You gotta love it when they eat their own – even when it is unintentional. MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross recently implied that President Joe Biden and his team are employing racist immigration practices, when it comes to Ukrainians fleeing the country after Russia invaded.
During her Saturday morning show, Cross took the White House to task for seemingly playing favorites at the border. “As President Biden vows to expedite entry for 100,000 Ukrainians, we’re asking what’s up with this double standard?” she asked.
In a conversation with her guest, Samah Sisay, Bertha Justice Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights, Cross noted the differences between how Ukrainian, and African and Central American refugees are treated by the United States’ immigration system:
“Ukrainians are bumping up against the same treatment that African and Central American asylum seekers experience regularly. They, too, are fleeing wars, violence, dictatorships, gang warfare, and cartel terrorism. Why do you think as a country some people have more sympathy for one group and not the other?”
Sisay responded by arguing that “our immigration system has always been built on ideas of race, and who belongs, and who is deserving of certain treatment.”
She continued:
“And so while many Ukrainians who are coming to the Mexico/US border are experiencing detention or experiencing difficulties going through the asylum process, the fact is they’re being allowed in. Which is not the same for a lot of other immigrants who are coming from Central America, from African countries who are fleeing similar violence, right?”
The host then played a clip of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas telling migrants coming from Central America not to “take the dangerous journey” to the southern border. Cross said, “I wonder how that would sound to Ukrainians right now, facing what they’re facing, and someone says, ‘Don’t take the dangerous journey, stay there,’ and it’s the same thing that these migrants coming from Central America are facing.”
This is not the first time the Biden administration has received criticism for disparities in how it handles migrants coming from various regions of the world. When a caravan of Haitian migrants was turned away in 2021, progressives cried foul, claiming the immigration system is much easier for migrants coming from European countries.
The history of immigration policy might have been fraught with discriminatory practices – and possibly could be today. But in this instance, there does not seem to be any racial bias when one considers the facts of the situation.
Yes, many of those who leave Central American countries are fleeing violence and persecution. Although, it does seem that most are coming to the southern border in the hopes of obtaining better employment and living conditions.
However, Ukrainians are literally living in a war zone. Russia’s military offensive isn’t exactly the most optimal conditions to which one could be subjected. Many on both sides of the conflict have lost their lives. Even worse, it does not appear that hostilities are going to calm down anytime soon. In this particular instance, it makes sense that these folks would be prioritized; their lives are in danger each day they remain in Ukraine.
But it is also interesting that Cross would even make this implication, given that she works for a network that typically regurgitates pro-Democrat propaganda. The notion that she would even imply that a Democrat would employ racist policy is interesting. The question is: Is this a one-off, or will this particular narrative persist?
This article was originally published by RedState. Read the full article.
