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Sister Liane has been a volunteer at the Welcome Center in Phoenix for three years. She volunteers 4 times a week.

Photo: Nisha Datt, IRC

Its not every day you meet someone who has dedicated their life to serving and educating others all over the world. With an abundance of compassion and patience, Sister Liane has served 47 years as a teacher with her congregation, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

As part of this international community of over 1,000 religious women who serve in 15 different countries, she has had the opportunity to attend congregational meetings in a total seven countries. I have been, within our congregation, to Peru, Nicaragua, France, Belgium, Kenya, and England, she shared. That was such a gift, because I thought when I entered the convent, I was giving up traveling and that has not been the case, she added.

I seek to build bridges as our Earth was not created with borders and having the opportunity to sometimes hear stories of the clients we serve allows me to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and provide facts about those seeking asylum for those unaware of the reality.

Born and raised in the suburbs of San Francisco, California, Sister Liane attended Catholic school, where she contemplated what her future could look like. As a child, I would go between teaching, nursing, being a mother, being a Sister. So eventually, I had to make a decision, because all those things dont quite work together! she expressed.

Sister Liane received her bachelor's degree in Spanish, along with an Elementary Public School teaching credential. She taught bilingual, first grade students in an inner-city Los Angeles public school for three years. That was my first real experience in a multicultural setting an enriching and challenging time, she said. During that time, she enrolled in a master's program focused on Special Education and joined the sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at the age of 24. Originally, I wanted to join because I saw the sisters as very joyful and as prayerful in the sense of somehow, they knew something of this deeper life within and wanted to share that together, she recalled.

As a child, I would go between teaching, nursing, being a mother, being a Sister. So eventually, I had to make a decision, because all those things dont quite work together!

While working on her thesis for her master's degree, she was assigned her first mission, which involved working as a Resource Specialist at two different Catholic schools, in inner city Los Angeles, where she offered extra support to children with learning disabilities. Eventually, [I] founded a small learning center for inner city junior high students unable to be served by the schools they were attending, she said.

She was later invited by her sisters, who were serving in Peru, for the summer. What started out as a visit, turned into 16 years of service. Sister Liane shared, I was involved in pastoral work and in the development of the Fe y Alegria #34 school, a primary and secondary school serving children. She described the experience as, an incredible gift of sharing life with hospitable, welcoming people and learning about a social culture while eating delicious Peruvian food.

After 16 years in Peru, Sister Liane returned to her home in California to look after her parents. While on the central coast of California, she not only served with her sisters at a multicultural farming community but, she also worked on, creating a Resource Room program for struggling students, and led a Notre Dame Mission Volunteer-AmeriCorps Team for six years, she shared.

In the summer of 2019, Sister Liane transitioned out of her full-time teaching responsibilities, and was invited by her sisters to move to Arizona. She said, it was the right time for me, and I was ready to stop teaching full-time I love the southwest, the desert, and the weather!

You create spaces where people could become subjects of their own destiny, which is not possible for so many people. Here at the Welcome Center, we are doing it and that is important to me. We are providing simple services we are being human beings with other human beings.

In Phoenix, she taught ESL classes for adults, and served Asylum Seekers at City Square Church once a week. Later that year, she was introduced to the Welcome Center and the services they provide at their first open house. With complications from COVID-19, City Square Church was no longer able to serve Asylum Seekers, and Sister Liane joined the efforts of the Welcome Center.

As a volunteer, Sister Liane continues to serve asylum seekers, helps prepare the showers, and ensures our clients have everything they need to feel fresh and clean after their long and tiring journey. She comes in four times a week for three hours, at the very least. Her ability to communicate in Spanish has allowed her to connect with many individuals and families. You create spaces where people could become subjects of their own destiny, which is not possible for so many people. Here at the Welcome Center, we are doing it and that is important to me. We are providing simple services we are being human beings with other human beings, she reflected.

With each interaction, she is reminded of, the amazing resilience of the human spirit, often supported by a deep faith, something I recognize as we receive guests here at the Welcome Center. Having volunteered here for 3 years now, Sister Liane is constantly amazed by the incredible staff at the center who work, day and night, to support our clients. The ability of staff and volunteers to respond to needs as they appear, because they keep changing Anyone who comes here to serve has to know how to pivot, you cant be rigid staff does that so very well, she said.

One day, at the Welcome Center, Sister Liane was recognized by a former student of hers when she was in Peru.

