Immigration Then & Now...Jeers to those who think it's the same.

 ICE hasm't done much for US Citizens. Well, they have sparked more conversations on what is right and what is wrong, albeit much is misinformation. Many who support the efforts of ICE insist that their grandparents came into this country "the right way" and why don't the undocumented do the same. Well, let's compare the difference between then and now. 

In 1928, the U.S. immigration system was radically simpler. Your grandparents arrived in an era when:

- There was no visa system like today. 

- There were no numerical caps  for Europeans. 

- There was no asylum system at all. 

- There were no work authorization rules. 

- There were no multi‑year court backlogs. 

- There were no sponsors required. 

- There were no bars on public benefits. 

- There was no credible fear screening. 

If you could get on a ship, pass a basic health inspection, and weren’t excluded for a narrow list of reasons (like being labeled “feebleminded” or having certain diseases), you were admitted.

That was the “legal process.” It was simple because the law was simple.

The system was explicitly designed to favor Europeans This isn’t an opinion — it’s the structure of the laws at the time. From the 1920s through the 1960s, U.S. immigration law:

- set huge quotas for Northern and Western Europe 
- set tiny quotas for Southern and Eastern Europe 
- set zero quotas for most of Asia 

- barred most non‑white immigrants entirely 

 Germany, the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia had the largest quotas.  People from those countries could immigrate in large numbers with minimal barriers.

So yes — it was simpler for people from “white” countries because the law was written to make it simple for them.

 There was no such thing as “waiting in line” for asylum Asylum didn’t exist as a legal category until 1980. Your grandparents didn’t “wait in line” for asylum.  They didn’t need to prove persecution. They didn’t need to hire lawyers.  They didn’t need to attend court hearings.  They didn’t need to wait years for a decision.  They simply arrived and were processed.

 Today’s asylum seekers are navigating a system that didn’t exist in your grandparents’ time.

The U.S. closed the “easy” immigration pathways in the mid‑20th century**

Between 1924 and 1965, Congress passed laws that:

- imposed strict quotas 

- restricted immigration from most of the world 

- created racialized categories 

- limited who could enter legally 

 By 1965, the U.S. replaced the old quota system with a new one based on:

 - family ties 

- employment categories 

- country caps 

 This system is still in place today — and it’s extremely restrictive.

 For many people today, there is no legal line to get into.

 Today’s asylum seekers are using the only legal pathway available to them

When people say, “They should come legally like our grandparents did,” they’re imagining a system that no longer exists.

 Today:

- There is no Ellis Island. 

- There is no “show up and be admitted.” 

- There is no broad European‑style quota. 

- There is no simple path for low‑income migrants. 

- There is no visa category for “fleeing danger but not yet proven.” 

 For many modern migrants, asylum is the **only** legal doorway left.

And it is a doorway Congress created on purpose — to prevent the U.S. from turning away people fleeing persecution, as it did in the 1930s and 1940s.

Cheers to Harris for Never saying "The Borders are closed"

 A friend who happens to be on the right, conservative for the most part, claimed to me that Kamara Harris and lied when she said the border was closed.  Harris never said that. 

There is no public record that shows Vice President Kamala Harris ever said the southern border was “closed” during the Biden administration.

What did happen is more nuanced, and it helps to separate three different categories of statements: what she said, what she was criticized for, and how her role was framed.

---

What Harris actually said

Across her public remarks from 2021–2024, Harris consistently avoided declaring the border “closed.” Instead, she emphasized:

• The need to address root causes of migration (her assigned portfolio in 2021).
• The importance of orderly, lawful processing at ports of entry.
• Support for enforcement actions and later, during the 2024 campaign, even tougher asylum restrictions than Biden’s.

None of these statements included a claim that the border was closed.

---

What critics claimed she said

Republican committee reports and political messaging frequently accused the Biden–Harris administration of having “open borders,” but these documents do not cite any instance of Harris saying the border was closed. They instead argue the opposite: that the administration’s policies created an open border.

