Tweet

raf

23 Sep, 6 tweets, 2 min read

@JoeBiden

The immigration, refugee and asylum policy of President @JoeBiden is likely troubling to anyone paying attention, but I will tell you as a refugee myself, who lives among the largest multi racial, multi faith refugee population in the world here in Queens -- it is grotesque.

From my own family to my neighbors to my entire community -- the majority of people I interact with, I hold closest, are immigrants. Many of them asylum seekers and children of them. To watch these same people be sealed under a bridge, and herded like animals is shattering to me.

It would be enough of a horror on its own, but add to that many people seeking asylum today are seeking safety from right wing governments the US upheld, democracies the US sabotaged, war and exploitation the US led, and climate policy the US is asleep at the wheel at.

On top of that, measuring the US against all other nations in providing OUR SHARE of refuge, we fail and fail again. Per capita, Aruba leads the world in refugee hosting. Lebanon is number two.

Perspective: 4M new Americans were born in 2017 and only 30K refugees accepted.

@POTUS

We do so little hosting of refugees. At peak historic level we hosted 0.6% of world refugees. One would imagine we at least don't treat the ones pounding right at our door, handing us children like we would ocean trash. Shame on @POTUS @VP, almost unrecognizable from Trump.

@POTUS

Most shocking to me in a basic level is there wasn't even an impassioned speech by @POTUS about asylum seekers, not even a display of disgust at the zeal in which Border Patrol pose to whip desperate human beings in their greatest time of need. Even Reagan pretended to care.

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More from @rafaelshimunov

raf

@rafaelshimunov

24 Sep

One of the challenges of showing up to close places like Rikers Island or enact bail reform is simply that most people just don't understand what bail is.

I didn't either, so we have to keep explaining it because every time we do, people are hearing it for the first time.

Cash bail is simply a financial incentive you're able and willing to put up as a pretrial defendant. You get the money back if you show up to court so the argument is that it will incentivize you to show up.

However...

However, in practice, cash bail is abused by prosecutors and judges. Bail is set at rates that are unaffordable on purpose, and set at even higher rates for Black and brown people for same types of cases as whites...

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@rafaelshimunov

22 Sep

Doing the math here and trying to figure out where the 14 Israeli Iron Domes are...

Because there is only 1 system. And that's already funded. But that billion Congress attempted to sneak in would fund 14.

Maybe Congressmembers decided that additional funding to Israel, with no ties to human rights agreements, was a losing fight after what they did to Gaza, Palestinians in Israel, and annexation of homes in West Bank and E Jerusalem. So they needed to tie it to a defensive object.

This way they set a trap for progressives and human rights defenders -- wow, look at them opposing civilian defenses! And get to add a billion dollars, without any conversation, debate, or strings at all, to the Israel war machine for bombs and bullets and child jails.

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raf

@rafaelshimunov

22 Sep

For everyone saying the Iron Dome must be funded because it's defensive, where is the bill you're proposing to fund one for Palestinians?

Maybe an Iron Fence too for home annexation?

An Iron School Bag for children kidnapped and put in prison?

Iron Beach could be good too, for all the Palestinian fisherman banned from providing for their families. Or the children killed from the air playing soccer on the beach.

Maybe an Iron Power Facility, for the handful of hours Israel allows Gaza to have electricity with forced blackouts every day.

Read 6 tweets

raf

@rafaelshimunov

15 Aug

Who leads the world hosting refugees? Aruba. It's population is 110K and it hosts 17K Venezuelans. Lebanon is number 2.

The US is number 70 or 80 something.

And in our nation, hosting over half of them are only 10 American states.

We should host the Afghan refugees we created.

Me and my family received refugee status leaving Soviet Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and were in infinitely less danger than any Afghan asylum seeker today. And of Moscow's making - not the US.

To put in perspective how few people the United States takes in compared to its population and resources, there were about 4 million new Americans born in 2017.

Compared to around 30,000 refugees. 0.2% of world refugee population. Even our highest historic level is 0.6%

Read 4 tweets

raf

@rafaelshimunov

11 Aug

Where was I when I heard Governor Cuomo resigned?

After zero cell service, it was the first message that popped up once we reached the top of Slide Mountain, the highest peak in New York's Catskills.

@AsyaPikovsky

Had it not been for @AsyaPikovsky's message, the first note would have been a Con Edison bill. But all the next notes would have been from the dozens of friends and hundreds of colleagues who helped rid this state of that deeply broken and dangerous man.