While on her way to open the showers for the day, a young woman approached her and said, Hermana Liane, Ustede y yo en el Colegio de Fe y Alegria! (Sister Liane, you, and I in the school of Faith and Joy!)

Si, Si! (Yes, yes!) Sister Liane replied,

Me enseno en tercer grado en Peru! (You taught me in third grade in Peru!), the young woman then shared.

They were both overjoyed and hugged one another. The young woman introduced Sister Liane to her husband and child.

This was just one of the many meaningful interactions Sister Liane has experienced over her time with the Welcome Center! As a teacher, as a Sister and as a volunteer, her mission remains the same. I seek to build bridges as our Earth was not created with borders and having the opportunity to sometimes hear stories of the clients we serve allows me to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and provide facts about those seeking asylum for those unaware of the reality, she shared.

The Welcome Center has received over 45,000 asylum seekers in the past year with the help of 100+ volunteers, like Sister Liane. Without the tireless efforts of our volunteers and community partners, we would not be able to assist all of them effectively.

This shared community space allows Phoenix residents to connect with and serve asylum seekers as they navigate their new environment, offering them the tools and motivation, and thoughtful interactions necessary to thrive as they set out build a new life in the U.S.

Photo: Andrew Oberstadt, IRC

Read more:
Discovering the goodness in those she serves - International Rescue Committee

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:51 P.M. EDT

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everybody.

Q Good afternoon.

Q Good afternoon.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, thank you. Thank you so much.

Okay. Today marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of an executive order that codified the Lavender Scare, a dark chapter in our nations history when thousands of LGBTQI+ federal employees were investigated, interrogated, and fired because of who they were and whom they loved.

In acknowledgement of this period, President Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation to remember the Americans affected by this discrimination, honor the courage of those who fought to end this injustice, and celebrate the many important contributions of our nations LGBTQI+ public servants, including members of our armed forces.

I have the great privilege of serving with some of these individuals every day who work here at the White House and across federal agencies on behalf of the American people.

Under President Biden, the LGBTQI+ leaders are serving at the highest levels of government. Weve got the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet, the first openly transgender Americans to be confirmed by the United States Senate, and the first open lesbian to serve at the ambassador level as well.

Today, this administration joins Americans across the country to honor the lives impacted by the Lavender Scare and renew our commitment to equal rights for all.

In this moment, when we are seeing attempts to erase LGBTQI+ history from classrooms, we are committed to telling it.

Now, today, the Biden-Harris administration announced that the administration will impose sanctions targeted at actors who are involved in hostage-taking or wrongful detentions in Russia and Iran and those that provide them with material support.

In doing so, the administration is for the first time deploying a new tool that was established under executive order by President Biden to impose severe economic costs on governments and groups that hold hostage or wrongfully detain Americans around the world.

Todays sanctions afford the administration additional leverage to support negotiations and impose additional costs on those who are responsible for unjustly holding Americans against their will.

This is just one of a series of actions, both public and private, the Biden-Harris administration has been taking to deter and disrupt hostage-taking and wrongful detentions and help bring Americans home.

And finally, I want to mark that its Arab American Heritage Month, a time when we joined together to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of Arab Americans to our nation.

President Biden signed the first-ever presidential proclamation for National Arab American Heritage Month on March 31st, 2023.

And earlier today, we had the opportunity to host a briefing for Arab American community leaders here at the White House to discuss our efforts to promote equity, protect the civil rights of Arab Americans and all communities across the country.

With that, Chris.

Q Hi. How are you doing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hey. How are you?

Q House Republicans passed legislation on the budget and debt limit. What is the White Houses response to this? And do you feel like the ball is in your court now to, you know, start negotiations with House Republicans as the next move?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things I want to say about this. Lets lets just take a step back for a second. The United States have never has never in our history failed to pay our debts. That is something that we have never done ever, again, in our history of this country.

Were not a deadbeat nation. Avoiding default is Congresss responsibility. And they should act in on it without preconditions as they have done in Democratic and Republican administrations, and they should do that immediately.

House Republicans are holding our economy hostage and threatening default, crashing the economy, jeopardizing hardworking Americans retirement, and causing millions of Americans to lose their jobs.

As the President said yesterday, hes happy to meet with Speaker McCarthy but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended. That is not negotiable, and we have been very clear about this for the past several months. We have not minced words here.

