Valentine’s Day—a day we celebrate love. I recently learned that in some Latin American countries it’s also called Día del Amor y la Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship) or Día del Cariño (Day of Affection).
I’m writing late in the afternoon. What’s happened so far today?
Immigrant rights activists gathered in Tornillo, Texas, to kick off their Weekend of Revolutionary Love. Per the press advisory the group posted on Facebook an hour ago:
Activists with Tornillo: The Occupation launch of their weekend of Revolutionary Love, from February 14th-18th, to disrupt migrant detention, deportation, and murder.
"The El Paso region is ground zero for a corrupt and broke immigration system, there are many detention centers that are operating with impunity and are largely unnoticed. This weekend aims to continue the spread of a culture of resistance in El Paso, and across the nation." Elizabeth Vega, organizer Tornillo: The Occupation.
The group will be doing art-based creative Direct actions over the course of the weekend bringing attention to other detention centers in the area that largely operate unnoticed.
Meanwhile, back in Washington:
Trump Plans National Emergency to Build Border Wall as Senate Passes Spending Bill
By Peter Baker and Emily Cochrane
Feb. 14, 2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/us/politics/trump-national-emergency-border.html
WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to declare a national emergency so he can bypass Congress and build his long-promised wall along the border even as he signs a spending bill that does not fund it, the White House said Thursday.
The announcement of his decision came just minutes before the Senate voted 82-16 to advance the spending package in anticipation of final passage on Thursday night by the House. […]
The border security compromise, tucked into the $49 billion portion of the bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security, is perhaps the most stinging legislative defeat of Mr. Trump’s presidency. It provides $1.375 billion for 55 miles of steel-post fencing, essentially the same that Mr. Trump rejected in December, triggering the shutdown and far from the $5.7 billion he demanded for more than 200 miles of steel or concrete wall.
In opting to declare a national emergency, Mr. Trump would seek to access funds for the wall that Congress had not explicitly authorized for the purpose, a provocative move that would test the bounds of presidential authority in a time of divided government.
So. It appears the federal government won’t partially shut down (again) at midnight tomorrow night, as would have happened if Congress failed to pass budget legislation.
The legislation that the Senate just passed, and that’s set to pass the House tonight, is riddled with compromises on immigration and border security—funding for more Border Patrol agents and I.C.E. detention facilities, but nowhere near the amount of money Trump demanded to construct his long-promised wall.
What a strange mix of art-making and deal-cutting, inclusiveness and provocation, rallying together and dividing the country. Acts of love and acts of fearmongering. Offering some hope and declaring a crisis.
This is just the beginning. What comes next?