The Caravan, Pence & Arpaio, Mueller: 3 Stories You Should Read Today – 5/2/2018
Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
The migrant caravan has finally arrived at the border. So has the crackdown.
Border agents can’t deny caravan members the chance to seek asylum — but the Trump administration seems to be signaling they’ll have a hard time getting it
Seeking asylum is perfectly legal under US and international law.
Just presenting yourself for asylum doesn’t mean you’ll get it, but someone who enters the US without papers isn’t violating the law if they present themselves at a port of entry — an airport, seaport, or road checkpoint — to seek asylum or another humanitarian status.
(If they enter outside of ports of entry and present themselves to Border Patrol, they’ve entered illegally, but they’re still seeking legal status, and the US is legally obligated to give them a chance to prove they qualify for it.)
The vice president is all in on Trump’s shocking attacks on basic institutions.
Vice President Mike Pence, on the stump in Arizona to promote the Trump administration’s regressive tax cuts, delivered a shoutout to former sheriff and ex-convict Joe Arpaio, hailing him as a “tireless champion” of both “strong borders” and “the rule of law.” This is a description our vice president offered a man found guilty of criminal contempt of court, among other sins.
These days, to see something morally shocking done by our nation’s executive branch is not all that surprising. But shock and surprise are different things, and this was a shocking moment.
Why firing Mueller won’t end the Russia investigation
The probe is much bigger than one man.
President Donald Trump might be able to get rid of special counsel Robert Mueller — but he can’t kill off the Russia probe.
Trump aides and associates have long warned him that ousting Mueller would have messy political consequences. But it’s also unlikely to solve many of his legal worries. A leaked list of questions Mueller wants to ask Trump only underscores that, even if the special counsel is gone, his investigation — or offshoots of it — will live on.
Justice Department officials and FBI agents could simply pick up where a fired Mueller left off. State attorneys could bring their own charges against Trump and his associates. Even as a private citizen, Mueller might be able to publicize or share his findings with Congress.
Confluence Daily is the one place where everything comes together. The one-stop for daily news for women.
