The Faux Baby Formula Outrage
First come the fake outcry:
(she also posted photos that compared what she said were stockpiles of baby formula for undocumented immigrants with empty grocery shelves for Americans in local stores.)
Then someone on Abbott's staff alerts him that he needs to hop aboard, and express his fake outrage over the suffering of American babies:
National Border Patrol Council is not a government agency. Judd's main occupation seems to be spreading the White Nationalist “Invasion” and “Replacement Theory”, at GOP rallies and white trash talk shows.
Cammack blamed the Biden administration for allowing this happen.
The problem is that the Biden administration is following the law — a law that Trump also followed (though he wasn’t happy about it).
The Facts
At issue is the Flores consent decree, which began as a class-action lawsuit regarding the treatment of migrant children. The Justice Department negotiated a settlement in 1997 during President Bill Clinton’s administration.
The Flores settlement requires the federal government to release rather than detain undocumented immigrant children, first to their parents if possible, to other adult relatives if not, and to licensed programs willing to accept custody if no relatives are available. A 2015 judicial ruling then said the Flores settlement covered all children in immigration officials’ custody, regardless of whether they were apprehended crossing the border alone or with family.
Here’s the relevant section of the settlement, which refers to the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Note the reference to food: “Whenever the INS takes a minor into custody, it shall expeditiously process the minor and shall provide the minor with a notice of rights, including the right to a bond redetermination hearing if applicable. Following arrest, the INS shall hold minors in facilities that are safe and sanitary and that are consistent with the INS’s concern for the particular vulnerability of minors. Facilities will provide access to toilets and sinks, drinking water and food as appropriate, medical assistance if the minor is in need of emergency services, adequate temperature control and ventilation, adequate supervision to protect minors from others, and contact with family members who were arrested with the minor.”
A 2015 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) document laid out national standards for transport, escort, detention and search processes. These standards are derived from the Flores settlement and a 2008 law that codified elements of Flores, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Among those standards: “Food must be appropriate for at-risk detainees’ age and capabilities (such as formula and baby food).”
Trump tried to overturn this, but got blocked by the courts. So, he followed the law.
The Pinocchio Test
This is a ridiculous faux outrage. The shortage of baby formula is a serious issue that the administration is seeking to address. But at the same time, the administration cannot be faulted for following the law and providing baby formula to undocumented immigrants. Anyone who suggests this is the result of specific Biden policies, i.e., his “reckless, out-of-touch priorities,” earns Four Pinocchios.
“They are sending pallets, pallets of baby formula to the border. Meanwhile, in our own district at home, we cannot find baby formula.”
— Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), on social media, May 12
— Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), on social media, May 12
(she also posted photos that compared what she said were stockpiles of baby formula for undocumented immigrants with empty grocery shelves for Americans in local stores.)
Then someone on Abbott's staff alerts him that he needs to hop aboard, and express his fake outrage over the suffering of American babies:
“While mothers and fathers stare at empty grocery store shelves in a panic, the Biden administration is happy to provide baby formula to illegal immigrants coming across our southern border. This is yet another one in a long line of reckless, out-of-touch priorities from the Biden administration when it comes to securing our border and protecting Americans.”
— Joint statement by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) President Brandon Judd, May 12
— Joint statement by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) President Brandon Judd, May 12
National Border Patrol Council is not a government agency. Judd's main occupation seems to be spreading the White Nationalist “Invasion” and “Replacement Theory”, at GOP rallies and white trash talk shows.
Cammack blamed the Biden administration for allowing this happen.
The problem is that the Biden administration is following the law — a law that Trump also followed (though he wasn’t happy about it).
The Facts
At issue is the Flores consent decree, which began as a class-action lawsuit regarding the treatment of migrant children. The Justice Department negotiated a settlement in 1997 during President Bill Clinton’s administration.
The Flores settlement requires the federal government to release rather than detain undocumented immigrant children, first to their parents if possible, to other adult relatives if not, and to licensed programs willing to accept custody if no relatives are available. A 2015 judicial ruling then said the Flores settlement covered all children in immigration officials’ custody, regardless of whether they were apprehended crossing the border alone or with family.
Here’s the relevant section of the settlement, which refers to the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Note the reference to food: “Whenever the INS takes a minor into custody, it shall expeditiously process the minor and shall provide the minor with a notice of rights, including the right to a bond redetermination hearing if applicable. Following arrest, the INS shall hold minors in facilities that are safe and sanitary and that are consistent with the INS’s concern for the particular vulnerability of minors. Facilities will provide access to toilets and sinks, drinking water and food as appropriate, medical assistance if the minor is in need of emergency services, adequate temperature control and ventilation, adequate supervision to protect minors from others, and contact with family members who were arrested with the minor.”
A 2015 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) document laid out national standards for transport, escort, detention and search processes. These standards are derived from the Flores settlement and a 2008 law that codified elements of Flores, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Among those standards: “Food must be appropriate for at-risk detainees’ age and capabilities (such as formula and baby food).”
Trump tried to overturn this, but got blocked by the courts. So, he followed the law.
The Pinocchio Test
This is a ridiculous faux outrage. The shortage of baby formula is a serious issue that the administration is seeking to address. But at the same time, the administration cannot be faulted for following the law and providing baby formula to undocumented immigrants. Anyone who suggests this is the result of specific Biden policies, i.e., his “reckless, out-of-touch priorities,” earns Four Pinocchios.
