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A member of President Trumps transition team argued to a roomful of black executives and activists that the new administration has just as many black Cabinet members as former president Barack Obama had at the start of his first term one.

Elroy Sailor, a longtime African American strategist for the Republican Party, said he urged his Democratic and progressive friends to challenge Obama when he tapped Eric H. Holder Jr. to be attorney general and the only black member of his Cabinet.

I went to my Democratic friends and I said, as a black conservative, if we dont make this an issue now, its going to guarantee my party the license to say Were just going to pick the best person, Sailor said during a panel discussion as part of AT&Ts Black History Month forum.

Jamal Simmons, a Democratic political consultant who moderated the discussion, noted that Obama had appointed African Americans to the positions of U.S. trade representative and administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But Sailor countered that those were not traditional Cabinet posts. Some members of the audience, which in addition to AT&T employees included representatives from civil rights groups such as the NAACP and the Black Womens Roundtable, also argued that Obamas first Cabinet also included more women, Asians and Hispanics.

[Trumps administration isnt very diverse. Photo ops make it glaringly obvious]

President Trump's Cabinet choices don't necessarily reflect the changing demographics of the country. (Victoria Walker,Danielle Kunitz,Dani Player/The Washington Post)

Trumps sole black Cabinet nominee is Ben Carson, a former pediatric neurosurgeon, to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of the 21 Cabinet-level picks for the new administration, four are women, two of them Asian Americans, and 16 are white males.

The 21 individuals who filled Obamas Cabinet-level positions included seven women, three Asian Americans, three African Americans and two Hispanics.

The discussion took place at AT&Ts annual luncheon named for Lewis Howard Latimer, a 19th-century African American inventor and draftsman. He worked for Alexander Graham Bell and drafted the drawings for Bells telephone. Other speakers included veteran civil rights leaders the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton; Marc Morial, director of the National Urban League; media entrepreneur Keith Clinkscale; and Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Sailor said that the new administration and Congress are planning to take on a range of issues that could help improve the lives of African Americans, including more support for historically black colleges and universities, criminal justice revisions and a massive infrastructure improvement plan.

Carson would have a major role in helping to make sure that infrastructure spending goes to poor, largely minority urban areas, Sailor said. He said that although Carson does not have government experience, Dr. Carson has Trumps ear and Dr. Carson wants to make a difference. He can bring in smart people around him.

[Up to 5 more Cabinet-level appointments set to be confirmed this week]

Although all of the Cabinet posts have been filled, Sailor said he and other black Republicans are coming up with names of individuals who can fill other positions in the administration, including sub-Cabinet and director positions, as well as spots on boards and commissions.

Despite murmurs from the audience, Sailor stuck by his argument that Obamas Cabinet choices in 2008 set a precedent for Republican presidents.

Simmons joked that Obamas appointment of Holder as the first African American attorney general is worth three Cabinet positions.

Sailor reiterated: As a black conservative it made my job a little harder. It really did.

You have a hard job, brother, a woman in the audience quipped, prompting laughter.

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Black Republican strategist says Trump has same number of black Cabinet appointees as Obama did eight years ago - Washington Post

ICE agents rounded up hundreds of undocumented immigrants in an enforcement surgeand they appear to be casting a wider net than before.

Last week for Americas undocumented immigrants, President Trumps crackdown began.

Over the course of several days, the Department of Homeland Security conducted an enforcement surge in the biggest cities throughout the countryNew York, Los Angeles, Chicagoas well as smaller localities, arresting hundreds of undocumented immigrants and then moving to deport them as quickly as possible.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), federal agents picked up more than 680 people. That in and of itself isnt necessarily shocking. Though the raids generated protests in L.A. and significant media coverage, they arent a first by any stretchduring the Obama administration, ICE agents targeted women and children fleeing violence in Central America, and arrested more than 2,000 people in one nationwide operation. Immigrants rights activists nicknamed Obama the Deporter in Chief because of the millions of people his DHS deported.

But by the final years of his presidency, the Obama administration had changed its enforcement priorities, and insisted it was only targeting undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes (in the administrations view, getting a DUI or using a fake Social Security number counted as serious).