House Republicans are holding the economy hostage, threatening Americans jobs and retirement savings unless we and the Senate agree on an extreme MAGA wish list of slashing education, veterans healthcare, and Meals on Wheels; taking away healthcare for millions of Americans; and sending manufacturing jobs overseas.

Its increase itll increase cost of working families, as Ive talked about before from here at this podium. And what this bill will do itll kill jobs, and its all to pay for tax cuts for the super-rich and profitable companies.

Its not how we grow our economy. The President has been very clear how he sees our economy moving forward. He has actually put forth pieces of legislation and policy on how he sees this the economy moving forward. And its not trickle-down economics. It is building the economy from the bottom up, middle out, and making sure we leave no Americans behind we leave no one behind.

And what were seeing from what Republicans have put forward: It will leave people behind. It will hurt Americans, including veterans, including our seniors just Americans across the board.

So, again, we took a step back. We are not negotiating on this. We have been very clear it is their constitutional duty to take action.

Q So another question. On the issue of screening within the military for extremism and other issues: Is White House satisfied that the Pentagon is doing a good enough job screening for these kinds of issues given what were seeing come out of the classified leaker case?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President has confidence in the Department of Defense. So, yes.

Q Even that things are making it through the cracks?MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, as we know, there is a DOJ investigation thats looking into it as as youre speaking to leaks. So, certainly dont want to get ahead of that. Theyre going to do their investigation, and theyre going to do what is needed moving forward.

But, again, the President has confidence in the Department of Defense.

Q Last thing. The administration announced new centers to progress sorry process migrants in Colombia and Guatemala. Can the administration promise that these centers will uphold all humanitarian obligations and access to legal counsel for people who are seeking asylum in the United States?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as you all know, the Department of State the State Department and also DH- DHS made an announcement, had a press conference earlier today. Its on YouTube. It was livescre- -streamed.

So, all if any of you have questions or want to hear exactly what the Secretary said both Secretaries said so, I would refer you to that.

More broadly on your question on processing centers, I would say the regional processing center at the State Department and the DHS that they announced today will reduce unlawful migrant and cut out the smugglers. That is our focus. That is what we want to see happen.

They reflect the Presidents approach on immigration, which is working closely with our partners to manage the challenge that were seeing at seeing together, not just us. Were seeing this in the Western Hemisphere, as we have talked about.

These centers will be opening up in several countries, including Colombia and Guatemala as you just mentioned, Chris. We expect to announce additional countries soon.

Its all part of our approach to direct people to legal pathways from where they are, rather than seeking generous [dangerous], disorderly pathways.

We have been very clear: We are going to put forth an immigration process that is humane, that is orderly. That is the goal that we have set forward. That is how we want to move forward in that process and do it very different differently than it was done in the last administration.

We

Q So, there will be access to legal counsel for people at these centers?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I I would refer you to DHS and the State Department on the specifics on that, because they will have all of the pieces to your question there.

But what I want to say is we want to make sure that it is done in a humane way. That is the Presidents that has been the Presidents, basically, sense of how immigration reform is going to move in an orderly fashion.

And thats what we have done. Thats what we have done from day one.

Go ahead.

Q Thanks, Karine. The nations biggest business lobbying group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is now directly calling on the administration to sit down and negotiate on the debt limit, saying the administration needs to sit with congressional leaders, not delay to find a path to raise the debt ceiling, and address runaway deficits.

Will the President sit down with Speaker McCarthy at least right now on the budget, as he said he would yesterday?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, been very clear. Weve been very, very clear on this. Again, not mincing words here. As we what we have seen they have put together is an agenda an extreme MAGA wish list that basically says theyre connecting the two, right? Theyre saying to the Senate, theyre saying to the to the President that we have to go with this agenda in its full form.

And the President has said really cle- really, really clearly: When it comes to the debt ceiling, they cannot allow this to happen this is the Republicans in the House. They cannot allow this to happen. It is their constitutional duty to do so.

Ive gotten this question that youve asked me many different ways. Ive answered it the same way. We dont I dont have anything new to say.

They should not allow any default. We they should not allow our economy to be held hostage here.

Q But Republicans in the House have now passed a bill that would prevent a default. So at what point

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Right.

Q does it have to that doesnt mean anything? It has to be a clean bill before the President will sit down at all and talk?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We have said very clearly: They need to deal with whats at stake here, whats at hand, which is the our e- our economy, which is making sure that we do not default. We cannot be we have never been weve never been a deadbeat nation. And this is not the time to do that.

