In any other administration, this favoritism for Trump’s most energetic little British bootlicker would be a scandal all by itself. TPM reports:
Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K.’s Brexit party, gained entry to the United States to attend President Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally despite the current ban on Britons entering the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per the Department of Homeland Security, Farage was able to skirt the ban after his visit was designated to be “in the national interest.”
“On June 19, Mr. Nigel Farage, the leader of the United Kingdom’s Brexit Party, was denied boarding while attempting to fly from the United Kingdom to the United States,” a DHS spokesperson told TPM in a statement. “The initial denial of boarding was made pursuant to a March 14 Presidential Proclamation that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, suspends the entry into the United States of certain foreign nationals who recently have been present in the United Kingdom.”
“After conducting a thorough review of the relevant facts and circumstances, DHS determined Mr. Farage’s travel to be permissible under Section 2 (a)(xi) of the Presidential Proclamation: any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their designees authorizing Mr. Farage to board his flight,” the spokesperson added.
DHS did not answer TPM’s questions about why attending a Trump rally is in the national interest, or who designated it as such.
The idea that anyone at that rally even knew who Farage is ridiculous. The idea that he needed to be here because it’s in “the national interest” is just one more corrupt use of the US Government for political purposes.
That was a campaign rally.
In the annals of Trump corruption, this is small potatoes. But that’s why it’s worth noting. This stuff is completely normalized.
I suspect that we will go back to previous norms with more fervor than ever during a Biden administration should he win. But the door will still be there for the next Republican. And they will almost certainly open it just a widely. Why wouldn’t they?
Meanwhile:
President Trump will sign an executive order to suspend the issuance of certain temporary worker visas through the end of 2020, cracking down further on immigration after signing a more narrow measure in April, officials said Monday.
The order applies to H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and certain J-1 visas. It is the latest effort by the Trump administration to satisfy immigration hawks and groups that argue American workers should be prioritized, especially amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
H-1B visas are used for skilled workers and are used widely in the tech industry. H-2B visas apply to seasonal workers. H-4 visas are given to spouses of H-1B visa holders.
J-1 visas are given to researchers and scholars, while L-1 visas are used for executives transferring to the United States from positions abroad with the same employer.
Sure, who needs skilled workers, researchers and scholars in the middle of a pandemic and economic disaster? That certainly isn’t “in the national interest.”
But good old Nige? He’s in, no problem.