“They can't hug [their own siblings] goodbye. If they do, they're told they will be written up and it could affect their immigration case."

There are 17 Mac's Fresh Markets throughout Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana and this week, shoppers got a message about immigration in their sales flyer along with ads for discounted pork chops.

You know, because nothing goes better with pork chops than a steaming side dish of xenophobic bullshit.

Reggie McDaniel owns the Mac's chain and when asked about the message, which has some shoppers calling for a boycott, he told Louisiana's KALB, " If I used a political message, and I’m very aware it's political, to highlight Jesus Christ, then I’m guilty of it."

McDaniel says he plans on including more political messages in the future.

Local grocery store company stirs controversy with ad mailer (KALB) Read the rest

Donald Trump's border wall vs. the historic La Lomita church in Texas, which dates back to 1852.

As Donald Trump prepares for his 8-minute “The Wall” remarks, which will be televised live by all major U.S. networks, read Nicholas Rasmussen's take in Just Security on the so-called terrorism crisis at the southern border. Spoiler. There is none.

“Bottom line,” says Rasmussen, a career defense professional who was the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center from 2014 to 2017:

“There is no crisis, and anyone who says there is probably trying to mislead or scare the American people.” Read the rest

As populism and a tilt to the political right has prompted many nations to question once welcoming immigration and refugee policies and embrace xenophobia, a nation with a centuries long reputation for insularity has decided to move in the other direction. With its rapidly aging population and an underwhelming birthrate, Japan is opening its doors to large-scale immigration.

From The New York Times:

Under a bill approved by Parliament’s upper house in the early-morning hours, more than a quarter-million visas of five-year duration will be granted to unskilled guest laborers for the first time, starting in 2019.

Under the new measure, between 260,000 and 345,000 five-year visas will be made available for workers in 14 sectors suffering severe labor shortages, including caregiving, construction, agriculture and shipbuilding.

The measure also creates a separate visa category for high-skilled workers, who will be allowed to stay for unlimited periods and enjoy greater benefits, including permission to bring their families to Japan.

As The New York Times points out, over the next 25 years, Japan's population is set to shrink by 16 million people, or 13 percent. During the same period, the number of old folks in Japan will increase to make up 1/3 of the population. This leaves an incredible vacuum of caregivers, laborers and other positions that must be filled.

Not everyone is thrilled with the country's fresh, welcoming approach to immigration. But their feelings on the matter are moot: unless the Japanese start having a shitload of babies, which they're not, the nation will be in a serious bind when the bulk of their current population becomes too old to be able to keep the nation's infrastructure and businesses humming along efficiently. Read the rest

Here's who is getting rich off Trump's immigrant detention camps. Read the rest

Because it's always a good time to flog a dead horse.

Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed writes, “The Trump administration went to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking an order that would allow it to enforce its new policy barring asylum claims by those who cross into the country without authorization.” Read the rest

Nicole says: "Today's all-new episode of Vox Media's 'Consider It,' kicks off with Stephen Miller's uncle, David Glosser, who says that if his dead grandfather were to hear about his nephew's immigration policies 'he'd be spinning in his grave.'"

Read the rest

The President extends a lump of coal to our troops along the border, in a gesture of Trumpian holiday slime. A Merry Christmas to all, and to the immigrant children locked in ICE dog cages, enjoy your gruel. Read the rest

U.S. military intelligence analysis documents obtained by Newsweek reveal that defense officials do not believe there are terrorists or other national security threats present within the so-called “migrant caravan.” Despite this, Trump has demanded that up to 15,000 military troops be dispatched to the border, to brace for an “invasion” that doesn't exist, just before the midterm elections. Read the rest

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order to close the U.S.-Mexico border, as the depleted and ragtag #MigrantCaravan of poor people seeking asylum ambles north from Central America. Read the rest

In their 'No Tech For ICE' report, Mijente details how firms like Amazon‬⁩, ⁦‪Microsoft‬⁩, and ⁦‪Palantir‬⁩ plan to profit from the detention and deportations of migrants. Read the rest

The American right spent generations lauding the "free enterprise" spirit of "cutting red tape," contrasting its private sector ethos with the stodgy, Stalinist ways of the USSR, where bureaucrats weaponize forms and other paperwork to oppress the citizenry. Read the rest

The Trump administration is currently detaining over 13,000 migrant children in facilities throughout the United States Approximately 1,600 of these children are being moved to a tent concentration camp in West Texas. The conditions are grim. Read the rest

They served in the Army, Border Patrol and as police. They have legitimate U.S. birth certificates. But Trump's government is denying their passport applications and telling them they aren't U.S. citizens. Read the rest

Jacob Soboroff of NBC News has been covering the story of migrant kids separated from their families by Trump's violent policy at the Mexico border. Soboroff is in Florida today, where he stopped by a “temporary” HHS shelter for unaccompanied minors who entered the United States illegally. Read the rest

An update on the children of migrants who were forcibly separated from their family members by federal agents, at the orders of Donald Trump. Read the rest