Looking backward: Shifting U.S. allegiances in the Middle East

This is a two-page excerpt from a book titled, Muslims in Europe: Notes, Comments, Questions by Manfred Wolf, PhD. It comprises several dozen brief essays, written over the span of about a decade. 

I found the following brief section from "Muslims in Europe" of interest because Wolf wrote it in 2015. He had had a run of highly accurate short-term geopolitical predictions. I was sufficiently impressed, as I read with the benefit of hindsight in early October 2024, to give his longer term prognostications some serious consideration. 

Some background about the scholar

After 40 or so years as a professor of English literature at California State University in San Francisco, Manfred Wolf worked part-time as a faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley, teaching Dutch language and literature. 

Wolf wrote this collection of brief essays, as well as an autobiography of his early life. The latter details his and his family's journey from pre-WW2 Germany to the Netherlands. A happy childhood was soon interrupted by abrupt departure--as Nazi Germany invaded western Europe--transiting through France to Portugal, then travel by ship across the Atlantic, and finally, adolescence resumed in the Dutch Antilles in Curacao. Wolf wrote a weekly column in a San Francisco local newspaper for many years, and probably some other non-fiction and fiction works. From what I can tell, Muslims in Europe is self-published. Manfred Wolf is not what I would call a professional author, although he is very much a master of writing! 

Before diving in, be aware that Manfred Wolf was about 80 years old in 2015. He resided for most of his life in the city of San Francisco. He is a liberal Jew, maybe leftist in his youth, who probably voted Democrat, up and down ballot, for all his years as a naturalized American citizen. He has a greater propensity for supporting exercise of First Amendment rights than many people of that demographic. 

Less background about me

Also, Manfred Wolf is the father of my former boyfriend who was my fiance of many years ago. To my later and enduring regret, I broke the engagement. 

As for me, I am conservative but not a neocon; I am more populist than Republican. 

OMG Immigration police seen detaining people denied asylum

Deporting illegal aliens

U.S. Customs Enforcement and Immigration officers are caught by the local Phoenix affiliate of ABC News, ABC15, in the act of DOING THEIR JOB! Just look at what is going on in downtown Phoenix today.

This is a Breaking News report. According to the ABC15 live action reporter,

Our crews at the scene on Wednesday morning saw agents waiting outside and detaining people as they exited the building. ABC15 spoke with a few of the people who were being placed in vans, who said they initially came to the courthouse for asylum cases, which they say were then dismissed.

Is case dismissed a good outcome? 

The reporter asked questions of two women being assisted to their seats in one of the white vans. Through the assistance of a Spanish interpreter, both said that they had gone to court for hearings of their request for asylum cases; the immigration judge had "dismissed" both cases. One woman was from Venezuela, another from Mexico. 

Asylum hearings are not like civil lawsuits or non-immigration related criminal charges!  Dismissal of a lawsuit or criminal indictment would be a GOOD thing for a defendant. Dismissal of a request for asylum would NOT be a good thing for an asylum seeker. If dismissal were the outcome of these immigration court hearings, then arrest and deportation would follow. 

ABC15 doesn't seem to realize this, as they "reached out to officials to find out why people were being detained or arrested".

Asylum as shortcut to migration

The consequences of illegal entry (i.e. deportation) are held in abeyance if one claims to be seeking asylum in the U.S. Until the presidential administrations of Obama or maybe, G.W. Bush, this sort of asylum seeking was rare, and mostly sought by citizens of Warsaw Pact countries during the Cold War. 

As of 2018, an estimated 11 million illegal aliens resided in the U.S. including the Obama-declared DACA aka Dreamers. Between 10 and 20 million asylum seekers joined them during the four years of Joe Biden's presidency. Be aware that the entire U.S. population is about 330 million men, women, and children. 

11 + 15 = 26 million illegal non-citizens residing in our country means that 7.9% of the people in our country lack legal status.

Not-so-developing story

ICE's response should surprise no one:

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is executing its mission of identifying and removing criminal aliens and others who have violated our nation’s immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality... The agency publicly announces operational results when appropriate."

Illegal entry to the U.S. is a criminal act, yet ABC15 news didn't consider the ICE statement to be helpful in shedding light on the situation.