Well, for starters, they're white.
In fact, there about as white as white can be, they're German.
And they're fleeing the "persecution" of having to give their children a proper education.
In other words, future Republican voters!
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill Wednesday that would allow people to seek asylum in the USA if they are persecuted by their governments for homeschooling their children. At the same time, the bill would make it tougher for children fleeing gang and drug violence in Central America to gain refuge here.
Yes, apparently in Germany and other sensible countries, it is not legal to homeschool your children. And in the spirit of that great lady who said "give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses of people who don't feel like they should have to obey their nation's laws. . ." House Republicans are proposing granting "asylum" to German parents who would prefer that their children not learn from qualified professionals.
The Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, would make it more difficult overall for refugees to win their asylum cases, while opening a category of relief for families who live in countries that outlaw homeschooling. The bill would allow up to 500 grants of asylum per year to families fleeing persecution for homeschooling their children.
Supporters of the bill point to cases in Europe where parents have faced fines and imprisonment for refusing to send their children to schools outside the home.
Or, and I'm just spitballing here, but maybe they could just obey the fucking law and send their kids to school. It's really not that hard a problem to solve. Insisting on enforcing a simple law is not really what "persecution" means.
Some people really are persecuted. Gay people in Russia, for example. They face jail time and violence for being who they are. There are countries in which people are jailed for their religious beliefs. That's persecution. The government not giving you an exception to the law because you don't feel like following it is not persecution. I mean, am I being persecuted because the stupid government won't let me drive 90 miles an hour when I'm late for work?
You wanna know how offensive this bill is?
Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, said asylum has always been reserved for refugees persecuted by their governments.
"Asylum law is not there to protect crime victims, it is there to protect those persecuted by government," Labrador said.
Tea Party favorite Raul Labrador is bothered by it.
Do you have any idea how far beyond the pale you have to be to offend a teabagger?
If the law was changed to allow victims of crime-ridden nations to gain asylum, the USA would be unable to absorb the millions of refugees who would flee from countries where gangs run rampant, Chaffetz said.
Chaffetz's bill would make it more difficult for refugees to prove a "credible fear of persecution" to gain asylum in the USA. It would bar taxpayer funds from being used to pay for attorneys to represent children as they seek asylum in immigration court.
The bill would give the Department of Homeland Security the power to make refugees wait in other "safe countries" such as Mexico while applying for asylum in the USA.
Jeezus! Going out of your way to fuck over desperate children so you have room for anti-government nuts from an affluent, peaceful country? That's pretty much the definition of pure evil.
