A8 Editorial The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019
S
tep by malicious step, the Trump administration is
turning the American immigration system into an
apparatus of appalling, intentional cruelty.
The latest case in point is a relatively small pro-
gram known as “medical deferred action,” in which
immigrants without legal status who are suffering from seri-
ous medical conditions are granted a reprieve from deporta-
tion so that they can have access to much-needed medical
treatment in the United States.
Trump halted the program this month, threatening to de-
port these patients, including children with leukemia, mus-
cular dystrophy, or cystic fibrosis. The program’s termination
means suspending or interrupting medical care, which in
some instances is virtually a death sentence.
Consider the case of Marie and her 13-year-old son. They
were visiting Boston in 2013 when the boy fell ill. He was di-
agnosed with sickle cell anemia, a genetic condition for
which he’s been treated at Boston Medical Center. She filed
for medical deferred action almost immediately and they
were approved in 2017. The status, valid for two years, meant
she could get a work permit and he would be granted
MassHealth and afford access to life-saving
care. She is required to bring him into BMC
for monitoring every two months; otherwise
acute problems might arise that can result
in brain damage or kidney failure, she said.
Last week, Marie got a denial letter from US
Citizenship and Immigration Services after
filing for a renewal. They were instructed to
leave within 33 days or else risk deportation.
“I can’t go back to Haiti,” Marie said in an
interview after a press conference Monday organized by local
immigration advocates to denounce the program’s cancella-
tion. “I won’t find this medical care for him there.”
Marie’s son is part of a group of roughly 30 beneficiaries of
medical deferred action in Boston known to advocates and
whose status has been or will be terminated. The exact num-
ber of affected immigrants is unclear, but Mahsa Khanbabai,
chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigra-
tion Lawyers Association, put the number in the thousands
nationwide. In a statement sent to AILA, the federal govern-
ment confirmed it had halted the program Aug. 7, except for
certain cases involving military members and their families.These families are now facing an impossible choice: Re-
cede into the shadows, lose their work permits, and live un-
der the threat of deportation; or go back to their home coun-
try and take their chances on receiving adequate care there.
The new policy is a significant departure from longstand-
ing practice, legal experts said. “Deferred action” came into
prominence when President Obama applied it in 2014 to the
so-called dreamers, a special class of young undocumented
immigrants who were brought to the United States as chil-
dren. But for decades, federal authorities have used it as a
form of prosecutorial discretion for humanitarian purposes.
It’s also a vital mechanism for practical reasons — the govern-
ment simply does not have the resources nor the time to de-
port every single unauthorized immigrant.
While this may seem like a minor immigration policy
change, affecting only a small number of noncitizens, it’s im-
portant to recognize that it’s part of a pattern. In the last six
weeks alone, the administration has:
ROverhauled US asylum rules to heavily restrict where
people can apply for protection from persecution, while sus-
pending the processing of most asylum cases in New England.
RAnnounced sweeping changes to the
“public charge” rule — a mechanism long-
used by the government to assess an individ-
ual petitioning for a visa or a green card —
that would deny permanent residency to le-
gal immigrants who use public benefits like
food stamps or subsidized housing, effective-
ly turning the rule into a “wealth test.”
RIssued new regulations for keeping mi-
grant children and their families in deten-
tion indefinitely, ending two decades of judicial supervision
of the practice.
RDecided it won’t give flu vaccines to migrant families
held in border detention centers, despite the deaths of three
migrant children from the flu in the past year.
The outrages now come with such regularity that each
tends to distract from the last. But it’s important to protest
not just these changes, but also their overriding intent: to re-
move all vestiges of compassion from the immigration system
and make life as miserable as possible for immigrant families.
Can this administration sink any lower than threatening to
deport kids with cancer?Another cruel blow to immigrants
Opinion
BOSTONGLOBE.COM/OPINIONInbox
BobCousyandthis
president—er,rather,
thepresident
Letters should be written exclusively to the Globe and
include name, address, and daytime telephone number.
They should be 200 words or fewer. All are subject to
editing. Letters to the Editor, The Boston Globe, 1 Exchange
Pl, Ste 201, Boston, MA 02109-2132; [email protected]
Cousy could have played
White House honor differently
As a kid, like every Boston Celtics fan, I thrilled to Bob
Cousy’s ballhandling magic. But in his remarks after being
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (“Cousy chose
his words very carefully,” Sports, Aug. 25), Cousy threw the
ball away. All he needed to do was what Dan Shaughnessy
reported he’s been doing over the past few years: Urge ev-
eryone, including this president, who inflames racial ani-
mosities for his own political desires, to read Ta-Nehisi
Coates’s book “Between the World and Me.” I’m guessing
that would have made Bill Russell, to whom Cousy has
apologized for not being sensitive enough to the struggles
around race that Russell faced while playing in Boston,
much happier than calling Trump an “extraordinary” presi-
dent.