And this is their constitutional this is something that theyre supposed to be doing, that they have done I read through this with Democratic and Republican presidents. This is their con- basic, basic constitutional duty to do. And so weve been very clear on this.

Go ahead.

Q Just following up on the economy. First Republic is seemingly in trouble. Theyve theres growing concern that the bank isnt going to make it because their the cost of their lending is you know, is higher than the cost of what theyre taking in.

Can you give us an update on how you know, how the administration is thinking about this situation at this regional bank after bailing out SVB and Signature earlier and guaranteeing those deposits? Is that something that you feel is going to be necessary for First Republic? And what would be the argument against doing that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, were continuing Andrea, were continuing to monitor the situation. A couple of things is that the Financial Stability Oversight Council including Secretary Yellen, Chair Powell, and all the bank regulators recently agreed and this is a quote the U.S. banking system remains sound and resilient.

So weve taken, as you know, over the over the past in the early, early 10 days or two weeks or so took decisive and forceful actions to give Americans confidence that their deposits are safe and to give banks access to liquidity.

Since our administration took those actions, we have seen deposits stabilize at regional banks. That is something that weve seen in the data. As the President and Secretary Yellen and Chair Powell have said, we have used important tools to quickly stabilize the banking system. We could use those tools again if needed.

Certainly, we are monitoring this situation. I just dont have anything to preview from here.

Q Let me just follow up on that. So you said the deposits have stabilized, but the deposits have not stabilized at First Republic. Theyve seen a massive outflow of funding. I mean, walk me through your argument or your you know, what differentiates SVB from First Republic?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So

Q Why help one set of depositors but not another set?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, so, more broadly, across the regional banks, we have seen a stabilization. So just want to be really clear. In the deposits, that is something, again, that came from Secretary Yellen, Chair Powell. Those are statements that they made the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Right? So just want to be very clear more broadly.

As it relates to this particular First Republic, we are monitoring the situation. We just I just laid out the actions that we have taken in the past, especially those really critical first couple of days in the last situation.

And so, we know what we can do. We know whats in our tool in the toolbelt what we the tools that we have in front of us to use. Were going to monitor the situation. And well take I will leave it to the experts to decide on when to take action.

But, again, we have proven how we have moved really quickly in a decisive and for- taking decisive and forceful actions in the past. And I could assure you that youll see that again from this administration.

Q And just one on Sudan. Do you have any update for us on evacuations and any efforts to extend the ceasefire there? Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So a couple of things of that I have on that, so please bear with me. But we wanted to make sure thats out there to all of you.

So, following intense negotiation, the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, and Rapid Support Forces, RSF, agreed to implement, as you all know, a 70 a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24th, which was about two days ago.

While there was an initial reduction in reports of violence, we are deeply concerned by the increase in ceasefire violations yesterdays.

We we urge the SAF and the RSF to fully uphold and extend the ceasefire.

As you heard from the National Security Advisor on Monday, Jake Sullivan, when he was here at this podium, the President has directed his team to help as many Americans as possible. We are working continuously to create options for American citizens to leave Sudan promptly because the situation could deteriorate at any moment. And we are communicating with citizens who have requested information about those options.

And again, as at the Presidents direction, we are actively facilitating the departure of American citizens who want to leave Sudan by both air and land. This was something that you heard from the National Security Advisor as well.

We have deployed U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to support air and land evacuation routes, which Americans are using. And we are moving naval assets within the region to be pre-positioned to provide any necessary support along the coast.

U.S. Africa Command has established a deconfliction cell to facilitate coordination with our allies and partners in this effort. We are also supporting our allies and partners who are include- who are including Americans in their evacuation efforts.

We are helping facilitate onward travel for American citizens who arrive in Port Sudan, including with our consular teams afloat in Jeddah, Su- Saudi Arabia.

The State Department has deployed additional consular staff to the region to assist with this effort. The State Department has a consular team in direct communication with U.S. citizens in Sudan that is working around the clock to advise them of their options to leave Sudan and provide information on the security environment.

One last point to make here is that this is a dynamic environment, and any option entails a degree of risk. But because the situation is unlikely to improve, we encourage Americans who want to leave to take advantage of the options that are available to them in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Go ahead.

