Twingy
.40 S&W
So I'm finishing up my Master's degree in public administration with my capstone paper. I had the assignment this week of reviewing another classmate's chapter. This particular person was about how a non-profit agency can expand services offered to illegal unaccompanied minors from Central America to make sure they were meeting all of their needs. I submit to you, my response, two middle fingers in the air and zero fucks given:
*name redacted*, I'm afraid to say that I am having a really hard time reviewing your innovation this week due to a fundamental philosophical difference of opinion on the role of the United States Government in their policy decisions regarding immigration. I'm one who believes that in a time of crushing national debts and yearly budget deficits, the federal government is in no position to be attempting to solve the rest of the world's problems. As it stands, we give an exorbitant amount of money to countries in Latin America in the form of foreign aid, specifically $87,982,000 to El Salvador, $105,655,000 to Honduras and $140,105,000 to Guatemala proposed for fiscal year 2017. (Isacson & Kinosian, 2016) With all of the money the United States gives to Latin American countries, they should be solving their own problems, rather than exporting their people here (illegally) for us to spend more money on. What is the United States taxpayer getting for their money? Are they not a stakeholder in the immigration policies of their government? Are U.S. policies responsible for creating the conditions in Central America which have driven their citizens to export their children, at substantial risk of physical harm, to the United States? As Faux (2014) notes, U.S. Government administrations have for years funded the oligarchies and criminal enterprises in Central America that benefit U.S. corporations and has fueled the economic divide in these countries that has enriched the oligarchs and left the rest of the citizenry fighting over scraps.
You state that one of the aims of the Passage of Hope program is to reunite unaccompanied minors with family. With the recent surge of unaccompanied minors since late 2013, it is rare that an actual family member in the United States who is here legally and willing to accept responsibility for the minor can be located, so often the government is scrambling to find anybody who will take care of these minors until their deportation hearing, which they may or may not show up for. Huetteman (2016) details the ways in which unaccompanied minors often end up in the “care” of human traffickers. The problem is that children who arrive in America illegally and without company often end up with whoever will take them due to the sheer number of those who are arriving. The precedent has been set that America will offer refuge to whoever arrives here claiming to come here seeking asylum from violence. This has fueled the rise in gangs such as MS-13 funding the passage of minors to the United States through their network of coyotes and they expect something in return for their investment.
As recently as the end of June, 2017, the United States Senate has been grappling with the question of why MS-13 has grown so largely in so many states within America. Wheeler (2017) quotes Senator Chuck Grassley as saying that the current system of intake of unaccompanied minors and releasing them into the care of a sponsor makes them ripe for gang recruitment. With no other options for real opportunity, MS-13 offers unaccompanied minors a glimmer of hope in a country where the promise of the “American Dream” is not as real as it was made out to be by the coyotes who brought them here. Wheeler (2017) goes on to quote Scott Lloyd from the Department of Health and Human Services as saying that his department has no way of knowing how many unaccompanied minors who are placed with sponsors will actually show up to their deportation hearings, that many of them will “melt into the greater American landscape.”
The problem of MS-13 proliferation is perpetuated by the surge in illegal immigrant children who arrive in the United States from Central America by themselves and the way in which the federal government treats these children. Joe Kolb, a research fellow for the Center For Immigration Studies is quoted as saying “The reality is... wherever the unaccompanied minors appear, MS-13 crime isn't far behind.” (Cutherberton, 2017) This is in discussion of the problem that Brentwood, New York is having with grisly murders of high school children by MS-13 gang members, many of whom are in this country illegally. Texas, on the border of Mexico and shouldering a disproportionate burden of the illegal immigrant problem in this country, is facing a similar problem. Duane Steen, the Department of Public Safety Regional Commander, has listed MS-13 as the biggest threat to public safety in Texas. (Aguilar, 2016) Steen states that if you're a gang member looking to actively recruit without having to worry about penalties, there is no better way than by using children illegally crossing the border.