BARRY BRODSKY
Swampscott
Celtic legend’s message seemed clear
to this reader
Wow, talk about Jesuitical. Yes, the word “extraordinary,”
can be parsed, but it was clear that Bob Cousy (who, ac-
cording to Dan Shaughnessy’s column, watches Fox News
at night) was praising, not parsing. For goodness’ sake, he
also said that Donald Trump was well on his way to making
America great again. Who doesn’t take that for a MAGA
hat?
I know that Holy Cross forms a bond, and I have liked
both Shaughnessy and Cousy, but this apologia was well
wide of the mark. The Cooz did, in fact, let us down, big-
time.
LARRY DUBERSTEIN
Hancock, N.H.
The Globe’s Aug. 24 editorial mischaracterizes the Notos
Group’s proposal for a gaming facility in Southeastern Mas-
sachusetts (“No dice on a ‘mini’ casino in Wareham”).
The state’s current casino gaming law allows the Massa-
chusetts Gaming Commission to consider only a full-blown
destination resort casino for Southeastern Massachusetts.
However, the gaming landscape in New England has be-
come more crowded since the law was passed eight years
ago, and the evidence is that the region can no longer sup-
port another Las Vegas-style casino, such as Encore Boston
or MGM Springfield.
Contrary to the Globe’s assertion that our proposal is in-
tended “to please one developer,” we believe that the Gam-
ing Commission should have the flexibility to consider any
and all gaming proposals for the region, including a full re-
sort casino. Our intention is to give the commission the
ability to make the right decision for Southeastern Massa-
chusetts, not limit them to what may have seemed like a
good idea eight years ago.
We believe that our proposal would achieve the goals en-
visioned by the legislation and outlined by the Globe. Our
broad-based, multiuse project would generate $50 million
in annual state revenue, more than $5 million in local reve-
nue, at least 1,000 permanent jobs, and the revival of the
state’s $116 million thoroughbred racing industry. None of
those benefits will be generated, however, by a project that
does not exist or is too large to be sustainable.
The commission reviewed and rejected the only full-
scale casino application proposed for the region thus far.
Restricting its ability to approve a smaller-scale project may
well leave Southeastern Massachusetts without the eco-
nomic development opportunities it was promised.
As we have said repeatedly, there may be a better idea
for Southeastern Massachusetts, but restricting the com-
mission from exploring all options and limiting its ability to
choose what it considers the best project is an opportunity
forever lost.
THOMAS P. O’CONNELL
Founder
Notos Group LLC
Quincy
Givenchangesingaminglandscape,
group’scasinobidiswellworthalook
In “The conspiracist logic of massacre” (Opinion, Aug. 26),
Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum write, of the
suspect in the El Paso shooting, “The shootings and his
manifesto were a call to arms.” Why do we insist on using
the term “manifesto” to describe the declarations left be-
hind by perpetrators of mass shootings? If I were aspiring
to take innocent lives in a bloody blaze of glory, wouldn’t a
“manifesto” be a wonderful way to leave a lasting reminder
of the status I’ve achieved? Why do we bestow this glorified
gift of misplaced greatness on a mass murderer?
The dictionary defines a manifesto as a public document
of principles or intentions, especially of a political nature.
While a mass murderer clearly has intentions, albeit evil,
there is no reasonable, ethical principle on earth that can
rationalize such an act.
Let us call these documents what they truly are: hate let-
ters, letters of intent or distress, suicide notes, cries for
help. Let us reserve the magnanimous term “manifesto” for
the more lofty and noble document produced when this
country finally has the courage to rationally declare that a
civilized world can no longer tolerate this dysfunctional be-
havior and intends to actually do something meaningful
about it. This would be an ethical principle worthy of such
a manifesto.
JENNIFER P. MULLON
Acton
‘Manifesto’istooloftyaterm
fortheravingsofmassmurderers
Editorial
abcde
Founded 1872JOHN W. HENRY
PublisherVINAY MEHRA
PresidentLINDA PIZZUTI HENRY
Managing DirectorSENIOR DEPUTY
MANAGING EDITORS
Mark S. Morrow
Jason M. TuoheyDigital Platforms and
Audience EngagementDEPUTY MANAGING EDITORS
Marjorie PritchardEditorial Page
David DahlPrint and Operations
Felice BelmanLocal News and Features
Veronica ChaoLiving/ArtsCharles H. TaylorFounder & Publisher 1873-
William O. TaylorPublisher 1921-
Wm. Davis TaylorPublisher 1955-
William O. TaylorPublisher 1978-
Benjamin B. TaylorPublisher 1997-Richard H. GilmanPublisher 1999-
P. Steven AinsleyPublisher 2006-
Christopher M. MayerPublisher 2009-
Laurence L. WinshipEditor 1955-
Thomas WinshipEditor 1965-BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Dhiraj NayarChief Financial Officer
Dan KrockmalnicGeneral Counsel
Kayvan SalmanpourChief Commercial Officer
Anthony BonfiglioVice President, Engineering
Claudia HendersonChief Human Resources Officer
Jane BowmanVice President, Marketing &
Strategic Partnerships
Dale CarpenterSenior Vice President, Print
OperationsBRIAN McGRORY
EditorJENNIFER PETER
Managing EditorCan the Trump
administration sink
any lower than
threatening to
deport sick kids?
