At the 2020 Democratic debates in Detroit, presidential
Several of them insisted on painting a distorted image of caged migrant children as a sign of President Donald Trump’s remarkable cruelty. Others overlooked the verdicts of certain complex issues or evaded difficult questions with the phrase, “That is a republican argument.”
Ten candidates debated on Wednesday night in Detroit, as did 10 others on Tuesday. From now on, the conditions for participation become more difficult, and some will not qualify for the next debates.
Let’s take a look at some statements and how they are compare with the facts:
BILL DE BLASIO, mayor of New York, when asked why he did not fire police officer Daniel Pantaleo who hanged Eric Garner five years ago: “For the first time, we are not waiting for the federal Department of Justice that told the city of New York that we could not proceed because the Justice Department was handling the case and years went by and a lot of pain accumulated. ”
THE FACTS: It is false. The Department of Justice did not prevent the city from taking action. The New York Police Department decided on its own to postpone the disciplinary process of Agent Daniel Pantaleo.
While local authorities often delay their investigation while federal prosecutors do theirs, the police were not required to do so by weighing the decision to dismiss Pantaleo. The police commissioner, who responds to de Blasio, could fire him at any time.
CORY BOOKER, S
THE FACTS: It’s not exactly like that. The detention of immigrants would indeed be reduced if the illegal crossing was not a criminal offense. But border agents would have to continue prosecuting people crossing the border, which could mean temporary arrests in places like those inhuman cages denounced by Democrats.
Also, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) detains people accused or convicted of serious crimes awaiting deportation, including some who have permanent residence or another legal status.
For example, in December 2018, ICE arrested 47,486 people, according to an analysis by Syracuse University. Of these, 29,573 had no conviction and probably would not have stopped them if the illegal crossing was a civil matter.
But in fact, 6,186 were convicted of serious criminal crimes, 2,237 for other types of crimes, 9,310 for minor offenses and those people could be arrested, according to the analysis.
KAMALA HARRIS, California senator: “Automotive workers, we expect hundreds of thousands to lose their jobs by the end of the year.”
THE FACTS: This dramatic forecast is wrong. The automotive industry does not face the imminent danger of such a collapse.
This might have happened, in the worst case, if Trump had fulfilled his threat of applying new tariffs and other measures to the sector. But he did not.
Harris cited a 2018 study by the Automotive Research Center that investigated the hypothetical loss of jobs in all American industries affected by the automotive industry – not just the nearly one million direct workers in the sector – if Trump applied certain tariffs and measures.
After the sales record of 17.5 million units in 2016, demand dropped to 16.8 million new vehicles this year as planned. But the figures remain strong and the automotive sector is not even near the edge of the precipice.
HARRIS: “Right now, in the United States, there are senior citizens, millions of them, who enter the Medicare system daily.”
THE FACTS: Actually, about 10,000 people a day turn 65 and qualify for the government medical assistance program for the elderly that covers hospitalization, medical consultation, medications, and other services.
Medicare covers more than 60 million people, both over 65 and disabled people of any age.
KAMALA HARRIS, California senator: “Automotive workers, we expect hundreds of thousands to lose their jobs by the end of the year.”
THE FACTS: This dramatic forecast is wrong. The automotive industry does not face the imminent danger of such a collapse.
JOE BIDEN: “To some of these insurance executives who totally oppose my plan we should imprison them for the 9,000 million opioids they sell.”
THE FACTS: The former vice president probably referred to the executives of the pharmaceutical companies, since insurance companies pay for medications, they don’t sell them.
HARRIS: “We have a person who has locked babies in cages and separated children from their parents.”
MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado Senator, in a phrase to Trump: “Children should be in
THE FACTS: The “cages” for young migrants at the border were built and used by President Barack Obama. The Trump administration has also used them. It refers to facilities at the border with wire fences that have served as temporary housing for migrants separated by sex and age.
It is true that the Trump administration separated at least 2,700 migrant children from their parents under the “zero tolerance” rule, now suspended. Obama did not usually separate the families detained at the border, he only deported them all together, that’s why he’s know as “The Deporter in Chief”.
