### Author:  [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/681 "2019-07-05T00:13:03Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#):
>
> I wish I could be surprised that people could sink that low, or that there are people who would defend it.
>
> Now I know how the decent Germans felt, watching their country change around them.
You know, once we have a normal human as president again, I hope that, after they root out the rot at the DOJ, they aggressively prosecute every single one of these guards. They’re committing criminal child abuse, and they need to be charged, convicted, and imprisoned. Not just because they’re scum who shouldn’t be walking free, but to serve as a warning to the next set of assholes if we ever have such a piece of shit president again.
---
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2019, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/682 "2019-07-05T00:38:41Z")
Cory Booker has a thread on Twitter (sorry I can’t search for it right now) describing how he went down to Harlingen (FAR South Texas, if I’m remembering correctly) and helped some people apply for asylum. Ninety percent of the replies to his post said things like he was breaking the law, undermining the president, and that he should be arrested. :smack:
---
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/683 "2019-07-05T01:30:01Z")
This is the Cory Booker thing I referred to above. This is the first post. He explains what he did in subsequent posts.
>
> [@](#):
>
> Cory Booker @CoryBooker
> ·
> Jul 3
> Today I crossed the US-Mexico border in El Paso with @fams2gether and @LasAmericasIAC to help five women present themselves for asylum. These are my observations. Please don’t look away.
Most of the replies are completely unhinged.
> [@](#):
>
> JenJen10 @Virgini22198414
> ·
> 5h
> Replying to
> @CoryBooker
> and
> @LasAmericasIAC
> JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? AS TO BRING ILLEGALS
> OVER ACROSS THE BORDER.
> YOU’RE NOT ABOVE THE LAW.
> YOU NEED TO BE PUT BEHIND
> BARS ALONG WITH THE REST
> OF THE ROGUES IN D.C.!!!
>
> #COMELEGALLYORDONTCOMEATALL!!!
> [@](#):
>
> Lisa Trump Supporter @Lisa\_for\_Trump
> ·
> 1h
> Replying to
> @CoryBooker
> and
> @LasAmericasIAC
> Actually Mr. Booker you just committed a CRIME AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN!! You are also Illegally using your position in Washington to get your way!! You are a very low down man! Not worthy of running for President!
Anyhoo. You get the idea.
---
### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/684 "2019-07-05T19:14:24Z")
> [@Bone](#):
>
> Thus far, you have 51 posts in this thread. The majority of them are mostly ranting. We typically allow group insults, but your consistent offerings have served to degrade the level of discourse - what’s the response to this? That Republican Jesus wouldn’t consider these children to be parasites? Pretty lame.
>
> And given that many who disagree with you are posters on this board, these types of sweeping generalizations can be difficult to separate as an insult to a group rather than to a poster. When an attack on a group is inseparable from an attack on a poster is where a person can run afoul of the rules.
>
> I am directing you to avoid sweeping generalizations that demonize those that disagree with you.
>
> [/moderating]
Thank you for your moderation.
I had assumed that there was not a problem with posting too many times in a thread. Thank you for pointing out this transgression.
I had also assumed that I was ranting about some folks out there in the world who have no problem with putting children in cages and denying them basic hygiene and medical attention. I hope that I have not insulted too many posters here with this. I will endeavor not to demonize these people in the future, and give them more respect.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 7, 2019, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/685 "2019-07-07T09:10:21Z")
The [NYT reports](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/06/us/migrants-border-patrol-clint.html) about the facility at Clint, TX:
> [@](#):
>
> Outbreaks of scabies, shingles and chickenpox were spreading among the hundreds of children who were being held in cramped cells, agents said. The stench of the children’s dirty clothing was so strong it spread to the agents’ own clothing — people in town would scrunch their noses when they left work. The children cried constantly. One girl seemed likely enough to try to kill herself that the agents made her sleep on a cot in front of them, so they could watch her as they were processing new arrivals.
