Article 1: Spicer Says Maryland Rape Case Shows Need For Illegal Immigration
Crackdown
Sean Spicer, the press secretary to the White House stated that President Trump’s administration was committed to a crackdown on illegal immigration (Stack, 2017). His comments came as a response to a reporter regarding a rape case at Rockville High School, Maryland. Two students, namely Jose Montano and Henry Sanchez, were charged the following day with the attack on the 14 -year-old girl. Immigration officials ascertained that Mr. Sanchez was an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. Spicer added that the incident had motivated president Trump to issue an executive order allowing public schools to deny undocumented immigrants enrollment into their schools.
Stack (2017) states that while issuing the statement, Spicer said the president has made immigration a big deal because of such incidents where illegal immigrants cause harm to the American citizens. According to Montgomery police, the two boys asked the teenage girl for sex, and after she refused, they pushed her into the boys’ bathroom where they raped her. They were both charged with first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offense (Stack, 2017). A spokesman for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated that the customs officials had encountered Mr. Sanchez in Rio Valley Grande, Texas in August 2016 and determined that he had entered the country illegally (Stack, 2017).
This article relates to the theme of migration, featured in Chapter six of the course book. Mr. Sanchez was being judged brutally simply because he was an immigrant. The question that arises in the bigger picture is: if Mr. Sanchez had immigrated into the United States legally, would he have faced similar treatment? The Migration Policy Institute (2016) estimated that 11 million immigrants resided in the United States by the year 2016. Out of these immigrants, more than half of them moved into the country illegally, just like Mr. Sanchez.
Article 2: “Schimel: GOP-drawn districts reflect state’s ‘political geography’”
The second article by Scott Bauer, writtten for Associated Press (AP) was published in the Wisconsin Gazette. It tackles Chapter 8: Political Geography. The article highlights the efforts taken by the Republican Party to defend their 2011 move which saw them redrawn the political geography of Wisconsin. This follows several cases brought before the federal district court challenging the move which many viewed as an attempt by the GOP to use their stranglehold of the Wisconsin State elective position after their sweeping victory in 2011.
The Wisconsin Attorney, appearing before the US Supreme Court hearing of the case, noted that the move by the district court to declare the legislative decision by the GOP legislators as unconstitutional was extraordinary. Following the victory during the 2011 elections, the Congress, led by the majority GOP legislators, passed the bill that sought to redraw the map of Wisconsin district changing the district boundaries with politically motivated boundaries.
The move would see the GOP maintain the political superiority which it last won in 1971. The new boundaries, as argued by many Democrats and citizens who filed court papers challenging the move, alienated the Democrats putting them at a disadvantage politically. The move has been termed as undemocratic and the one that is aimed at constricting the political space. It would prevent many residents of the state from democratically choosing their political leaders as it takes away their freedom of choice. The new political boundaries narrow down their choices and ensure that on GOP candidates have the highest probability of winning elections from the onset.
References
Bauer, Scott. (March 30, 2017).Schimel: GOP-drawn districts reflect state’s ‘political geography.’ Wisconsin Gazette. Retrieved from http://wisconsingazette.com/2017/03/30/schimel-gop-political-districts/
Migration Policy Institute. (2016). Migration data hub. Retrieved from
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/migration-data-hub?gclid=Cj0KEQjwk-jGBRCbxoPLld_bp-IBEiQAgJaftZkQxhetKg36ObvCe7rj9prRckQPLeqp6upoqjhMu4oaAsUa8P8HAQ
Stack, L. (2017). Spicer says Maryland rape case shows need for illegal immigration
crackdown. The New York Times. Retrieved from