# What Effect Will Trump's Concentration Camps have on his reelection campaign? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 19, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738 "2019-06-19T12:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/521 "2019-07-01T17:48:26Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Can the people in the camps leave of they wish? Let’s take a second to review that there are mainly two different types of camps: ones run by the Department of Health and Human Services for unaccompanied minors (could be those who turned up at the border by themselves/with other children, or who were separated from adults when they entered the country); and camps run by the Department of Homeland Security. The HHS-run camps are supposed to be places where kids can be until other arrangements can be made, like placing them with family members already in the US or whatnot. The fact is that this has been so screwed up that thousands of kids are essentially lost in the system, making it almost impossible to figure out where they should go. The DHS-run camps [(see here)](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/border-bridge-migrants-detained-camp-el-paso-texas) are typically being held there without choice, either simply as a matter of waiting to have a judge (not actually an impartial judge employed by the third branch of our government, but an immigration judge employed by the Department of Justice who might even get bonuses if their job performance meets what the Attorney General expects) decide what to do with them; or also being held as part of Trump’s effort to end “catch and release” policies. Keep in mind, the folks in these camps are very likely making a claim for asylum from the campaigns of violence in their home countries attributed to MS-13 and the like. Both U.S. law and our treaties allow them to do this, _even if they enter the country illegally._ Statistics clearly show that the vast majority of people who apply for asylum who have been released from custody go on to live near family members already in the country, and if they have some sort of intervention after release (e.g., GPS monitoring, or access to an immigration lawyer) their rate of voluntarily showing up for their final court cases (often years in the future) is very high. So, just like we can agree that a 2,300 mile long wall is a pretty stupid use of $30 billion because there are much better ways to enforce the border, keeping people locked up in these camps as long as the Trump Administration wants them to be is also a stupid use of resources. The main reason it is being done is malevolence, and it isn’t like people stay in these camps because they want to or have no choice. (Also, something like 60-80% of those coming over the border have some kind of support system here in the US, like a friend or family member that they could live with. In many cases, the American segment of the support system paid the costs of the people traveling to the US.) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/522 "2019-07-02T00:23:43Z")
…some member of congress allowed into the camps today. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez > [@AOC](#): > > Just left the 1st CBP facility. > > I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me. > > Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. > > This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress. > > [@](#): > > Now I’ve seen the inside of these facilities. > > It’s not just the kids. It’s everyone. People drinking out of toilets, officers laughing in front of members Congress. > > I brought it up to their superiors. They said “officers are under stress & act out sometimes.” No accountability. > > [@](#): > > What’s haunting is that the women I met with today told me in no uncertain terms that they would experience retribution for telling us what they shared. > > They all began sobbing - out of fear of being punished, out of sickness, out of desperation, lack of sleep, trauma, despair. > After being trolled by twitter-bots about her toilet observation, she responded: > [@](#): > > This was in fact the type of toilet we saw in the cell. > > Except there was just one, and the sink portion was not functioning - > @AyannaPressley > smartly tried to open the faucet, and nothing came out. > > So the women were told they could drink out of the bowl. > > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, one refrain we‘ve heard is that people are overcrowded in CBP concentration camps because the shelters (which are humane places where families can stay together) are full. > > So we went to a shelter. They said that wasn’t true at all. Only 150/500 spots were filled. > > [@](#): > > Members of Congress had to surrender their phones before today’s CBP trip. > > But @JoaquinCastrotx was able to get a device in. This photo is of the women we spoke to. > > We asked their permission to photograph - they said yes, please share what’s happening. > > > Joaquin Castro @JoaquinCastrotx > [@](#): > > Even if they let you in, these women told us CBP did a lot of “cleaning up” before we arrived. > > They were moved into that room from outside tents before our arrival. They said they’d gone 15 days w/o a shower, & were allowed to start bathing 4 days ago (when visit was announced). > Congresswoman Madeleine Dean > [@MD](#): > > Just left the first CBP facility. The conditions are far worse than we ever could have imagined. > > 15 women in their 50s- 60s sleeping in a small concrete cell, no running water. Weeks without showers. All of them separated from their families. > > This is a human rights crisis. Rep. Joe Kennedy. > [@JK](#): > > Spent the morning in TX at Clint and El Paso detention facilities. Big takeaways – 1) @CBP was very resistant to Congressional oversight. They tried to restrict what we saw, take our phones, block photos and video. Atmosphere was contentious and uncooperative. > > 1. Facilities are wholly inadequate. Cells maxed to capacity, concrete floors…It felt jail-like. No way to keep a child or innocent human being. Group of 13 women from Cuba were in tears when we spoke with them. > > 2. The entire system is broken, rotten and rife with abuse. And Trump doubles down on it despite the growing horror – child detention, metering, Remain in Mexico, threatened ICE raids. Every action he takes exacerbates and entrenches the humanitarian crisis at our nation’s feet. > > Our oversight is not deterred. Congress won’t let up. > Rashida Tlaib > [@RT](#): > > We can’t just focus on the children anymore. I met grandmothers, mothers and fathers who are suffering. This is devastating. The look in one father’s eyes broke me. I can’t look away. #CloseTheCamps Judy Chu > [@JC](#): > > “If you want water, just drink from a toilet.” That’s what border patrol told one thirsty woman we met on today’s #DemsAtTheBorder trip. These are the same CBP personnel who threatened to throw burritos at members of Congress. Changes must be made. #DontLookAway > AOC is posting regularly on this: I think they are still visiting camps, so probably more to come. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/523 "2019-07-02T01:31:59Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I completely disagree. Except for the association with Nazis, the term concentration camp would be MORE widely used today, and it probably wouldn’t be very controversial. Right! Exactly my point! It’s used today here specifically _because_ of it’s controversial history, not in spite of it. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/524 "2019-07-02T01:41:46Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > AOC is posting regularly on this: I think they are still visiting camps, so probably more to come. Good on AOC. No wonder the insane right is so afraid of her. It would be wonderful if, when we had a decent human being running the county again, the DOJ aggressively prosecuted all these human rights abuses. It’s been too long since Nuremberg—the insane right has forgotten that decent people will hold these crimes to account. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/525 "2019-07-02T04:01:53Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Good on AOC. No wonder the insane right is so afraid of her. … This have been mentioned before, but I don’t know anyone on the right that feels “afraid of” AOC. She _does_ get mocked, ridiculed, and laughed at a lot by people on the right, but feared very little, if it all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/526 "2019-07-02T04:58:30Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Good on AOC. No wonder the insane right is so afraid of her. They deny it even as they bring it up again and again and again, but if they thought she posed no threat they would _want_ her to be the Democratic frontrunner, wouldn’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/527 "2019-07-02T06:03:14Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > This have been mentioned before, but I don’t know anyone on the right that feels “afraid of” AOC. She _does_ get mocked, ridiculed, and laughed at a lot by people on the right, but feared very little, if it all. You’re sheltered. Trust me, the smart ones are scared of her (though I admit we’re talking right-wingers, so “smart” is a remarkably small percentage of the total, I’ll give you that). All the attempts on AOC have backfired, and every time she slaps down another piece of right-wing slander she gains more fans. Some of the funniest political memes circulating right now involve some right-wing half-wit having a go at AOC and getting humiliated. Social media helped Trump into office, and right now the biggest political player on social media is AOC, and she’s destroying fools. You see the ignorant right-wingers having a go at AOC, but because you’re sheltered you miss the inevitable devastating public slap-back. The key is that the slap back is what everyone else sees, and then social media goes crazy talking and laughing about it. What you see as “mocked, ridiculed, and laughed at,” AOC probably sees as a pack of idiots lining up to say stupid things so that she can loudly and publicly knock them down in humiliating fashion. And every time she does it she gets more fans, more followers, more media, and more money.And the people who think it’s funny when she destroys someone are oftentimes people who would have thought it was funny if Trump went after someone. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/528 "2019-07-02T06:13:13Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > You’re sheltered. … Yup, I’m hiding out here in the right-wing bubble known as the SDMB. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: > [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > … right now the biggest political player on social media is AOC… [President Trump has 61.6 million Twitter followers](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump). AOC has 4.6 million. You go on ahead and keep telling yourself that “the slap back is what everyone else sees”. How are you measuring “biggest political player on social media” anyways? Just a gut feeling? Perhaps with a side of confirmation bias from what you personally read and watch? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/529 "2019-07-02T06:32:31Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Yup, I’m hiding out here in the right-wing bubble known as the SDMB. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: But is our children learning? > [@](#): > > [President Trump has 61.6 million Twitter followers](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump). Of which, 72% have been inactive for 120+ days 3% have been inactive for between 90-120 days 3% created their account in the last 90 days 36% use Twitter’s default profile image 39% use display names that include spam words and patterns 92% either don’t use a URL in their profile or employ a URL with spam patterns 60% don’t use a recognized location 27% have set their language to something other than English 54% have gone more than a year without sending more than a handful of tweets 3% send an abnormally large number of tweets per day 96% have been placed on very few (or zero) lists 79% have an unusually small number of followers 76% follow an unusual number of accounts 74% employ spam-correlated keywords in their profile description Boy, that follower count sure seems a lot less impressive when you know that the majority of them are bots, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/530 "2019-07-02T06:33:44Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > [President Trump has 61.6 million Twitter followers](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump). AOC has 4.6 million. You go on ahead and keep telling yourself that “the slap back is what everyone else sees”. …LOL. Trump has been in the media spotlight for decades. 