This is important because it shows the political debate was about whether the border was too open, not about Harris claiming it was closed.

---

How her role was framed

Harris was often labeled “border czar,” though the White House repeatedly clarified her assignment was diplomacy with Central America, not operational control of the border. This led to confusion about what she was responsible for, but still no instance of her declaring the border closed.

---

Why this matters for interpreting claims

When people online say “Harris said the border was closed,” they are usually:

• Misattributing statements made by DHS officials, who sometimes said the border was “not open,”
• Or summarizing the administration’s policy intent, not quoting her actual words.

There is no verified quote of Harris saying the border was closed.

 

J & C For October 11th, 2022

 Jeers to me for not writing for so long.

Jeers to Russian leader, Putin for being so evil.  Where's a suicide bomber when you need one.  I know, that's hateful but this man needs to just stop.  People in Ukraine are dying and even Russians, not happy with this war, are dying too. A leader should not be putting any human lives in harms way. 

Cheers to me for working on my genealogy and finding some interesting stuff.  Like my great great grandfather, on my dad's side, came to the US from Germany in 1891.  He left many of his adult children back in Germany. Hence, my great grandfather never made the journey.  Well, this GGGrandfather was murdered in 1903 by his neighbor, a blacksmith, who in the heat of an intense argument, hit my GGGrandpa with a hammer and killed him. This man, at trial pleaded not guilty until the prosecution brought in my GGGrandpa's skull to show the damage this man had done.  He changed his plea to guity and got a deal of 10 years in prison. Interesting, huh?

Cheers to me for finding, on my mom's side, a third cousin, once removed.  She's my age and we wrote back and forth for several day and got to know each other. It was so nice.

Jeers to this cousin, once removed, who stopped writing with me after I told her it turns out my grandfather (on my mom's side) had been adopted so we do not share any DNA.  It WAS nice while it lasted, though. 

Cheers to Joy Hofmeister for giving our OK Governor a run for his money in his bid to get reelected.  Kevin Stitts, needs to go.  He's a Trump-loving, election MEGA denying, out for himself knave.  Joy is showing some positive pressure.  

Jeers to people I write to, who don't write me back. Ugh.

Jeers to me for being so incisive on what I should do today. 

Biden is Pissed and so am I

 He said "MEGA Republicans"...stop with the distortion.  Jeers to all those trying to make something out of nothing.  Yes, Biden is mad and, yes he let it be known but so is 70% of this country that can not get things done that would make EVERYTHING SO MUCH BETTER.  Dems are in charge...just the way it is

Cheers and Jeers on Aging

 Here's the thing. When you're in your 20s and 30 and 40s, most likely you are doing basically the same thing every day. 

>You get up

 >You get ready for work 

>You go to work 

>You work 

>You come home from work 

>You get a few things done around the house while you make dinner 

>You eat dinner 

>You clean up 

>You get ready for the next day 

>You go to bed
Lather, rinse, repeat

And during this time you think, "Oh man it's the same old thing over and over again." And you do a few things to liven it up a bit.... 

>change jobs

 >have a kid or two 

>go on a nice vacation.

And you think that this is your life and all the days ahead will be like the days behind and you just live your life.

Then people you care about get sick Then they die and you think, "Okay, this shakes things up a bit." but still your life continues. You still: 

>Get up 

>Go to work 

>do something with your spouse and/or kids 

>make dinner
>get ready for the next day

>go to bed

lather rinse, repeat 

Then more people you love die and what once was your childhood home is sold so when you come to visit, there's no place to stay but a hotel. People move. Home isn't home anymore... a home is just a place you grew up in....just a memory.

Other things start to change. You might get sick or your spouse might get sick and you're doing what you can to keep afloat. And you're still working and doing all the things you need to do but you're doing them slower.

Your kids or your friend's kids are having babies.

Your bones start to ache and your eyesight and hearing start to fail.

