Domestic violence bill not what it seems | Letters

As an immigration attorney for a community nonprofit, I have represented a number of domestic violence survivors. Recently, the U.S. House voted on a bill introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C, that, at first, seems most of us would support, called the "Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act."

The bill passed the House, 266-158, but 156 Democrats voted against it. Why? Because they were concerned for immigrant victims of domestic violence.

Some domestic violence survivors are arrested by the police due to false accusations by the men who abuse them; some are arrested because they fight back; others who speak another language call 911 but get no help because they get an officer who only speaks English. I know this is the case because I have represented such women.

Some of our clients at Casa de Esperanza, where I work, have been threatened with the removal of their children. Immigrant victims have been threatened with deportation by their U.S. citizen or permanent-resident abusers. Currently — without Mace's bill — non-citizen abusers in many cases are are already deported f ollowing court hearings, as they should be. This includes those who have green cards — not just those called "illegal."

Although the House-passed bill sounds good on its face, we must be careful not to cut too broad a swath and end up punishing victims as well as their abusers.

Looking at, but not listening to, Harris

While watching Oprah Winfrey interview Kamala Harris during a mid-September campaign rally, one could ask if her supporters can recognize what they are actually listening to.

The heavy dose of sophomoric platitudes functions like a glass of mineral oil to lubricate the minds of the audience as they swallow what may often be a bitter pill or an obvious lie in response to a question. Note the bobbing head of the vice president, as she answers in a way that forces pre-determined public agreement to her platitudes.

As a matter of fact, if Harris gives any response at all, it must be obfuscated to such extent that the listener may not even be able to recall what the original question was. The candidate's loud cackling and exaggerated smiley face are meant to further enhance her strained warmth and likability. This effort is directed at listeners who don't pay as much attention to what is being said as to the body language clues designed to shove them into a predetermined agreement with her.

The Adams family values

Recently indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams seemingly became a target of the Biden administration's Justice Department around the time he started complaining about the overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants arriving in New York City.

Now indicted along with staff members on multiple federal charges, Adams' trial is more than than a year away. He's already suggested that the charges are a result of his criticism of Biden's immigration policies.

If Kamala Harris wins the presidential election, it's not likely she would pardon Adams. But, if Trump wins, there is a chance he could pardon Adams if convicted, or commute any sentence he might receive. Adams has hedged his bets and has not criticized Donald Trump recently, but he would need to give Trump a reason to pardon him.

If Adams has any emails, letters or recorded conversations with Biden or Harris or their top staff members where the influx of unauthorized immigrants is directly acknowledged as a "new voter importation scheme" help to Harris win, then the mayor has a bargaining chip.

If he has any such information, look for Adams to get it to Trump. If Adams comes out publicly anytime in the next few weeks boldly criticizing Biden and Harris for an alleged potential voter fraud scheme, then look for Adams to become Trump's October surprise.

Ukraine still needs the West's help

The quote "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes," is frequently attributed to Mark Twain.

I thought about this quote in relation to the ongoing discussion both in America and all of NATO concerning ongoing aid to Ukraine in its life-and-death struggle with Russia.

Twice in the 20th century, America and the great democracies in Europe failed to come to aid of smaller democracies that were faced with aggression, one from within and one from outside. Spain was attacked from within by Francisco Franco in what became the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) . While Franco received massive support from the fascist governments of Germany and Italy, the western democracies did nothing and Spain's elected government fell.

In Czechoslovakia, the western powers again stood by 1938 as Hitler annexed a huge swath of the country called the Sudetenland.

The result in both cases was great loss of life and destruction of democracy with repercussions that reverberate even to the present day. We now stand at the same decision point in the 21st century as our predecessors did in the 1930s. It is imperative that the western democracies not only continue, but increase, support to Ukraine. History has taught us that if we do not stand up to aggression the consequences will prove to be catastrophic.

I do not know anything about the deal that Jersey City officials are trying to negotiate to bring a branch of France's Centre Pompidou Museum to the Hudson County city. What I do know urges a cautious approach.

I assume that, if the project goes forward, what people expect is a museum with art of the caliber of the original Centre Pompidou in Paris.

A few years ago, I visited the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam. This was a local offshoot of the famed Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. But, rather than showcase great art, the branch contained only a mediocre collection and no great art.

Is this what we can expect from the Jersey City Pompidou?