I understand the sentiment of a sense of responsibility that people might feel towards a seemingly innocent child looking to escape gang violence and government corruption in their home country, and that of their family, by trying to smuggle them to America for a better life. However, there are unintended consequences of seemingly altruistic thoughts and actions. That children who are smuggled to America illegally end up in the sex trafficking industry or indentured servitude is unfathomable and it the consequence of a lackadaisical policy towards immigration. If people in Central America are continuously led to believe that their children can have a better life in America, they will continue to fund the international criminal enterprises that are brutally violent gangs and coyote smuggling operations which largely result in despair, heartache and death. It's just the wrong way to go about solving this problem. What's happening in Central America might be a humanitarian crisis, but importing third world problems into America at the American taxpayer's expenses is not the solution.
On to your chapter and innovation. You hit all the points of the chapter objectives as far as defining the mandate of the organization, identifying the key players in implementing the innovation, identifying costs and determining a system of evaluation.
The chapter is very well organized. You give a thorough background of Leake and Watts, who they are and what their mission is. The content flows well from one section to another. I don't have to go back and forth trying to figure out what you are talking about in terms of what Leake and Watts is responsible for in terms of compliance with different federal mandates or laws.
I've been using the Marist proofreading service and I've found it to be pretty useful in picking up on grammatical errors I've made that I haven't picked up on when reviewing my work. Some of your sentences seem a little “run-on” and the proofreader might be able to offer suggestions on how to make the overall paper read a little bit more smoothly.
Questions I would offer you for consideration after reading your innovation:
Aguilar, J. (October 19 2016). Central American gang's tentacles reach deep into Texas, United States. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.texastribune.org
Cuthbertson, C. (April 11, 2017). Fear grips communities as MS-13 gang proliferates. The Epoch Times. Retrieved from The Epoch Times - Breaking news, independent China news
Faux, J. (June 24 2014). How US aid to Central America's rich drives its poor to our borders. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Huetteman, E. (January 28 2016). U.S. placed immigrant children with traffickers, report says. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Isacson, A. & Kinosian, S. (February 9 2016). A first glance at the 2017 foreign aid request for Latin America. Washington Office on Latin America. Retrieved from http://www.wola.org
Wheeler, L. (June 21 2017). Senators troubled by MS-13 gang recruiting immigrant children. The Hill. Retrieved from http://www.thehill.com
*name redacted*, I'm afraid to say that I am having a really hard time reviewing your innovation this week due to a fundamental philosophical difference of opinion on the role of the United States Government in their policy decisions regarding immigration. I'm one who believes that in a time of crushing national debts and yearly budget deficits, the federal government is in no position to be attempting to solve the rest of the world's problems. As it stands, we give an exorbitant amount of money to countries in Latin America in the form of foreign aid, specifically $87,982,000 to El Salvador, $105,655,000 to Honduras and $140,105,000 to Guatemala proposed for fiscal year 2017. (Isacson & Kinosian, 2016) With all of the money the United States gives to Latin American countries, they should be solving their own problems, rather than exporting their people here (illegally) for us to spend more money on. What is the United States taxpayer getting for their money? Are they not a stakeholder in the immigration policies of their government? Are U.S. policies responsible for creating the conditions in Central America which have driven their citizens to export their children, at substantial risk of physical harm, to the United States? As Faux (2014) notes, U.S. Government administrations have for years funded the oligarchies and criminal enterprises in Central America that benefit U.S. corporations and has fueled the economic divide in these countries that has enriched the oligarchs and left the rest of the citizenry fighting over scraps.
You state that one of the aims of the Passage of Hope program is to reunite unaccompanied minors with family. With the recent surge of unaccompanied minors since late 2013, it is rare that an actual family member in the United States who is here legally and willing to accept responsibility for the minor can be located, so often the government is scrambling to find anybody who will take care of these minors until their deportation hearing, which they may or may not show up for. Huetteman (2016) details the ways in which unaccompanied minors often end up in the “care” of human traffickers. The problem is that children who arrive in America illegally and without company often end up with whoever will take them due to the sheer number of those who are arriving. The precedent has been set that America will offer refuge to whoever arrives here claiming to come here seeking asylum from violence. This has fueled the rise in gangs such as MS-13 funding the passage of minors to the United States through their network of coyotes and they expect something in return for their investment.
