Human traffickers knowingly dump migrants in a location with inadequate facilities for supporting them

[NoXion]

It's what Jesus would have wanted on the Eve of his birth, right?

More migrants dropped off outside vice president's home in freezing weather on Christmas Eve - KESQ

By Noah Gray, CNN Several busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18 degree weather late Saturday. An initial two busloads were taken to local shelters, according to an administration official. More buses...

kesq.com

I think this Bible quote would be most appropriate:

Ezekiel 16:49: “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.“‘

Turns out the real Sodomites were the Republicans we met along the way.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

It's what Jesus would have wanted on the Eve of his birth, right?

More migrants dropped off outside vice president's home in freezing weather on Christmas Eve - KESQ

By Noah Gray, CNN Several busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18 degree weather late Saturday. An initial two busloads were taken to local shelters, according to an administration official. More buses...

kesq.com

I think this Bible quote would be most appropriate:

Ezekiel 16:49: “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.“‘

Turns out the real Sodomites were the Republicans we met along the way.

I'm amazed that these people consider themselves Christians. Don't they understand the meaning of the nativity, on Christmas no less?

 

[Rob Ray]

And the first of the three wise men said: "Get on the cart, we're going to strand you in the snow somewhere up north to own the libs, lol."

 

[Elpenor]

I'm amazed that these people consider themselves Christians. Don't they understand the meaning of the nativity, on Christmas no less?

They’re the scribes and Pharisees really

 

[petee]

It's what Jesus would have wanted on the Eve of his birth, right?

More migrants dropped off outside vice president's home in freezing weather on Christmas Eve - KESQ

By Noah Gray, CNN Several busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18 degree weather late Saturday. An initial two busloads were taken to local shelters, according to an administration official. More buses...

kesq.com

I think this Bible quote would be most appropriate:

Ezekiel 16:49: “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.“‘

Turns out the real Sodomites were the Republicans we met along the way.

i saw that and didn't know whether to blow my stack or shrug that it was just another day in rightwing land.

and this after coming back from midnight mass where the homilist talked about god being born surrounded by dank animal piss (not exactly his word) and your measure as a christian is how you interact with people in similar situations.

 

[MickiQ]

This doesn't appear to be traffickers if you read the story but the governor of Texas being a dick in order to make a somewhat petty point.
If's that the case it was probably state employees driving the vehicles
Surely actual traffickers would want to drop them somewhere quiet like the back alleys of Los Angeles.
Outside the home of the VP is probably the very definition of not quiet.

 

[petee]

This doesn't appear to be traffickers if you read the story but the governor of Texas being a dick in order to make a somewhat petty point.
If's that the case it was probably state employees driving the vehicles
Surely actual traffickers would want to drop them somewhere quiet like the back alleys of Los Angeles.
Outside the home of the VP is probably the very definition of not quiet.

because the definition of trafficker is the point, not the experience of those people.

 

[NoXion]

This doesn't appear to be traffickers if you read the story but the governor of Texas being a dick in order to make a somewhat petty point.
If's that the case it was probably state employees driving the vehicles
Surely actual traffickers would want to drop them somewhere quiet like the back alleys of Los Angeles.
Outside the home of the VP is probably the very definition of not quiet.

If you bus people across the country on false pretences in order to make some kind of shitty political point, rather than purely for money, then you're still a trafficker.

Just like if I were to carry a condom full of heroin up my rectum as part of some political stunt about drug prohibition, you can still bet my opiate-loaded arse that I'm going to be busted for smuggling drugs.

 

[MickiQ]

If you bus people across the country on false pretences in order to make some kind of shitty political point, rather than purely for money, then you're still a trafficker.

Just like if I were to carry a condom full of heroin up my rectum as part of some political stunt about drug prohibition, you can still bet my opiate-loaded arse that I'm going to be busted for smuggling drugs.

Well no it isn't you sticking heroin up your ass still makes you a criminal
This behaviour (if it is Abbott) will make him a hero to a great many people. Certainly he will face no real consequences and may very well even benefit from it.

 

[nottsgirl]

because the definition of trafficker is the point, not the experience of those people.

It’s kind of worse if it’s not the traffickers though?

 

[nottsgirl]

The article says it could be the governor of Texas protesting at Biden’s immigration policies.

 

[nottsgirl]

If you bus people across the country on false pretences in order to make some kind of shitty political point, rather than purely for money, then you're still a trafficker.

Just like if I were to carry a condom full of heroin up my rectum as part of some political stunt about drug prohibition, you can still bet my opiate-loaded arse that I'm going to be busted for smuggling drugs.

Traffickers make money from trafficking, he’s not doing it for money.

 

[Humberto]

Traffickers make money from trafficking, he’s not doing it for money.

It's a gobshite mentality literally creating those conditions for the desperate, though, do you think? Same as here in UK. He may as well be abandoning them in shipping containers for all his self-regard.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Why don't they bring them to some of the inland red states? When I drive around my state, I see all kinds of billboards in Spanish looking for workers. These aren't pleasant jobs, such as meat packing, brickmaking, and construction, but they pay decent money. Most of them are necessary jobs that would give new arrivals a solid foothold and it would make up for some of the labor shortage we have. I'm for just driving the bus here and giving them a green card. But we know this isn't about making immigrants welcome or providing a new home, it's about making them suffer. That's why the lack of notice and just dumping them in places away from services on record cold days.