18 months ago AOC was tending bar. What the fuck were you expecting? She now has more twitter followers than the current Dem frontrunner Joe Biden. She gets more engagement than any other Dem. This is an example of getting “slapped back.” > [@](#): > > How are you measuring “biggest political player on social media” anyways? Just a gut feeling? Perhaps with a side of confirmation bias from what you personally read and watch? [In December last year she was getting more engagement than Obama, second only to Trump.](https://www.axios.com/ocasio-cortez-dominates-twitter-6a997938-b8a5-4a8b-a895-0a1bcd073fea.html) So not a gut feeling. The second biggest player next to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/531 "2019-07-02T06:39:52Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > 74% employ spam-correlated keywords in their profile description Just thought I’d point out that this means Trump probably has about 45 million “Enlarge your pen1s now!” Twitter bots following him. _Something something_ fertile ground? I had something for this. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/532 "2019-07-02T06:41:49Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > … The second biggest player next to Trump. It took you a long time to get to the part where you agreed with me that **Evil Economist** ’s claim was incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/533 "2019-07-02T06:45:20Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > It took you a long time to get to the part where you agreed with me that **Evil Economist** ’s claim was incorrect. Uhhhhh…perhaps you missed the point that the majority of Trump’s engagement was penis enlargement\* bots retweeting to each other. On an actual engagement basis he’s significantly below Obama and AOC is #1. \*Probably not all actually penis enlargement bots ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/534 "2019-07-02T06:47:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > It took you a long time to get to the part where you agreed with me that **Evil Economist** ’s claim was incorrect. …LOL. It didn’t take you long for you to delete the nine sentences i wrote that made your previous statements look pretty foolish. And three sentences that probably took you seconds to read is not “a long time.” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/535 "2019-07-02T06:58:51Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > It took you a long time to get to the part where you agreed with me that **Evil Economist** ’s claim was incorrect. Trump has 0.2% engagement. AOC has 2.8% engagement. So when you claim that I am incorrect you are in fact saying that 0.2% of 61.6 million is a bigger number than 2.8% of 4.6 million. Are you sure you did the math correctly? Carried all the ones? Shifted all the nines? Perhaps, before your victory lap, you should double-check all your decimals are in the right place? Just to avoid looking foolish? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/536 "2019-07-02T08:35:49Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Trump has 0.2% engagement. AOC has 2.8% engagement. … Where are you getting your engagement numbers from? You didn’t offer a link or cite a source. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/537 "2019-07-02T09:19:39Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Where are you getting your engagement numbers from? You didn’t offer a link or cite a source. Many of the SDMB members engage with you HD, despite rejecting your arguments. Would you care to break down the numbers who ‘engage’ with Trump that support him vs the number who are ridiculing him or just there for LOLZ? Easy peasy, right? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/538 "2019-07-02T11:12:13Z")
I wonder if 150 years from now there will be debate about reparations for the descendants of Trump’s concentration camp survivors. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/539 "2019-07-02T12:36:51Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …changing the narrative **is** something that is tangible. > > Characterizing AOC’s tweet as “basically Tweeting about Concentration Camps with not only no solutions offered but no motions put forth to DO something” is entirely your issue and is not a reflection on reality. > > But…AOC is doing something? She is doing more than “just spinning the narrative.” She spend less than 140 characters to “spin the narrative.” Probably took less than a minute. That is a very effective use of time. One tweet to completely change the conversation. Thats efficent. > > We haven’t learnt lessons from Trump. > > We are learning lessons from history. We are learning lessons from the early days of the alt-right, the rise of things like goobergate, of how they used propaganda tactics and technology to attack women and marginalised peoples and how people fought back against those tactics. > > You are in the middle of a propaganda war. The Trump administration doesn’t engage with the public. It disseminates propaganda. You don’t combat this by being passive, by ignoring it, by pretending that it isn’t happening. > > This is a discussion forum and we are having a debate. We aren’t targeting **you**. You personally are a great person, an asset to these boards, you’ve been here for years and are a valuable contributor. I actually hate debating you because I think you are a cool guy. I’d very much prefer to \*\*not \*\*be debating you. > > But I think you’ve got it wrong here. And I think you’ve got it so objectively wrong that I feel its important enough for me to speak out. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with that. It very much is a propaganda war. That’s why it was, as predicted, counterproductive to label trivial things in the past as Hitler, Nazi, etc. The words don’t resonate as strongly as they should because they’ve been overused. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/540 "2019-07-02T12:42:44Z")
What is happening in those concentration camps is far from trivial. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738.md?page=28)