And all those things that you thought were just life...all the mundane tasks of existing are gone. You don't go to work, you don't make your family dinner, you don't have to get ready for the next workday. Well, great....you think you can just do as you wish but, well money is tight or your spouse is dead.

And you think about the past and how you thought it was just building up to something and if that something didn't happen....well, you could just say, "maybe it will tomorrow" But now, your tomorrows are so limited.

You want to tell young folks that the things you are doing now will not last forever. Those Christmases as a family, even an extended family, where you all meet at one house and dress in matching Christmas pajamas....they may have happened for years but they will not be the same from year to year as you get older. More people will be added, at first but then eventually more will be taken out of that family photo you post on Facebook.

All your life you hear people say, "Life is short" and when you're twenty-five you don't believe it.  You have your whole life ahead of you.  You come up with ideas that you'd love to experiment with....

>you'd love to live in a renovated factory/warehouse building with one of those old-fashioned elevators with the accordion gates that takes you directly up to your flat. There,  you have walls...many walls made out of cubed opaque glass squares and you have a platform king-sized bed, and many many views out of your 2nd story window. Your kitchen has a ton of storage spaces so the clutter on the expensive quartz counters is pretty much non-existent saved for a Kerige and a toaster.  Your office has real walls of shelving....lots of shelving and your desk is clutter-free. It's one of those desks you can adjust in case you'd rather stand.  This is where you do your writing but if in the mood to do something artsier, you have a crafting area with its own deck and chair... you do not have to drag the writing chair to the crafting area.  This room is entirely yours unless you want to set up a little table for your granddaughter in 20 years. There's a chair in there too that faces the television in case your spouse wants to be in the same room with you as you work. 

>You'd love to have a little cabin in the woods with all the conveniences of being home. THe cabin sits next to a stream or a lake and you can see the sun set from your writing desk. Someday.

>You have visions of someday being somewhat famous. Not worldly but at least locally.  Maybe you'd get a job writing for an ad agency and win a CLIO or work for a radio station writing copy. But it's possible...you have time...barring any unforeseen circumstances you have time.

And then, you don't because life gets in the way.  You'll do those things when the kids are older or you want to get an entry-level job in an ad agency but you can't afford to take the pay cut. But maybe someday, you can. But, it turns out, you can't. 

Or your life takes a turn and you get sick.  So sick you can't work and it goes on for a few months...there's a rainbow at the end of your illness, after the chemo, after the surgery, after the radiation but your employer needs you back yesterday so they fire you for not getting better fast enough. And the chemo and the radiation does a number on your health. You were having back issues before cancer...back issues that when you were working would send you finding a piece of office floor where you can just lay down, flat on your back during your lunch break. But after cancer, it's too hard to find a job that will give you that luxury so you apply for disability benefits. It takes a couple of years but you finally get them (after trying 3 times and finally having to see a judge). But that money is not like it was when you were working so all your dreams are on hold. Pretty much forever. 

And then you are  60. A tough age except for those who are 70. You can't imagine how it will be to know you're really a time bomb just waiting to die. You hope it's peaceful and that you welcome it. You want to be in enough pain that death is considered an upgrade.  

All those dreams, all those plans...never to be realized. Life is short.  You want to blast it from the rooftop, tell your 29-year-old niece and your 26-year-old nephew, and your 18-year-old niece.  If you have plans or dreams...get the game plan going sooner. Work towards it. Do it now.

How is this?

 What really offends me is the aging process.  When I skated through my 20s and 30s and even my 40s, I didn't really pay attention to it.  I didn't think I looked much different.  Truth be told, I still don't think I'm THAT different. Is there really THAT much of a difference?

1980

1997

2017

 I have seen some other pictures of friends who you would not even recognize. 

Jeers to the Senate

It's disheartening that the Senate is so fearful of what Trump can do to them that they ignore the fact that he's the worse President in history.  

Jeers to Trump Supporters would believe a tax cut to the wealthy will help them.  You're delusional. The only one to benefit are those in the top 1 percent.  So sad.