 

[Yossarian]

“They have been doing that for a few months now; it’s all for the spectacle,” Ms. Bahl said of the governor’s office. “The cruelty is the point. It’s awful to use people in this manner, for political reasons.”

I don't think the likes of Abbott and DeSantis even see these people as people, in their minds this kind of stunt probably seems little different from disgruntled farmers dumping loads of manure outside politicians' houses.

 

[Storm Fox]

Traffickers make money from trafficking, he’s not doing it for money.

It could be argued he is. He wants to stay elected and keep the money rolling in and the power that comes with being an elected official.
He is using desperate people for personal gain. So pretty much a trafficker.

 

[Brainaddict]

This is a really scary level of dehumanisation of others. It says to me that creeping fascism in the Republican Party is now creeping pretty fast.

 

[Nylock]

Traffickers make money from trafficking, he’s not doing it for money.

A suitably clued-up lawyer could probably convincingly argue the case that if he raised a load of campaign funds off the back of this stunt then, yes, he is doing it for money.

 

[bored@work]

A suitably clued-up lawyer could probably convincingly argue the case that if he raised a load of campaign funds off the back of this stunt then, yes, he is doing it for money.

yes, this situation would definitely benefit from a clued-up lawyer...

 

[bored@work]

its clearly not ideal but i'm struggling. if - as is reported they are asked if they want to go ..whats the issue. They're being taken to sanctuary cities which say they want immigration and wont co-operate with the federal border people. They're never just left on a street (best i understand) and they're now in a place that is saying they want them. That's got to be better than being in states that according to some posters are being run by fascists? right?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

 

[JimW]

its clearly not ideal but i'm struggling. if - as is reported they are asked if they want to go ..whats the issue. They're being taken to sanctuary cities which say they want immigration and wont co-operate with the federal border people. They're never just left on a street (best i understand) and they're now in a place that is saying they want them. That's got to be better than being in states that according to some posters are being run by fascists? right?

Would imagine even a spectacularly clueless lawyer would have no problem demolishing the idea of informed consent in this instance.

 

[MickiQ]

Considering they were just dumped in freezing weather with some apparently just wearing t-shirts I suspect the operation went along the lines of the Governor saying to one of his aides.
"Take some of the good old boys, go down to the detention centre, pick 50 random Mexicans and stick them on the bus no matter what, if they or anyone else protests, just ignore it"

 

[bored@work]

Would imagine even a spectacularly clueless lawyer would have no problem demolishing the idea of informed consent in this instance.

edited to add same response Micki's comment: good old boys/stick them on bus:

possibly, but still they're now in a place that wants them and wouldn't do bad consent thing to them? surely thats an up?

 

[SpineyNorman]

Just fuck off

 

[bored@work]

Just fuck off

is that what you think they said to the people as they put them on the bus? or what they said to them when they turned up in martha's vineyard and got bussed out immediately from an area with 50% empty beds out of season.

 

[muscovyduck]

I think there may be some underlying biases at play here. For example, the image of human traffickers we're shown in the media isn't white and isn't of the WASPy old money variety. Therefore when when someone calls this human trafficking, people go "hold on a minute, that doesn't seem right". If you're thinking this, ask yourself why? What is your idea of trafficking and where does it come from?

Additionally, there's further issues where we are on a UK centric board, looking and commenting on this in a UK centric way. The movement of people in and out of the UK, as well as around the UK, is fundamentally different to a lot of countries because we're on a tiny island. This isn't like if someone sent a coach of people from Dover to Brighton, its more like if they sent them to Derry.

 

[bored@work]

not sure about why race plays in to this but fwiw -i think all sorts can traffic people, exploitation sadly exists in all races and all parts of the world. plus i'm not sure what media you're watching, all i seem to see lately on the tv is eastern europeans trafficking people and they look pretty white to me.

my idea of trafficking putting people at huge risk in dangerous boats/trucks/tunnels, taking them to places where they're in danger if they're lucky enough to make it and then often holding them in some kind of servitude/slavery to pay for it all all.

It isn't asking people* if they want to go, putting them on a coach and taking them somewhere they're supposedly wanted and will be looked after. I asked above about this because whilst we might agree there are better/different ways to deal with this - i genuinely don't see how these people are now worse off than they would have been stuck in a camp in texas.

*i sense some people here dont think they asked but ive seen no evidence of this beyond this thread so if someone has info on that i'd be interested.

as for the part about a tiny island - texas is 3 times the size of the uk roughly. so even accommodating people within the state is beyond what we can picture here. unless it would only be ok if everyone stayed in a tiny area close to where they crossed (and presumably have no real link to other than it being the entry point) - im not sure how it matters. plus whats wrong with derry!?

 

[teqniq]

Traffickers make money from trafficking, he’s not doing it for money.

Political capital (for that is why he did it) could easily be viewed as profit in this context.

 

[two sheds]

indeed, trafficking people in exchange for drugs for example would still qualify. I'm surprised nobody seems to have been arrested for trafficking across state borders. The republicans would have no hesitation if democrats were involved.