border crossings are at a historic low, and the Department of Homeland Security has stated that the border has never been harder to cross undetected,” while yours truly added that the Trump administration was "cherry-picking the data that supports or justifies the proclamation that we need National Guard troops at the border."

_Biased Analysis. CBP latest statistics on apprehensions at the border can be found here. You can see how easy it would be to engage in data mining and alarmist analyses about a seasonal bump as someone else did to justify both a wall and the deployment of the National Guard on the southern border. We know you’re smarter than that. #TanTrump.

_ICYMI: The border as a constitutional on-off switch? If a bullet starts its trajectory on the U.S. side of the international border from the gun of a Border Patrol agent and hits and kills you while standing in Mexico unarmed, you may not be protected under the U.S. Constitution. At least that’s what some judges have argued in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca. Does this mean Border Patrol agents have free range to shoot people standing in Mexico or Canada and get away with murder?

_ We Heart the Chachalaca. While the FY18 omnibus contained specific prohibitions against building a border wall through the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in Texas, it unfortunately did not save other critical habitats, including the National Butterfly Center and the Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, among others. It’s never too late to call your congressional members to urge them to implement stronger protections (including for the Chachalaca, a rare bird species in the region) and ban the construction of a wall anywhere, and especially through wildlife refuges and world birding centers. #WallsDontWork #DefundHate #RevitalizeNotMilitarize #TanTrump

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border_lines is published every Friday for your reading pleasure. If you’d like to submit an item for inclusion, please email Vicki B. Gaubeca at [email protected], by Wednesday COB.

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