Last weeks raidsalong with new data on the enforcement surge that ICE released on Monday afternoonshow that things are changing, and fast. On Jan. 25, the president signed an executive order that gave ICEs top brass radically different directions as to whom they should target for deportation. Instead of focusing on people with criminal convictions, the executive order directed them to detain people suspected of breaking any state or federal law, including immigration laws. A number of analysts have concluded that this means upwards of 8 million undocumented immigrants are now top priority for deportation, as the Los Angeles Times detailed.

That said, ICE has still been telling reporters that its enforcement focus is on convicted criminals. And President Trump tweeted as much on Feb. 12:

The numbers indicate thats not entirely true. Secretary John Kelly, who heads DHS, released a statement on Feb. 13 saying about 75 percent of the people apprehended had been convicted of crimes. That, of course, means that about 170 of the people arrested last week didnt have criminal convictions. And this is new.

It does appear that the Trump administration is more vigorously enforcing immigration law, casting a wider net to remove more illegal or criminal immigrants who would have been safe from deportation under President Obama, said David Inserra, who analyzes homeland security issues for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Though ICE says their enforcement efforts only targeted convicted criminals, gang members, and people who had already received deportation orders, the data makes it clear that when ICE agents encountered other undocumented immigrants, they apprehended them as well. And this has many immigration attorneys and activists furiousand worried.

There was definitely a strong enforcement component going on in the Obama administration, said Ben Johnson, who heads the American Immigration Lawyers Association. But at least it had the feature of having targeted results. The difference here seems to me they go into these enforcement actions with a particular intent, but theyre not committed to the results matching the intent.

Theyre okay with the fact that if we catch a lot of people who dont fit the profile of the people were going after, that will be okay, he continued. Thats the difference between the targeted enforcement action and a sweep.

ICE adamantly argues that reporters and activists should not use the word sweep to describe what happened last week.

Reports of ICE checkpoints and sweeps are false, dangerous and irresponsible, the agency said in a release about last weeks activity. These reports create panic and put communities and law enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger. Any groups falsely reporting such activities are doing a disservice to those they claim to support.

But Johnson argues that as long as ICE agents are detaining people who havent been convicted of crimes, then sweep is the only appropriate term to use.

Others say initial media reports have overstated the difference between Obama and Trump.

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The biggest difference is that the press is covering them negatively, said Matthew Kolken, an immigration lawyer based in Buffalo, of the Trump raids. Obama spent his eight years saying he was deporting serious criminalsand he was deporting people with traffic tickets and kids with deportation orders that were entered without a lawyer, and the press just allowed him to lie.

That sentiment was echoed by Charles Kuck, a lawyer based in Atlanta. While he noted that Trump is deporting more people without serious criminal convictions (or any at all), he said that in the early years of Obamas presidency, his approach was similar.

All people remember about Obama is the last two years were nice, Kuck said. They didnt deport parents. People get used to that. But if you go back to 2013, it was horrible. The same type of fear gripped the communities. The only difference here is the rhetoric of Trump on top of the actions of ICE scare people more.

Another change? Immigrants now are increasingly likely to refuse to let ICE agents into their homes.

Online postings from a forum for ICE agentspostings that multiple attorneys flagged for The Daily Beastindicate that some agents have noticed immigrants are less likely to open the door when they knock.

The days of knocking on doors has been long gone, one user wrote on Feb. 11.

Yeah, my sup sent us an email saying we should be knocking on doors more, another user replied. I laughed

I got 10 hours to arrest an illegal alien; a third replied. when you come out that house whether by vehicle stop or consensual encounter on the street you are coming with me.

Immigrants rights groups and the ACLU have been widely circulating Know Your Rights social media postings, and many groups host regular training sessions on what immigrants can do if ICE shows up.

The Constitution covers everybody, Kuck said. Those pesky amendments? They belong to everybody. Every person is covered, not just citizens.

But Trumps enforcement surge still has immigrant communities frightened.

It seems to me, from what Im hearing, that theyre arresting everybody now for simple no-license offenses, said Dan Ortiz, a Georgia immigration attorney.

Overall, he added, since Trump took office, everyones scared.

