As Reunion Deadline Day Unfolds, What About the 900 'Ineligible' Parents?
*By Conor White*
The U.S. government may be on track to meet Thursday's deadline to reunite families separated at the southern borderーbut one Politico reporter reminded Cheddar that doesn't apply to everyone.
In an interview Thursday, Dan Diamond praised the government's efforts over a relatively short period, but said there are nine hundred parents that have been deemed 'ineligible'ーmeaning they have a criminal record, preexisting health problem, or have already been deported. Diamond cautioned that some may never seen their children again.
Another major wrinkle in the plan: Diamond said the costs of getting some 2,500 immigrant children to their parents will be felt for quite a while. The Health Department, he said, has resorted to siphoning from its broader funds.
"\[The Department has spent\] tens of millions of dollars just in the past few months on housing kids that have been separated at the border, caring for them, and now putting the families back together."
Officials may also have to answer for a [new Politico report](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/25/deported-migrants-leaving-children-behind-712088) that says 75 percent of migrant parents were never given a choice between taking their children with them or leaving them behind in the States, contradicting what the Trump administrationーincluding Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsenーhas claimed.
"That's very concerning from a human perspective," Diamond said, "but also creates major logistical challenges, because now the government has to track down parents who have been deported and ask them, 'Do you want your kid brought to you in a foreign country?' How will these parents be put back together with their kids?"
"So \[there's been\] a lot of progressーbut \[also\] very real questions about what happens to the entire population of migrant parents and kids."
For full interview [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjExNTg=).
Ursula Perano, politics reporter at the Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the wave of 30 House Democrats retiring or not seeking re-election in November.
Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the high court's latest ruling in an Alabama gerrymandering case that could end up further chipping away at the Voting Rights Act.
GLAAD, the media watchdog for the LGBTQ community, released its “Where We Are on TV” report last week, with updated data on the entertainment industry. Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer for the non-profit organization, joined Cheddar News to talk about the progress that has been made on media representation and what's at stake in the process of humanizing queer people in popular culture as a recent backlash in legislative trends demonstrated. "We just saw the news yesterday in Texas, a move from Governor Abbott that would try to pull trans youth away from their parents for receiving gender-affirming care," Ferraro said. "And television and entertainment can be a frontline to preventing such anti-LGBTQ legislation from moving forward."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun. Explosions and sirens were reported across the country early Thursday morning, as Russia launched a wide-ranging attack with shelling, tanks, and missile strikes. Lauren Baer, former State Department Senior Adviser and current Managing Partner at Arena, joined Cheddar to provide the latest update on the crisis.
A six-year battle over equal pay has finally come to an end-- as U.S. Soccer and The United States Women's Soccer Team have agreed to settle their lawsuit. Under the terms of the deal, the athletes will receive $24 million from U.S. Soccer, and a pledge from the federation to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. Lily Roberts, Managing Director of the Poverty to Prosperity Team at the Center for American Progress joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has hit back against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany, and declaring that America will stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Grant Stark, Director of Research at CapWealth, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that his firm is closely monitoring oil prices amid the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and elaborates on how inflation will continue to be a problem across multiple sectors.
A private prison company plans to run a new pilot program that would place hundreds of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under house arrest. The "home curfew" pilot program is part of "impactful detention reforms," according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Jacinta Gonzalez, senior campaign organizer with Mijente, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