Makes you proud to be an American.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 7, 2019, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/686 "2019-07-07T09:12:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> This is the Cory Booker thing I referred to above. This is the first post. He explains what he did in subsequent posts.
> [https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1146566170721566723?s=20](https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1146566170721566723?s=20)
> Most of the replies are completely unhinged.
> Anyhoo. You get the idea.
Brownshirts in search of a Hitler.
---
### Author:  [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)
#### Post date: [July 7, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/687 "2019-07-07T22:49:35Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> The [NYT reports](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/06/us/migrants-border-patrol-clint.html) about the facility at Clint, TX:
> Makes you proud to be an American.
If everyone knew that a vote for Trump was a vote for torturing non-white children, do you think his vote count would go up, or down?
---
### Author:  [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/688 "2019-07-08T02:33:02Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#):
>
> If everyone knew that a vote for Trump was a vote for torturing non-white children, do you think his vote count would go up, or down?
Probably up. Trump’s approval rating is at its highest ever. A significant percentage of Americans are monsters.
---
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/689 "2019-07-08T03:19:15Z")
“Trump and His Aides Dismiss Reports of Disease and Hunger in Border Facilities”
> **[Trump and His Aides Dismiss Reports of Disease and Hunger in Border...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/us/politics/border-centers-mcaleenan.html)**
>
> “It’s an extraordinarily challenging situation,” the acting secretary of homeland security said, but he called many details “unsubstantiated.”
> [@](#):
>
> …Speaking to reporters, Mr. Trump called the report about the Clint facility a “hoax.”
>
> “The Fake News Media, in particular the Failing@nytimes, is writing phony and exaggerated accounts of the Border Detention Centers,” hewrote on Twitter. “First of all, people should not be entering our Country illegally, only for us to then have to care for them. We should be allowed to focus on United States Citizens first. Border Patrol, and others in Law Enforcement, have been doing a great job.”
>
> The Times said in a statement that it stood by the article. “We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting on the U.S. Border Patrol’s detention centers,” the statement said.
> …
Okay. Everybody’s making it all up. Nothingberder. Move on. Nothing to see.
---
### Author:  [@betonbill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betonbill)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/690 "2019-07-08T03:57:09Z")
I haven’t seen a word about how they are keeping track of the kids much less the parents. Are we going to have a reprise of last year’s crisis where nobody had records of who was who, who belonged to who, or who any of the contacts were. Supposedly around 70% to 80% of these kids have relatives or contacts within the United States that they could be immediately released to, or parents they could be reunited with. Given the obvious chaos and mismanagement at the border I have very little faith in the government’s record keeping systems.
---
### Author:  [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/691 "2019-07-08T11:31:36Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#):
>
> Probably up. Trump’s approval rating is at its highest ever. A significant percentage of Americans are monsters.
I don’t think most Americans necessarily take delight in their suffering, though some obviously do. A more likely explanation is that people just don’t care - it’s apathy, which is in some ways worse. I think apathy and the inability to connect the suffering and negative experiences of others, be they migrants in a detention camp or young black men beat up by cops, has a lot to do with Trump’s rise. People have to somehow understand that someone else’s suffering ultimately endangers the rest of us all the same. But that’s not an easy lesson for people to absorb if they’re not exposed to the situation. For most people, it’s strictly about how well their doing and how they perceive the mood and sentiments of people around them. When that ultimately sours, then we’ll see opinions shift.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/692 "2019-07-08T22:30:37Z")
> [@Ravenman](#):
>
> They probably don’t think Jesus was a refugee either, because no.
If they actually cared about what their Bible says that they claim is inerrant, even that wouldn’t matter, for they would heed these words of Deuteronomy, just for one of many for-instances:
> [@](#):
>
> [The Lord] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.