Q Given the Presidents direction and what youre saying right now, a number of other countries have evacuated citizens over the course of the last several days and taken advantage of the ceasefire the U.S. helped put into place. The U.S. still has not. What is different about your risk assessment right now or security assessment than what other countries are looking at as theyve gone in and gotten their people out?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So I want to be as you know, when it comes to risk assessments and intelligence, were very careful to not speak to that. But weve been pretty clear in laying out and communicating with the American people. Youve heard us here, from the National Security Advisor. You heard it from the State Department, from Secretary Blinken directly.

And we have been clear on what the President laying out, which is what I did laying out, at the Presidents direction, what we have done, how we move forward, how we worked with allies and partners to get Americans out.

And weve been pretty clear about this for the past several months, for the past year, what the situation in Sudan. And so, were going to continue to have those conversations.

As I just mentioned, there are consular services, a consular team thats there, thats trying to help Americans who want to leave in any way that we can.

And so, again, were going to continue to have those communication. But Im certainly not going to get into any any intelligence or how thats come about or how we come to certain certain kind of intelligence, surveillance, or reconnaissance.

Q Yeah, I understand on that front.

I think my question one, the security alerts from the State Department over the course of the last year never told people to leave. They told people never to travel there. For people that that live there

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, thats true.

Q that are now trying to get out

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Right.

Q what Im trying to understand is the difference between what the U.S. sees, why they will not send in assets to evacuate, versus other countries that have over the course of the last several days.

More:
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre - The White House

Arizona border communities face a humanitarian disaster in twoweeks if the federal government does not step in to help with the crushof migrants expected when Title 42 ends, local officials told a Senatepanel Wednesday.

Mayors from Yuma and Sierra Vista along with Pima Countys chiefmedical officer all testified that their systems are already strainingunder what have been historically high numbers of immigrants crossingthe border. They told a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee that theydo not have the staff or equipment to handle any more.

NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) spend more than $700,000 anduse 93,000 pounds of food and clothing, Yuma Mayor Douglas Nichollssaid in his testimony. Yuma Regional Medical Center treated 1,300patients at a cost of $810,000, with only one-third of that cost beingreimbursed by the federal government.

The hearing by the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management came just two weeks before the scheduled May 11 end of Title 42,a public health safeguard invoked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Underthat regulation, border officials for the past two years have been ableto turn back many migrants on public health grounds.

Nicholls cited reports that as many as 660,000 people are waiting across the border for the end of Title 42.

Border communities said they are already overwhelmed: Customs and Border protection reported 191,899 encounters with migrants along the southwest border in March, a jump of more than 35,000 from February.

If the federal government does not step in to help, Arizonas bordertowns are bound to face a humanitarian disaster in coming months, saidDr. Francisco Garca, Pima Countys deputy county administrator andchief medical officer.

Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa II said that cartels have disturbed thequiet, safe lifestyle of his town by recruiting U.S. teenagers topick up migrants on this side of the border and smuggle them north. Theresulting high-speed chases have led to an increase in car collisionsand deaths, McCaa said.

Even with Title 42 in place, McCaa said Sierra Vistas small policeforce has to deal with about four to five high-speed load car pursuitsa day. He said one of those crashes happened 200 yards from hismothers house, making him fearful for both his loved ones andconstituents.

I want to stop worrying about if my daughter gets back home fromvolleyball practice. I want to stop worrying about if my mother getsback home from Bible study, McCaa said to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.,and chair of the subcommittee,

Thats what keeps me up at night, thats what thats what I worryabout, he said. When is the next citizen thats going to be afatality because of these load-car drivers?

Nicholls, who has declared a state of emergency several times inresponse to the number of migrants, said much of Yumas transportation,food, shelter and medical care goes toward caring for them. He said heworries what might happen if the resources are not in place to handle asurge.

You would end up with releases to the streets of Yuma, up to 1,000people a day, Nicholls said. With only a handful of buses leaving townin a day, he worries that some could end up trying to walk to their nextdestinations as we enter the 120-degree temperature ranges.

Yuma is not adjacent to much, so youre not going to be able to justwalk to the next town, he said. Were 180 miles away from the Phoenixmetro area, about 150 miles away from the San Diego area.

Garca said he faces similar challenges, as Pima County has beenheavily involved in assisting the sheltering, feeding, medicalscreening of incoming migrants for the past four years.

It is the massive and unrelenting flow and volume of asylum seekersthat is the most taxing and that is the biggest challenge for us,Garca said. For city and county staff, for humanitarian staff andvolunteers, it is unrelenting and exhausting.

