Silent majority will be heard in November
Did any of you catch the report from the Washington Post that a U.S. Capital area eating establishment refused to serve Michelle Obama, her husband and a group of friends? No, of course not. Had that been the case, a million-person march would have taken place to protest the bias, hatred and racial implications. And, rightfully so.
Oops! The woman in question was the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, along with her husband and a group of fellow diners. The Red Hen Restaurant owner, Stephanie Wilkinson, when informed by phone by one of her staff, an anti-Trump advocate, immediately went to her restaurant, confronted Ms. Sanders and asked her to leave; several of the restaurant’s employees felt ill at ease with a Trump supporter being on the premises. One of the Yelp review pages for the restaurant suggested that “a spit souffle” be served to the “Florida Nazi”. Now, isn’t that just the cutest thing ever! That the Red Hen’s owner immediately contacted the Washington Post and excitedly reported her triumph is not surprising.
Ms. Sanders, by the way, politely accepted the suggestion that she leave the eating place.
No protest marches will take place before the doors of the restaurant. No million-man marches will take place at the gates of the Washington Post.
But, you know, something tells me that a lot of the silent majority will line up at the voting booths in November. Allen R. Remaley Saratoga Springs put the policy on hold – at least for the time being. So now we need to develop a plan and spend the money to reunite the separated children with their families – if that is even possible. But beyond that we need to adopt an immigration policy that really meets our country’s needs and one that we can be proud of.
The League of Women Voters believes that immigration policies should promote the reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States; be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises; permit qualified persons to enter the US on student visas or work visas; all persons should receive fair treatment under the law; we should have an efficient, expeditious, backlog free system for legal entry of immigrants. In the transition to the new system unauthorized immigrants already here should be able to earn legal status.
The U.S. House has rejected an ultra conservative immigration policy, and the Goodlatte bill, which could come up as a “compromise” is not much better. It cuts our family-based immigration system and cuts the diversity visa program. It includes ramped up enforcement measures that would further tear families apart. We can do better than that.
America needs an immigration policy that we can be proud of. We are tired of being ashamed of our government’s actions. We want a policy that is humane, that serves the needs of our farmers and businesses and that keeps families together, while protecting our borders. And we don’t need a wall. There is other actually needed infrastructure (like bridges and roads) that we should be spending our money on.
We urge people to pay attention to this issue, watch what your Congressional representatives do, and tell them what kind of immigration policy you would be proud to support.
Ann Kril Co-president, League of Women Voters of Saratoga
County