Is this a country to be proud of?

Every week of the Trump Administration is an exhausting exercise in discovering what horrible and inhumane thing he's doing now. He's encouraging war with North Korea -- he's defending Nazis -- he's banning transgender people from the military -- he's dismantling the government.

Today, he may have outdone himself with his, I mean, Jeff Sessions', announcement that Trump has "decided" to end the DACA, i.e. throw children and young adults out of the U.S.

If Congress doesn't act, this means that up to 800,000 young Americans (Dreamers) will be deported to countries they may not remember and where they don't even speak the language. Now, I call them Americans because in pretty much every way, they ARE Americans. They were brought here as children by their parents and grew up here. They love America and uphold its values and its promise every single day. If they're now adults, they have jobs, they pay taxes, they go to college and they serve in the military. They are among our very best. And THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG.

Throwing these people out of the country is not just repugnant, morally unjustifiable and a crime against humanity, but, for all you selfish pricks out there, it will also seriously hurt our economy. You can't throw that many people out without having a large economic impact. We'll lose not only these kids' taxes, but their spending, their contributions to productivity, and their entrepreneurship. (But, of course, that's just a reason for selfish assholes to want them to stay.)

THIS IS A TRAGEDY AND A CRIME. IT'S UN-AMERICAN.

Let's take a look at what Trump has said previously about the Dreamers.

From December, 2016:

President-elect Donald Trump says he is "going to work something out" for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

Trump said in a Time "Person of the Year" interview published Wednesday that he will do something that will "make people happy and proud."

"They got brought here at a very young age, they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen.”  Link

Ah, yes, I'm brimming with happiness and pride at the awesome thing he has "worked out." I guess now they know what's going to happen.

From February, 2017:

“We are gonna deal with DACA with heart,” Trump pledged at a news conference Thursday, referring to former President Barack Obama’s deferred action program for so-called Dreamers. “I have to deal with a lot of politicians — don’t forget — and I have to convince them that what I’m saying is right. And I appreciate your understanding on that.”

Trump stressed that DACA is “very, very difficult” but maintained that, as a father and grandfather, he loves children.

“To me, it’s one of the most difficult subjects I have because you have these incredible kids — in many cases, not in all cases,” he said. “In some of the cases, they’re having DACA and they’re gang members and they’re drug members, too. But you have some absolutely incredible kids — I would say mostly — they were brought in here in such a way. It’s a very, very tough subject.”  Link

I guess he was wrong. They're apparently ALL drug dealers and gang members. You know, "bad hombres". But at least he loves children! Oh, he probably just meant his own children and grandchildren. Oh, wait. I doubt he loves them a whole lot either.

So Trump's actions today completely contradict what he said before. In other words, Trump is lying. Of course he is, it's Tuesday.

Here's what a real, compassionate, smart, literate, human being thinks about this. (Hint: It's President Obama).

Immigration can be a controversial topic. We all want safe, secure borders and a dynamic economy, and people of goodwill can have legitimate disagreements about how to fix our immigration system so that everybody plays by the rules.

But that’s not what the action that the White House took today is about. This is about young people who grew up in America – kids who study in our schools, young adults who are starting careers, patriots who pledge allegiance to our flag. These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants. They may not know a country besides ours. They may not even know a language besides English. They often have no idea they’re undocumented until they apply for a job, or college, or a driver’s license.

Over the years, politicians of both parties have worked together to write legislation that would have told these young people – our young people – that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here a certain number of years, and if you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, then you’ll get a chance to stay and earn your citizenship. And for years while I was President, I asked Congress to send me such a bill.
That bill never came. And because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm. Deportations of criminals went up. Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks. And America grew stronger as a result.

But today, that shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again. To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?

Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision, and a moral question. Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us. They are that pitcher on our kid’s softball team, that first responder who helps out his community after a disaster, that cadet in ROTC who wants nothing more than to wear the uniform of the country that gave him a chance. Kicking them out won’t lower the unemployment rate, or lighten anyone’s taxes, or raise anybody’s wages.

It is precisely because this action is contrary to our spirit, and to common sense, that business leaders, faith leaders, economists, and Americans of all political stripes called on the administration not to do what it did today. And now that the White House has shifted its responsibility for these young people to Congress, it’s up to Members of Congress to protect these young people and our future. I’m heartened by those who’ve suggested that they should. And I join my voice with the majority of Americans who hope they step up and do it with a sense of moral urgency that matches the urgency these young people feel.

Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people – and who we want to be.

What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals – that all of us are created equal; that all of us deserve the chance to make of our lives what we will; that all of us share an obligation to stand up, speak out, and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. That’s how America has traveled this far. That’s how, if we keep at it, we will ultimately reach that more perfect union.