All three Arizona witnesses said that much of the problem comes downto the federal governments failure to provide consistent funding andcommunication to local communities. But Garcia said sending money is notthe only thing Washington needs to do.

We need comprehensive federal immigration reform that addresses someof those push factors that are pushing people from their countries,Garca said. Thats not something that we as locals will be ever ableto solve. That is something that is in the province of this Congress andthe executive.

Nicholls said U.S. and local officials need to learn from earlierborder surges and pre-position some of those resources so they areready to respond. And they need to work together.

Its not just a Yuma problem or a city problem. This impacts us as astate and as a country, Nicholls said after the hearing. It reallyshouldnt be a partisan issue.

This is about humanitarian concerns, and its about border security,and those elements should be in everyones benefit, to everyonesinterest, he said.

Original post:
Border towns see 'disaster' without federal help as end to Title 42 ... - TucsonSentinel.com

Last Friday, I read at Boston.com that the Board of Selectmen in the town of North Brookfield, Massachusetts, had granted permission to hold a LGBTQ pride event, but there was a catch: "The event was only permitted so long as organizers removed a drag show performance from the celebration." Boors, such boors.

Then, on Saturday, came the news that Australian comedian Barry Humphries had died in a Sydney hospital at age 89. Most of us knew Humphries by his stage name: Dame Edna Everage, the most prominent drag queen in the world. How prominent? In 2002, at the Buckingham Palace concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, Dame Edna was tasked with introducing the guest of honor, the queen herself!

My all-time favorite Dame Edna performance was her interview of Canadian singer k. d. lang. It may be the funniest 10 minutes of television you will ever see. Her interview with Boris Johnson in 2006 wins the silver medal.

America did not used to be so uptight about drag queens. I wonder if the Board of Selectmen in North Brookfield would permit a showing of the 1959 movie "Some Like it Hot" starring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The two Hollywood stars are cast as musicians who, having witnessed a mob killing, flee in disguise as members of an all-female band. That is, they are in drag through most of the movie. It is hilarious.

There is a Catholic Church in North Brookfield dedicated to St. Joseph. I have never been, but from the photos it looks like the kind of lovely, rural church of which New England is full. Still, I kind of wish the local parish had been dedicated to St. Joan of Arc. She, remember, in her saintly effort to defend her country, dressed as a man and led the French troops into battle, and not just to battle but to victory. The equestrian statue of her in Place des Pyramides in Paris is one of my favorites. Joan was not performing, to be sure, but she did bend notions of gender in her day! She did so because she had to, and thank God she did.

The first time I saw someone in drag I was in junior high. Our town had formed a community players troupe and my favorite uncle, who lived across the street with my grandmother, was named director. He was what we called "a confirmed bachelor," and after a successful performance of "Pirates of Penzance," he suggested we stage the play "Charley's Aunt." The Victorian-era farce centers around an Oxford student, Charley Wykeham, whose aunt, Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez, is set to come visit. When she is delayed, Charley convinces his friend Lord Fancourt Babberly to pose as his aunt, and so serve as a chaperone. What could go wrong?

Jack Benny played the role of Babberly/Donna Lucia in the 1941 movie version of "Charley's Aunt." My uncle was better. Much better. He went for the full camp rendition. When he came on to the stage, dressed head to toe in black lace, flicking his fan open with a loud crack, he was in his glory. He kept a photo of him playing Charley's aunt in his house and we placed it near his casket at his wake.

I hope my uncle is at the pearly gates to welcome Barry Humphries. On his Twitter feed, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta posted this video of Dame Edna entering the royal box at a British theater in 2014. It is hilarious. As the archbishop noted, it is "a poignant image of our last trip when 'a better seat' is found for us." May the angels greet Humphries, and may they be dressed to the nines when they do!

And I hope the Board of Selectmen in North Brookfield, and all those politicians who think banning drag shows is a good idea, will someday learn what fun they're missing.

In The New York Times, Doug Sosnik, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, writes about the fact that educational attainment is now the "new fault line" in American politics, what he calls the "diploma divide." It is a dangerous divide, shaped by both economic interests and cultural concerns, and easily exploitable by culture warriors of both the left and the right.

The Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose in London is sponsoring a series of four lectures on neo-liberalism by Damon Silvers, who served as policy director and general counsel to the AFL-CIO for many years. Silvers has been a key player in the effort to strengthen relations between the Catholic Church and organized labor, helping to organize and host the three conferences on "Erroneous Autonomy," which Stephen Schneck and I also worked on when Schneck was the director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at Catholic University of America in Washington. Be sure to tune in.