But of course the word of their supposed Lord falls on deaf ears, as [only 25% of white evangelicals](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/24/republicans-turn-more-negative-toward-refugees-as-number-admitted-to-u-s-plummets/) think we have any responsibility towards refugees.
There are individual white evangelicals who are also Christians, but white evangelicalism as a movement parted company with Christianity somewhere along the way.
---
### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2019, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/693 "2019-07-11T14:05:16Z")
Good interview with a lawyer who has been regularly visiting migrant housing facilities:
> **[There Are Two Types of Detention Facilities at the Border, “Iceboxes” and...](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/border-crisis-conditions-migrants.html)**
>
> In the “iceboxes,” the AC is kept at 60 degrees and the lights are on all the time.
"Q: Which part of this crisis is attributable to Bush/Obama policies, and what parts are the result of new Trump-era policy shifts?
A: The Trump administration’s conscious disregard for the rule of law results in migrants being detained in temporary facilities for far longer than 72 hours on a regular basis. The ICE processing facilities are crazy places that are front lines in a huge crisis. As an advocate, I realize that these facilities are not going to run perfectly all the time because the circumstances are challenging to say the least. But there’s no sense that the administration is even trying to uphold the spirit of those important protections, and that is different than previous administrations’ responses to challenging circumstances and very tough calls.
The Trump administration’s instructions to ICE officers as to how to determine whether parents are fit to retain custody of their kids continues to lead to unnecessary separations. I’ve met dozens of kids who were separated from their fathers during processing, with no reason given as to why they deemed the father unfit to retain custody. I’ve met many kids who were separated from their mothers because of some unclear but entirely surprising criminal stain on the mother’s record, potentially something related to a prior unlawful entry in the U.S. (something that also was rarely prosecuted under Bush or Obama)."
---
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/694 "2019-07-24T12:51:41Z")
**[Thousands of migrant kids face indefinite government custody](https://www.axios.com/thousands-migrant-kids-face-indefinite-government-custody-8ca0f11b-05de-43fb-92a9-3991a59030e9.html)**
> [@](#):
>
> More than 4,000 migrant kids are at risk of being held indefinitely in federal government shelters because no relative or family friend has come forward to take custody of them, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) director Jonathan Hayes told CBS in a June interview.
>
> Why it matters: A third of all migrant children in ORR’s care are in this situation — an unprecedented number. They’re being held in shelters that are nearing capacity and not designed for long-term care.
> …
:smack:
Never mind the permanent trauma of being separated suddenly from your parents and basically put in prison… _indefinitely_. Even if they were being housed in a luxury hotel, the separation trauma would still scar them for life.
> [@](#):
>
> …When they turn 18, many migrant children will be transferred from ORR’s child migrant shelters to adult ICE detention centers to await decisions on their immigration cases. But due to long backlogs in immigration courts, some wait months or even years for a decision on their case…
“When they turn 18”??? The government snatched these kids from their parents, stuck them in what amounts to a prison, and they’re going to reach adulthood there?? WTF??
And this story has migrated off the front pages, because Dear Leader keeps creating new crises to upstage it.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/695 "2019-07-24T19:49:51Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> When they turn 18"??? The government snatched these kids from their parents, stuck them in what amounts to a prison, and they’re going to reach adulthood there?? WTF??
>
> And this story has migrated off the front pages, because Dear Leader keeps creating new crises to upstage it.
Lord, I hate this timeline.
I know you and I disagree about impeachment, and that’s OK. But this would be my #1 choice of what to impeach him over. Just to force the Republicans in Congress to take a very public stand on this.
---
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/696 "2019-07-24T22:24:02Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> Lord, I hate this timeline.
>
> I know you and I disagree about impeachment, and that’s OK. But this would be my #1 choice of what to impeach him over. Just to force the Republicans in Congress to take a very public stand on this.