HANOVER, N.H.N
ear the end of a town hall
designed to focus on health
care, Joe Biden asked the
audience to imagine what
might have happened to the
country if Barack Obama were assassinated
in 2008.
With that jarring rhetorical detour, the
76-year-old former vice president officially
gave his gaffe patrol something new to
tweet about. Yet, voters chased down after-
wards didn’t mention it. Instead they used
words like authentic, sincere, and knowl-
edgeable to describe the candidate they
watched for some 70 minutes.
Of course, a few quickie in-
terviews don’t represent the full
range of reaction from a crowd
of about 400. But they do reflect
the stubborn disconnect be-
tween Biden’s popularity, as
measured by polls, and the pre-
vailing media view that his
flaws will eventually doom his
quest for the presidency.
“He was wonderful,” said
Maria Turchi, 64, who was visit-
ing from Florida. “I am voting
Biden.” So is her friend, Nancy
Aaron, 69, of Franconia, who
said Biden is for “the common
person, the average Joe.” A posi-
tive review also came from Don
Rosenshine, 76, who said he
came to the event on the Dartmouth Col-
lege campus to see if “this guy’s political
chops are still there.” His conclusion: They
are. But Rosenshine isn’t committed to
Biden. He and his wife, Susan, who attend-
ed with him, “want to see if the country is
ready for Elizabeth Warren. I’m not sure.”
Warning to the Biden campaign: People
who think relatively kindly of him are not
always Biden voters. Take Miriam Osofsky,
59, of Hanover. She supports Sanders or
Warren and called Biden to task for aclimate change policy that to her mind
doesn’t go far enough. Still, she said she felt
more comfortable after seeing him in
person. So did her 21-year-old son. “I have a
little better sense of who he is... I have
more trust in him,” said Daniel Osofsky,
who’s also with Sanders or Warren.
Voter resistance to slamming Biden for
his gaffes may also be an assessment of his
very human vulnerability. That’s what
struck me during the discussion about the
need to build on the Affordable Care Act.
Biden’s touchstone for that conversation is
the cancer diagnosis of his son, Beau, who
died of that disease in May 2015. His son’smilitary service also gives him a powerful
platform to discuss veterans’ mental health
issues, which he does with passion. He
comes across as a presidential candidate
who feels voters’ pain because he’s still in
great pain. Perhaps that contributes to
some of his rambling thoughts.
To be fair, Biden’s musings about Obama
came during a long-winded riff about the
political chaos of the 1960s, when the coun-
try was divided over war and civil rights,
and Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F.Kennedy were assassinated. Biden was try-
ing to make the point that events of that era
inspired political activism, just as current
events should inspire similar activism in
young people. Yet, inserting speculation
about a theoretical Obama assassination in-
to the mix was disconcerting; and Biden’s
statement that some people suspected he
was gay when he supported women’s rights
back in the 1970s was also curious. That
and other clumsy remarks over the week-
end renewed predictions that Biden’s bub-
ble is about to burst.
Maybe it is. One new national poll puts
Warren, Sanders, and Biden in a virtual tie.
Ontheotherhand,perhaps
President Trump has so
normalized outrageous po-
litical rhetoric that nothing
shocks or offends anymore.
On the day of the Hanover
town hall, the president
went on a tweet tirade
against Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell,
which caused the stock
market to plunge, and
mocked Representative
Seth Moulton of Massachu-
setts, who dropped out of
the Democratic presidential
race. Earlier in the week,
Trump labeled Danish
Prime Minister Mette Fred-
eriksen “nasty” after she
called his proposal to buy Greenland “ab-
surd.”
To some voters, a quirky but empathetic
Biden is still preferable to a mean-spirited
and divisive Trump. Biden’s problem is that
he’s not yet running against Trump. First,
he must get past his Democratic rivals and
the gaffe patrol.Joan Vennochi can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter
@Joan_Vennochi.JOANVENNOCHIBiden and the gaffe police
ILLUSTRATION BY LESLEY BECKER/GLOBE STAFF; ADOBE; GLOBE FILE PHOTO