As recently as the end of June, 2017, the United States Senate has been grappling with the question of why MS-13 has grown so largely in so many states within America. Wheeler (2017) quotes Senator Chuck Grassley as saying that the current system of intake of unaccompanied minors and releasing them into the care of a sponsor makes them ripe for gang recruitment. With no other options for real opportunity, MS-13 offers unaccompanied minors a glimmer of hope in a country where the promise of the “American Dream” is not as real as it was made out to be by the coyotes who brought them here. Wheeler (2017) goes on to quote Scott Lloyd from the Department of Health and Human Services as saying that his department has no way of knowing how many unaccompanied minors who are placed with sponsors will actually show up to their deportation hearings, that many of them will “melt into the greater American landscape.”
The problem of MS-13 proliferation is perpetuated by the surge in illegal immigrant children who arrive in the United States from Central America by themselves and the way in which the federal government treats these children. Joe Kolb, a research fellow for the Center For Immigration Studies is quoted as saying “The reality is... wherever the unaccompanied minors appear, MS-13 crime isn't far behind.” (Cutherberton, 2017) This is in discussion of the problem that Brentwood, New York is having with grisly murders of high school children by MS-13 gang members, many of whom are in this country illegally. Texas, on the border of Mexico and shouldering a disproportionate burden of the illegal immigrant problem in this country, is facing a similar problem. Duane Steen, the Department of Public Safety Regional Commander, has listed MS-13 as the biggest threat to public safety in Texas. (Aguilar, 2016) Steen states that if you're a gang member looking to actively recruit without having to worry about penalties, there is no better way than by using children illegally crossing the border.
I understand the sentiment of a sense of responsibility that people might feel towards a seemingly innocent child looking to escape gang violence and government corruption in their home country, and that of their family, by trying to smuggle them to America for a better life. However, there are unintended consequences of seemingly altruistic thoughts and actions. That children who are smuggled to America illegally end up in the sex trafficking industry or indentured servitude is unfathomable and it the consequence of a lackadaisical policy towards immigration. If people in Central America are continuously led to believe that their children can have a better life in America, they will continue to fund the international criminal enterprises that are brutally violent gangs and coyote smuggling operations which largely result in despair, heartache and death. It's just the wrong way to go about solving this problem. What's happening in Central America might be a humanitarian crisis, but importing third world problems into America at the American taxpayer's expenses is not the solution.
On to your chapter and innovation. You hit all the points of the chapter objectives as far as defining the mandate of the organization, identifying the key players in implementing the innovation, identifying costs and determining a system of evaluation.
The chapter is very well organized. You give a thorough background of Leake and Watts, who they are and what their mission is. The content flows well from one section to another. I don't have to go back and forth trying to figure out what you are talking about in terms of what Leake and Watts is responsible for in terms of compliance with different federal mandates or laws.
I've been using the Marist proofreading service and I've found it to be pretty useful in picking up on grammatical errors I've made that I haven't picked up on when reviewing my work. Some of your sentences seem a little “run-on” and the proofreader might be able to offer suggestions on how to make the overall paper read a little bit more smoothly.
Questions I would offer you for consideration after reading your innovation:
- Based on what I've offered you here about my thoughts on immigration policy at large, how does what Leake and Watts do with their Passage of Hope program provide a net benefit to American society? Are programs such as this responsible in any way for the growing power and influence of transnational criminal enterprises such as MS-13?
- What, if anything, can Leake and Watts focus on doing to alleviate the problems found in Central American countries that might slow down the influx of asylum seekers into America? Would it not be beneficial if children were able to stay with their families in their home countries rather than face the risks inherent in the voyage to America?
Aguilar, J. (October 19 2016). Central American gang's tentacles reach deep into Texas, United States. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.texastribune.org
Cuthbertson, C. (April 11, 2017). Fear grips communities as MS-13 gang proliferates. The Epoch Times. Retrieved from The Epoch Times - Breaking news, independent China news
Faux, J. (June 24 2014). How US aid to Central America's rich drives its poor to our borders. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Huetteman, E. (January 28 2016). U.S. placed immigrant children with traffickers, report says. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Isacson, A. & Kinosian, S. (February 9 2016). A first glance at the 2017 foreign aid request for Latin America. Washington Office on Latin America. Retrieved from http://www.wola.org
Wheeler, L. (June 21 2017). Senators troubled by MS-13 gang recruiting immigrant children. The Hill. Retrieved from http://www.thehill.com
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