April 18, 2018
As the walls close in on Trump with the revelation that the Michael Cohen raid may pose an even greater threat to Trump than the Mueller investigation, we cannot forget that Trump has the capacity to inflict enormous damage on wide swaths of people while we wait for due process to play out.
In addition to this administration’s blatant racism, we should take note of the deep-seated misogyny embedded in the administration’s immigration policy as well. This is playing out in under the radar moves being made by serial perjurer and committed racist, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, as well as in new policies being imposed by little known agencies with the responsibility for the well-being of recently arrived refugees.
Last month, Sessions quietly announced that he was personally reviewing a court decision that granted asylum status to a woman fleeing domestic violence (Source: “Sessions reviewing immigrant abuse victims’ protections,” by Tal Kopan, CNN.com, 3/12/18). The policy protecting victims of domestic violence has been in place since 2014 and recognizes that women seeking asylum are fleeing countries where the authorities turn a blind eye to domestic violence. A reversal of this policy could consign hundreds of women to a fate of violent abuse or death, with no means of escape.
The actions of the current director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement are further evidence of misogyny as policy promoted by this administration. The mission of the Office of Refugee Resettlement is to ensure that people coming to this country who are fleeing war or human rights abuses receive housing, healthcare and the assistance that they need to acclimate to life in the United States. Under this administration, the O.R.R. has become a tool of anti-abortion zealots.
The current director, E. Scott Lloyd, is the former counsel for the Knights of Columbus and has a long history of staunch anti-abortion activism (Source: “The Trump Officials Making Abortion An Issue at the U.S.’s Refugee Office,” by Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10/26/17). Lloyd has requested a weekly spreadsheet from his staff that details all of the pregnant, unaccompanied minors and intervenes to try to prevent them from obtaining abortions.
In addition to decisions that impact women coming into this country, one of this administration’s first decisions was to re-issue a Reagan era rule that prohibited international non-governmental organizations from providing or even discussing abortions if they wanted to receive family planning assistance. Trump went even further than Reagan or Bush and stated that any discussion or provision of abortion would render those NGOs ineligible for even unrelated healthcare funding (Source: “Under Trump, An Office Meant to Help Refugees Enters the Abortion Wars, by Jeremy Peters, The New York Times, 4/5/18).
In countless ways, this administration is going out of its way to hurt women and demonstrate its contempt for our autonomy and our safety. Lest we think that this contempt is limited to brown women who aren’t citizens, we need only recall John Kelly’s full throated support for serial batterer, Rob Porter, calling him a man of true integrity and honor. Somebody needs to tell the 53% of white women who voted for Trump and presumably still support him – the women of color are just practice. They had better believe they’ll be next.
#ACLUReproductiveFreedomProject
#Womensrightsarehumanrights
#NoHandmaidsTale
One can only hope that this administration is on track to implode, ala Michael Cohen. It is shocking to me, as a human being who happens to be white and a woman, that the same 40% who voted for him still support this group of thugs. I have a hard time watching the train wreck at this point, but know how critical each voice and each vote is. Thank you for your ongoing commentary, I look forward to every post.