By Barry Rascovar
July 28, 2014 — Are Republicans in Maryland poor spellers?
They might be, judging from the graffiti (“NO ILLEAGLES HERE”) spray painted on a former Carroll County military building (see photo below). The building briefly was under consideration as housing for immigrant children fleeing violence in Central America.
Contemplated immigration site in Westminster
Or is it just that some Maryland Republicans are narrow-minded bigots?
It seems they don’t want people entering this country unless immigrants are Anglo-Saxon Christians who believe the “G” in GOP stands for God.
Republican History
Hostility toward immigrants is in the Grand Old Party’s DNA.
The Republican Party started as a coalition of anti-slavery groups and the Know-Nothing Party (formally known in states as the American Party or the Native American Party).
The Know-Nothings’ near-hysterical hostility toward Irish-Catholics and Germans later turned into anti-Chinese venom.
Keeping “them” out of the U.S. of A. has morphed into today’s sweeping condemnation of 57,000 children from non-English-speaking, heavily Catholic nations in Central America who have crossed the border.
‘Combat Zone’
Frederick County’s arch-enemy of immigrants, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, recently toured part of the Texas-Mexico border, declared it a “combat zone” and called for full militarization.
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins of Frederick County
Fortress America, here we come!
“We’re being invaded by drug cartels, drug smugglers, human traffickers,” the sheriff railed.
Huh?
We’re talking about the unaccompanied children who are crossing the border, not the gun-toting thugs and narco terrorists.You’d never know that by listening to Del. Wade Kach or Councilman Todd Huff of Baltimore County.
The two Republicans have joined the anti-immigrant clamor.
They’re upset because Catholic Charities wants to house 50 children from Central America at its secluded St. Vincent’s Villa that tends to children with severe emotional and behavioral problems — and which originally opened 174 years ago as an orphanage for immigrant children.
Meanwhile, Republican Baltimore County Del. Pat McDonough, who never misses a shot at outrageous publicity, is calling for the erection of tent cities along the border and immediate deportation of “them.”
Congressional Intervention
Then there’s Maryland’s irrepressible Republican naysayer, Congressman Andy Harris.
He was quick to announce his bombastic opposition to Central American kids living temporarily at a former Army Reserve building in Westminster – a locale that is not in his district.
Harris, an anesthesiologist, cited among other reasons “the potential health risks to the community” — as though these kids were carrying the Bubonic Plague.
He wants the 57,000 children deported to their home country “and get back in line.”
Catholic Charities’ proposal, thankfully, does not follow Republican Party dicta.
Instead, it follows Christian teachings that most Republicans ostensibly say they follow.
This is, as Pope Francis pointed out, a “humanitarian emergency” involving unaccompanied children in a foreign land. We must first protect and care for these children, the pope said.
Pope Francis
Catholic Charities is extending the good work it does by undertaking this new mission at St. Vincent’s Villa in Timonium.
It’s not a permanent solution but rather a helping hand for 50 kids while their situations are sorted out. What’s wrong with that?
Governor’s Response
How does Maryland suffer from a local charity assisting some of the needy, regardless of their place of origin?
Gov. Martin O’Malley understands.
Gov. Martin O’Malley
He first complained to the White House about placing kids at a Westminster facility lacking security or running water – not to mention the seething animus in Carroll County toward outsiders (especially Spanish-speaking “illeagals”).
He was right to tell the White House it was a ridiculous idea.
There are far better ways to assist these kids – such as finding compatible settings near Washington, where there are large Hispanic communities (and proximity to Central American embassies) or in Baltimore City, with its own Spanish-speaking enclave and ample support services.
NIMBY Republicans
The Republican line is that this crisis is “a federal problem” created by the hated Obama administration, which should handle this matter itself.
Republican NIMBYism is alive and well: Let someone else care for these desperate kids, all 57,000 of them.
Just make sure the federal refugee camps are “not in my back yard.”
What’s confronting the United States is a major human dilemma. It won’t be solved solely by the White House. It will take a combined effort by sympathetic states, non-profit groups and the federal government.
Republicans, though, don’t want any part of extending charity to these kids.
The best way to stop this unwanted influx is to help Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala curb criminal activity, bolster health and education opportunities and encourage business development that translates into jobs.
Maryland Republicans will have none of that.
They don’t want immigrants coming to this country and they don’t want to help other countries stem the tide, either.
Their only answer is stationing armed troops on our southern border.
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori calls this problem “a test of the moral character of our nation. This is not a time for political posturing. . .”
Sadly, Maryland Republicans aren’t listening.
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