Read more from the original source:
Is Trump Immigration Crackdown Worse Than 'Deporter-in-Chief' Obama? - Daily Beast

New York Times

Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links. New York Times As a private citizen, Donald J. Trump was repeatedly critical of President Obama's fondness for relaxing with a round of golf. Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf ... Melania Trump Plans to Preserve Michelle Obama's Vegetable GardenTIME Obama wanted to be the high-speed rail president. It might be Trump instead.McClatchy Washington Bureau all 2,044 news articles »

Read more from the original source:
Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links. - New York Times

Wall Street Journal

Attorney General Signals Pullback From Obama Initiative on Transgender Bathrooms Wall Street Journal Newly instated U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has shown an early sign of backing away from an Obama administration initiative that directs schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of the sex with which they identify. Trump Drops Defense of Obama Guidelines on Transgender StudentsNew York Times Trump Administration Withdraws Defense of Obama's Transgender Student PolicyJezebel Feds drop request to rein in ban on Obama transgender policyPolitico (blog) The Hill all 45 news articles »

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Attorney General Signals Pullback From Obama Initiative on Transgender Bathrooms - Wall Street Journal

The Obama years sprang some unwanted surprises on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- like secret nuclear talks with Iran.

This week, in his first White House visit with President Donald Trump, Netanyahus priority will be to make sure Israel is kept in the loop and that the two countries positions are generally aligned, according to Michael Oren, Israels ambassador to the U.S. for much of Barack Obamas term.

The overriding goal will be to restore the relationship so that there are no surprises and no daylight, said Oren,now a deputy minister in the prime ministers office. Hell want to restore the alliance and make sure the U.S. is, above all, standing by Israel and working together with Israel to fight common threats.

Netanyahu is trying to recalibrate ties with Israels top ally after eight years of high-profile clashes with Obama. He sees a chance for a warmer relationship with Trump, who shares his alarm over the Iran nuclear deal and Islamist extremists. Sunday evening, after a Cabinet discussion about the trip, the prime ministers office said by text that the two leaders would discuss Iran, Syria and the Palestinians, and relations with the new administration.

All the ministers agreed on the great importance of tightening the relations with the United States, Netanyahus office said in the statement, both on the governmental level and the personal level.

Trump, in an interview published Sunday in the Israel Hayom newspaper, called the prime minister a good man and said the two have always had good chemistry.

But there could be some hiccups. The White House has sent mixed messages on Israeli settlements -- saying existing ones are not an obstacle to peace but new ones are unhelpful -- and seems in no hurry to fulfill a campaign pledge to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a measure likely to anger Palestinians and Muslims elsewhere.

Trump himself sharpened that theme with Israel Hayom, telling the paper --bankrolled by Netanyahus billionaire supporter Sheldon Adelson -- hes not somebody that believes that going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace. He said he was studying the proposed embassy move, and we will see what happens.

Netanyahu is facing pressure from the settlement movement and his chief political rival, Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home party, to push for more construction, annex parts of the West Bank and disavow his commitment to Palestinian statehood. On Sunday the prime minister acknowledged the great excitement the visit had caused among settlement supporters, but also said it wasnt realistic to think Israel would be able to build without limits and that it was important not to provoke the new administration, Channel 2 television reported.

More likely,according to a senior official close to the prime minister, is that Netanyahu will outline for Trump his vision of a demilitarized Palestinian state with land swaps, and give the new president time to form a coherent policy on the issue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations.

Netanyahu will probably try to tell Trump that Israel wont surprise him, said Joshua Teitelbaum of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies outside Tel Aviv. Its all about coordinating and reducing unnecessary surprises.

Even if Trump and Netanyahu dont agree on everything, the simple optics of improved relations can be important. By showing Israel is a valued ally, the U.S. gives the Jewish state leverage with its neighbors, said Israel Katz, who serves as intelligence minister in Netanyahus cabinet.

Countries in the region understand we are an agent that they need to be close to the U.S. Katz said in an interview in Tel Aviv. We are seeing several examples of this already happening, with Israel acting as a go-between with countries in the region and the U.S.

In December, Israel enlisted Trump to try to quash a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements. While Egypt pulled the initial draft, other countries sponsored it and it passed after the Obama administration rejected Trumps call to veto the measure.

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We do not surprise our friends, he said. We keep them updated.

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Netanyahu Heads to US Seeking to Reset Ties After Obama Years - Bloomberg