Good news for those advocating for immigration reform: Susan Rice is stepping down as domestic policy advisor to President Joe Biden. Sources in both church and state tell me she has been the principal obstacle to more humane immigration policies. Politico has the story.

In The New York Times, conservative columnist and gun owner David French points out that today's gun culture not only lapses into idolatry, but champions those who brought guns to combustible situations. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called for a pardon for a man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester, citing the state's "Stand Your Ground" law. But the governor ignores the actual evidence produced at trial, which showed the murderer did not stand his ground; he went looking for a fight. It is good to see these arguments coming from conservatives, not just from liberals.

Read the original here:
Michael Sean Winters on drag shows and Dame Edna - National Catholic Reporter

FAIR Take | April2023

While there is no shortage of problems plaguing California homelessness, crime, the high cost of living, to name a few the California legislature is once again debating legislation that would prioritize criminal aliens above Americans. One bill in particular, the Harmonizing Our Measures for Equality (HOME Act), Assembly Bill (AB) 1306, expands Californias reckless sanctuary law to further restrict law enforcement officials from turning criminal aliens over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when their sentences end. This legislation, while narrower than its predecessor, the VISION Act, still allows criminal aliens to be released back into their communities to re-offend and prey on vulnerableindividuals.

The HOME Act bars state prisons from providing release information, detaining, or transferring to ICE criminal aliens who are being released as a result of recently enacted criminal justice reform laws. These lawsinclude:

The most recent data shows roughly 24,180 criminal aliens are currently in state prisons and facilities. If the HOME Act passes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will be prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration officials, even concerning criminal aliens convicted of the most heinous crimes. For example, if a criminal alien commits murder when he/she is 25 years old and is subsequently sentenced to life in prison and becomes eligible for early parole based on Californias newly enacted criminal justice reform laws, then CDCR would be unable to transfer that alien to ICE and would have to release him/her into thecommunity.

The HOME Act is Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillos (D-Los Angeles) third attempt to stop the removal of dangerous criminal aliens. Last session, police and sheriffs groups opposed her legislation entitled the VISION Act, a broader version of The HOME Act, which prohibited the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) facilities and local jails from transferring criminal aliens to ICE. Due to the opposition by law enforcement, the proposal failed by three votes in the Senate. Four Democrats joined all the Republicans to oppose the VISION Act and nine more Democratsabstained.

To date, law enforcement officials and the Democrats that opposed the VISION Act have not taken a stance on the HOME Act. If the HOME Act passes now, proponents will likely follow it up with an additional bill to eliminate all transfers to ICE across the state. The result will be to force ICE to track down the criminal aliens in the communities they reside, posing a public safety risk to everyonethere.

The threat posed by the HOME Act is real. The legislation has already passed two committees in the California Assembly this session Public Safety on April 12, and Judiciary on April 18. The bill has further been referred to the Appropriations Committee to consider the costs. These costs would include additional manpower needed to supervise roughly 2,500 more parolees who would have otherwise been deported. According to FAIRs recent cost study, in 2023, the State of California is already spending $4.3 billion on the administration of justice costs (which includes the police, legal, and correctionscosts).

Ironically, the California Assembly is considering this bill at a time when Californias crime rate has steadily increased. In 2021, the violent crime rate jumped six percent. Likewise, aggravated assaults soared nearly nine percent higher while homicides and rapes each increased nearly eightpercent.

Moreover, it is incredulous that this legislation is being pushed at a time when federal immigration officials are already strapped for manpower. The US Border Patrol San Diego Sector (SDC) has encountered nearly 110,000 illegal aliens between ports of entry from October 1, 2022 to April 4, 2023, which is a 30 percent increase over the same period last year. Additionally, agents have seized 817 pounds of fentanyl during the same timeframe. In Fiscal Year 2022, SDC seized 1052 pounds of fentanyl which accounted for nearly 60 percent of all the fentanyl seized by border patrol. With the surge at the southern border, immigration officials have been reassigned to help with the processing. With only 20,000 employees, only half of whom are dedicated to the apprehension and removal of illegal aliens, this puts a tremendous burden on ICE officials. Further, this strain will likely be exacerbated with the lifting of Title 42 regulations on May11.

More here:
California Debates Expanding its Sanctuary Law through the HOME ... - Federation for American Immigration Reform