SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: ‘Defending’ immigrant children is all about politics

Jun 23, 2018, 8:00 AM

immigrant children...

In this photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, people who've been taken into custody related to cases of illegal entry into the United States, sit in one of the cages at a facility in McAllen, Texas, Sunday, June 17, 2018. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Rio Grande Valley Sector via AP)

(U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Rio Grande Valley Sector via AP)

As I’ve been talking about all week, Washington politicians are making a big deal of standing up for the “resistance” against Trump’s immigration policies. Mayor Jenny Durkan gallivanted off to Texas with a taxpayer-funded police security detail so that she could put on her little show for the “resistance.” And now Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson have announced that they are filing a 27th lawsuit against the Trump administration over the separated immigrant children.

Hey Bob — are you going to file any lawsuits against Jenny Durkan? What about against the Seattle City Council? Or the King County Council? You say you’re going after Trump over “deplorable conditions” for kids along the Texas-Mexico border. There are deplorable conditions all around the state in which you are the attorney general. Are you going to take care of your own state before you try to take care of the nation?

RELATED: Jenny Durkan will hug kids a the border, but not baby abandoned in Seattle

You said your heart breaks for the immigrant children in these tents on the border. Does your heart break for the children who are in these drug RVs and tents in Seattle?

Can anyone explain that to me? Can anyone give me the rationale for why our attorney general would complain about conditions on the Texas-Mexico border but have no problem with crime-filled encampments in his own state?

He can’t — if he goes after any Democrat in this state, he might lose some of the party’s support when he runs for governor in 2020. It’s all about politics. It’s not about compassion, apart from compassion for those who can make him governor. It’s definitely not about children.

On Thursday night, a huge multi-faith procession was held, with hundreds of people marching from the Protestant St. Mark’s Cathedral to the Catholic St. James’ Cathedral on the other side of Capitol Hill to protest what’s going on at the border and pray for the immigrant children. The pastor at St. Mark’s, Reverend Nancy Ross, this week compared the U.S. immigration practices to terrorism.

Look, I don’t think anybody loves the sight of those kids in tents on the border. You may disagree with immigration policy. But to compare the United States enforcing its borders to Al-Quaeda or any other terrorist organization is just pure insanity. That is such a grossly irresponsible thing to say.

So after that quote, when I saw this march on Capitol Hill, I couldn’t help wondering how much this was really about faith. This protest is fine if you’re truly sincere in your Christian faith about hating seeing these kids down here. But I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe in their sincerity.

Were these people just using the churches as a cover for politics? I don’t know what the motivation is of the people who claim to care. But I don’t think that it’s about their Christian faith. I think that it is using a church as a facade for legitimacy so you can express your hatred for the president.

 

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand speaks outside United Nations headquarters during the 81st se...

Associated Press

Canada’s top diplomat talks up its ‘middle powers strategy’ at UN

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Canada is embracing its growing prominence as a champion of “middle powers” at the U.N. General Assembly, Canada’s top diplomat said in an interview Tuesday as the international community’s biggest annual gathering got into gear. Prime Minister Mark Carney made a splash last winter by saying frankly that countries like his […]

10 minutes ago

snoopy cups...

Julia Dallas

Starbucks’ new Snoopy cups revamp viral bear cup chaos

Starbucks came out with a Peanuts collection for fall, complete with a glass Snoopy cup for cold drinks.

15 minutes ago

A sign in support of news outlets is seen at the White House press room, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washing...

Associated Press

‘You should not be here,’ Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persists

NEW YORK (AP) — On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S. journalist, “You should not be here.” “It’s an honor to be here,” Trump said as he entered U.N. doors Tuesday ahead of his speech to the General Assembly […]

30 minutes ago

FILE - Delivery vans are parked during a protest staged as part of a countrywide National Day of Ac...

Associated Press

Justice Department charges Utah postal worker for dumping mail ballots in trash during state primary

A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Utah threw out more than 300 mail ballots that were being sent to voters for the state’s June primary, the Justice Department said Tuesday. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said during a news conference that 34-year-old Damon Matai Seei was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court […]

49 minutes ago

FILE - An inmate works outdoors during a hot summer day outside a Texas prison unit in Huntsville, ...

Associated Press

Judge orders Texas to have air conditioning at all prisons by end of 2029

DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas to install air conditioning in all of its prisons, saying that inmates in lockups without it are being given punishments that violate their constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said in the 150-page order that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice must come up […]

51 minutes ago

This undated photo provided by Franciny Marchena shows her brother, Carlos Josue Marchena, who died...

Associated Press

Costa Rican man complained of lack of care for diabetes before his death in ICE custody, family says

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 36-year-old Costa Rican man whose family says he complained of missing insulin shots and meals to manage his diabetes is the third detainee to die in less than six months at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana. Carlos Josue Marchena Marchena was found unresponsive Sept. 18 at […]

57 minutes ago

Dori: ‘Defending’ immigrant children is all about politics