I don’t disagree about impeachment–just about WHEN. I want it to be effective. I used to have a boss who said, “You only get **one chance** to burn yourself up in front of the building-- so choose the right moment.” (It was the 70s when monks were doing this…)
---
### Author:  [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/697 "2019-07-24T22:40:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> … I used to have a boss who said, “You only get **one chance** to burn yourself up in front of the building-- so choose the right moment.” (It was the 70s when monks were doing this…)
[It’s coming back into fashion](https://nypost.com/2019/05/29/man-sets-himself-on-fire-near-white-house/) (possibly NSFW images at the link, and I do not recommend or advocate such actions)
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/698 "2019-07-24T22:53:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> I don’t disagree about impeachment–just about WHEN. I want it to be effective. I used to have a boss who said, “You only get **one chance** to burn yourself up in front of the building-- so choose the right moment.” (It was the 70s when monks were doing this…)
Yeah, I remember that - I’m old enough that I had to register for the draft while we were still fighting in Vietnam. (Still a few years younger than you, though. :D)
I’d been figuring it’s 2019 or never: once we’re into next year, having impeachment and the primaries going on at the same time would be messy, and besides, that close to the election, “why bother now?” becomes a legit question. And if Trump wins in 2020, it’s just going to come across as sour grapes, and on top of not getting him removed, it won’t affect his re-election since that’ll already have happened. It becomes an empty gesture.
So I just don’t see that there _is_ another moment.
---
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/699 "2019-07-25T15:29:24Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> Yeah, I remember that - I’m old enough that I had to register for the draft while we were still fighting in Vietnam. (Still a few years younger than you, though. :D)
Hey! Once you pass 65, the years just blur together, amirite? 😉
> [@](#):
>
> I’d been figuring it’s 2019 or never: once we’re into next year, having impeachment and the primaries going on at the same time would be messy, and besides, that close to the election, “why bother now?” becomes a legit question. And if Trump wins in 2020, it’s just going to come across as sour grapes, and on top of not getting him removed, it won’t affect his re-election since that’ll already have happened. It becomes an empty gesture.
>
> So I just don’t see that there _is_ another moment.
I absolutely see your point. I think the moment is very close. I think Mueller thought he WAS giving us the moment yesterday. He dribbled it down court (slowly, I grant you) and passed it to the Dems under the basket. It’s up to them to make the slam dunk. (Basketball is the only sport I understand.) And I think Nancy got that [when she said](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nancy-pelosi-reacts-to-robert-mueller-testimony-congress-today-2019-07-24-live-stream/) right after the hearings:
> [@](#):
>
> “My position has always been, whatever decision we made in that regard would have to be with our strongest possible hand, and we still have some matters outstanding in the courts,” Pelosi said, arguing that Democrats needed more information before considering impeachment. “Watergate was when the _[sic]_ got the information in the tapes that broke the case.”
>
> “If we go down that path, we go in the strongest possible way,” Pelosi said.
My emphasis.
Contrary to what some people are saying, I don’t think the Dems are being weak; I think they’re being smart. And strong. It takes strength and resolve to WAIT for the right moment and not just jump in because the crowd is screaming at you to _DO SOMETHING–ANYTHING_. I’m glad Nancy has the strength to resist pressure to act prematurely.
But you’re right: it has to happen before the election season gets fully underway.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-trumps-concentration-camps-have-on-his-reelection-campaign/835738/700 "2019-07-25T19:51:47Z")
I hope you’re right. I guess I see it as, what we already know about Trump/Russia is at least as strong as what we knew about Nixon when the Judiciary Committee voted articles of impeachment on Nixon. (Which as I’m sure you remember, happened _before_ the release of the ‘smoking gun’ tape rendered the whole thing moot.) I just don’t see what we need from the courts that’s going to be such a game-breaker.
The other thing is, Trump/Russia is just one thing. Like I’ve said before, we could and should impeach him over babies in cages, because nothing remotely like this should be happening in America, he’s had a year to fix this, and conditions seem to be even more horrible now than we knew about last summer.
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