Joe Biden is not ‘president-elect’
 

 

The electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President

The segregation incidents appear to be part of a growing and increasingly powerful movement aimed at promoting diversity by somehow undoing what leftists assert is systemic racism at academic institutions in the U.S. This has led officials at campuses nationwide to organize numerous events, create race-based dorms and other divisive activities that, ironically, infringe upon the decades-old federal law enacted to prohibit it.

In fact, in the letter to Barr the senators—Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia—note that the colleges appear to be violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The law also strengthened school desegregation and voting rights. The section that the lawmakers refer to in their letter to the attorney general specifically prohibits discrimination based on race in federally funded activities or programs like the ones listed. The senators urge the DOJ to investigate the discriminatory events and other accommodations provided in their letter as well as other similar cases as part of “our nation’s commitment to equality before the law.” After noting examples as well as a National Association of Scholars report documenting incidents, the legislators write this: “Sadly, there is evidence that segregation is a growing trend, especially on college campuses.”

Cotton and Loeffler point out two recent examples in the letter to Barr. The first involves online discussion groups hosted by the University of Michigan that were segregated based on race, with moderators also segregated by race. Situated in Ann Arbor, the school is ranked third nationally among all public universities and has an enrollment of around 31,500. The events, sponsored by the campus Center for Social Justice and Inclusion, were advertised as “virtual cafes” that offered opportunities for students to gather and discuss their experience on campus and in the world as members of a particular racial group. The series of discussions included separate events for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (known as BIPOC) and “non-POC”, or white students. “In plain English, the University of Michigan appears to have created ‘whites-only’ and ‘non-whites-only’ events, in a manner reminiscent of the doctrine of racial segregation overturned by Brown v. Board of Education,” the senators’ letter states. The lawmakers reveal that the university’s chancellor subsequently apologized, though the school maintains that the race-based events were never intended to be exclusive or exclusionary for individuals of a certain race.

Another example embedded in the letter involves the University of Kentucky, a public institution in Lexington with an enrollment of about 30,000. In August, a campus conglomerate called Bias Incident Support Services (BISS) hosted segregated training sessions for resident assistants (RA), students who oversee dorms and enforce policies and rules, typically in exchange for free housing and a meal plan. One of the sessions was for “RAs who identify as Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color, and one for RAs who identify as White.” The training that excluded white students was described as “Healing Space for Staff of Color” while the training for white students was coined “White Accountability Space.” In the “whites-only” meeting RAs received materials that listed “common racist behaviors and attitudes of white people.” Amusingly, segregation was one of the examples on the list. BISS is responsible for cultivating and nurturing a culture of belonging at the University of Kentucky, according to its website, which states that “inclusion is what diversity looks like in action.” BISS also claims that it engages in programming and activities centered in inclusive excellence.

The August event certainly did not reflect that. In fact, it was quite the opposite. “College administrators often rationalize these forms of racial segregation, claiming they give members of certain racial groups, especially minority groups, spaces where they can discuss shared concerns and issues,” the senators write. “Thus, these defenders attempt to portray racial segregation as a tool to further diversity.” Some in academia also claim that segregated facilities and events protect racial minorities from what they assert is endemic racism in schools, according to the lawmakers. “Whatever the rationale, the effect of racial segregation is to divide the student body on a college campus, creating racial or ethnic enclaves,” the letter declares. The senators end by pointing out that racial segregation is antithetical to our nation’s creed and that it is illegal under multiple federal laws.

Among those threats are Mexican-based drug cartels that control territory along the U.S. Southwest border. DHS released the 26-page document, titled “Homeland Threat Assessment” (HTA), recently to provide the American people with an overview of the information collected and analyzed by agency employees around the world. “The HTA is primarily informed by intelligence analysis prepared by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) and by the Component intelligence offices, which identified the leading security threats to the Homeland based on a review of all-source intelligence information and analysis,” the report states. “Given the array of potential issues, I&A’s scoped its analysis to focus on key threats covered by the intelligence elements of the Department, which expert analysts considered most likely and with the potential to significantly affect U.S. security.”

The agency determines that white supremacists pose the most persistent and lethal domestic terrorism threat to the U.S. and the media ran with it, essentially ignoring other serious problems documented in detail by DHS in the first annual report. For instance, DHS writes that “Mexico-based cartels pose the greatest threat to the Homeland because of their ability to control territory—including along the U.S. Southwest Border—and co-opt parts of government, particularly at a state and local level.” They are considered Transitional Criminal Organizations (TCOs) by the government and will continue to undermine public health and safety in the U.S. and threaten the country’s national security interests, according to DHS. “They represent an acute and devastating threat to public health and safety in the Homeland and a significant threat to U.S. national security interests,” DHS writes. “Beyond their complicity in the 71,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. last year, TCOs destabilize partner nations, decrease citizen confidence in good governance, foment corruption, and destroy confidence in the international banking system.”

Homeland Security officials reveal that countering the drug cartels will remain an enduring challenge to U.S. safety and security in the future. “TCOs will continue to take advantage of illegal migration flows to enter the United States and attempt to exploit legal immigration avenues,” the agency writes, adding this: “Criminal elements attempting to provide a level of legitimacy to their illicit immigration claims by intermingling with migrants travelling to the US Southwest border pose an intrinsic risk to the U.S. lawful immigration system.” COVID-19 disrupted some cartel operations, but the criminal syndicates’ ability to move large quantities of illicit goods into and throughout the U.S. remains largely intact. The Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) networks are identified as the Mexican TCOs that pose the greatest cross-border drug smuggling threat in the near-term. “They dominate the lucrative trafficking of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine to the United States,” DHS writes.

Another pertinent threat ignored in news coverage of the DHS assessment is the prediction of a mass illegal immigration crisis at the southern border in 2021. The agency anticipates a huge wave of migrants from both Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. This will be due to the lifting of COVID-19 border restrictions within Latin America, which will facilitate transit and the devastating economic impact of the pandemic in the region. “DHS anticipates that the number of apprehensions at the border will significantly climb post-pandemic, with the potential for another surge as those who were previously prevented from seeking entry into the United States arrive at the border and as poor economic conditions around the world fuel migration,” the report states. “This high volume of illegal immigration, including unprecedented numbers of family units and unaccompanied alien children arrivals, stretch government resources, and create a humanitarian and border security crisis that cripples the immigration system.” The migrant surges could undermine the agency’s ability to effectively secure the border without adversely impacting other parts of the immigration system, DHS further writes.

A section on natural disasters claims that severe weather, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, and winter storms also threaten the nation. “These disasters pose a significant threat to human health and safety, property, critical infrastructure, and homeland security while subjecting the nation to frequent periods of insecurity, disruption, and economic loss,” DHS writes in the last page of the document. “Over the last year, the United States has faced the COVID-19 crisis while simultaneously dealing with numerous natural disasters. These natural disasters require the Department to readjust its priority focus, as resources continue to be reallocated to focus on responding to multiple natural disasters, while continuing to handle its traditional roles and responsibilities.”