REFuGEES ‘uNFAIR’ TO WORLD: DON
IT’S PAINFUL TO WATCH
PRESIDENT TRUMP, in his United Nations address Tuesday, took aim at refugees, describing mass migration as “deeply unfair” to all involved countries.
His remarks seemed to imply refugees are wrong to flee their home countries, and it continued his administration’s efforts this week to paint a dark picture of migration’s impacts.
“For decades the United States has dealt with migration challenges here in the Western Hemisphere. We have learned that over the long term, uncontrolled migration is deeply unfair to both the sending and the receiving countries,” Trump told the UN General Assembly.
“For the sending countries, it reduces domestic pressure to pursue needed political and economic reform and drains them of the human capital necessary to motivate and implement those reforms. For the receiving countries, the substantial costs of uncontrolled migration are born overwhelmingly by low-income citizens whose concerns are often ignored by both media and government.”
He commended the UN for its “invaluable contributions” to refugees, and described the United States as a “compassionate nation.”
Trump’s opposition to migration has been one of the signatures of his administration. His legally-challenged travel bans called for a 120-day suspension of America’s refugee program and an indefinite hiatus from accepting Syrian refugees, even as that country remains ravaged by a civil war.
He has also supported a Senate bill that would significantly cut down on legal immigration into the U.S.
The New York Times reported Monday that the administration has tried to hide its own data showing the economic benefits of refugees.
A study this year by the Department of Health and Human Services found that, through tax payments, refugees over the past decade brought the U.S. government $63 billion more than they have cost. MAKE AMERICA grape again? President Trump, who says he avoids drinking because of his late brother’s alcoholism, appeared to sip wine twice on Tuesday during a United Nations reception. Trump took one sip (photo) from a wine glass filled with a maroon-colored liquid after leading a toast to the “great, great potential” of the UN. He immediately handed the glass to an aide as he took a seat. Trump was also seen taking a sip after toasting with several people at his table. It was not immediately clear if Trump was drinking wine, nor if he actually drank what was in his cup. A Trump spokeswoman did not return a request for comment. Trump has long said he avoids drinking because of his older brother Freddy’s fatal struggle with alcoholism. Freddy died in 1981 when he was 43. “He would tell me constantly, ‘Don’t drink,’ ” Trump said about his brother in a 2015 “60 Minutes” interview. “And I’ve never had a drink.”