Senator Sanders: I will not close those facilities ("don't call them detention centers")

[KitSileya]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

This makes me literally nauseous. Here Senator Warren, Reps. O'Rourke and Ocasio-Cortez, and many others fight and fight and fight to bring the atrocities committed at these concentration camps into the light (they are NOT detention centers, never mind "places where people are not treated as criminals&quot and Senator Sanders is in favor of interning (imprisoning!) immigrants, just as long as they're not treated too badly? It's sickening how out of touch he is. That is the best interpretation I have of his remarks - I don't want to think he's as cruel and malicious as Trump, so I HOPE it's cluelessness at play here, interspersed with a bit of old-fashioned leftist anti-immigration xenophobia, thinking that they bring down the wages of 'proper' Americans (read the white working class.)

[CentralMass]

1. He said: "I think we can find descent safe accommodations for those people who are seeking asylum."

[KitSileya]

5. In other words, he has no problems interning them.

As long as they are in better accommodations than what the Trump admin uses? I mean, he doesn't like using the name detention camp (as he says, "Yeah, I don't like the word detention center",) but while I think Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is correct in calling them concentration camps, I object to their existence a whole lot more.

[CentralMass]

31. His words were clear. There were no other words.

"I think we can find descent safe accommodations for those people who are seeking asylum."

This issue is due to trump utilizing the existing nechanisms to handle aslyum seekers in an inhumane and punitive manner. Seperating children from parents and a huge increase in the number of people being detained and the length of time that they are being detained.

https://www.apnews.com/fdfbafe1f2784a759bc7c3a8e8ddbcab
AP Fact Check

"Before Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, migrant families caught illegally entering the U.S. were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation, unless they were known to have a criminal record. Then and now, immigration officials may take a child from a parent in certain cases, such as serious criminal charges against a parent, concerns over the health and welfare of a child or medical concerns."

A fact check show that these facilities did exist under President Obama..
"TRUMP on detention centers at the border: “President Obama is the one that built those prison cells.” — Telemundo interview.

TRUMP: “President Obama built the cages. Remember when they said that I built them?” — “Meet the Press” interview.

THE FACTS: He has a point. Whether they are called prison cells or something else, Obama held children in temporary, ill-equipped facilities and built a large center in McAllen, Texas, that is used now.

Democrats routinely and inaccurately blame Trump for creating “cages” for children. They are actually referring to chain-link fencing inside the McAllen center — Obama’s creation.

Conditions for detained migrants deteriorated sharply during a surge of Central American arrivals under Trump, particularly in El Paso, Texas."

[SpankMe]

71. Re: Obama vs. Trump on child separations - I'd like to see numbers and context

Also, I want to know why Democrats were not outraged when they saw Obama doing it. They were outraged with Obama's high rate of deportation. Also, why was the media not calling this out at the time?

Data on this is hard to find. I search and I just get a lot of fact check blogs that say Obama did it, too.

My sense is that Obama's immigration officials tended to separate children from adults when the adults weren't the actual parents, or when the children were being smuggled or were in danger, or if the adults were guilty of crimes like drug smuggling or violence.

Even then, conditions were a little better at the centers and suitable adult caretakers were found and children were released a lot quicker - instead of separation and indefinite detention we have now.

I need "real" data, and with some perspective!

[Honeycombe8]

101. If DHS had numbers showing Obama's rate of child separation was even close to Trump's...

rest assured that we'd hear about it. Trump's DHS doesn't respond to such requests. That tells us something.

2. Neither the Obama nor Bush administrations had a blanket policy of prosecuting parents, and therefore, no need to have child separations (which separations are because children can't be housed with a bunch of adults).

3. Prior administrations did have some child separations, used to some extent. But not like now.

4. The current administration made the prosecution of every adult crossing the border illegally a matter of policy, and intentionally decided to separate children, both policies to be used as a deterrent. No administration has done this before. To add to the problem, the current administration has shut down some access entry points for asylum seekers, either wholly or partially, so those people are trying to come across the border illegally (when they are really seeking asylum), and will be prosecuted under the current administration, making the confiscation of their children a necessity.

5. If children had been kept in kennel-like housing for months or years, like currently, and going without soap, clean clothes, toothpaste or toothbrushes, we would have heard about it. The press would have been all over that. Esp. Fox News.

6. If there had been multiple deaths of children in DHS custody during the Obama administration, we would definitely have heard about it. As you may recall, the press was staked out on Obama almost 24/7, waiting for a scandal. Any scandal. Finally, him wearing a tan suit had to suffice.

7. We can't get hard numbers, as long as Trump is in control of the numbers. And even if we could, his administration lies, so the numbers wouldn't be trustworthy. We'll have to wait for a future DHS to clarify things.

[treestar]

125. The difference was Obama's admin. did not detain them long

there was a surge of unaccompanied minors, thus not separated from parents by the U.S. government. These were teens or tweens, not babies and toddlers. They were processed through quickly.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. We've reached the point where they are just chopping up quotes to get their phony outrage on

[LanternWaste]

18. With all his recent gaffe-prone statements, I'd pretend the same.

Phony, indeed.

[onetexan]

108. +1 -K&R

[ZeroSomeBrains]

21. Same with yesterday's manufactured controversy

Bernie signed the indivisible pledge to support our nominee after everything is said and done but one udderance where he didn't explicitly say he will support the nominee from a badly worded question means he's hellbent on destroying the Democratic nominee.

[awesomerwb1]

35. "Badly worded question"?

That's a new one.

You need to ask better worded questions you media dummies! Because it's impossible to properly word a proper answer otherwise.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

41. Doesn't the never-ending hyperventilating get exhausting

Sanders has been clear as can be that he'll support the nominee everytime he speaks. He was the first candidate to sign the indivisible pledge. But any chance to insinuate that the only jewish candidate in the race is secretly dedicated to undermining the party at every turn is perfectly fine.

[awesomerwb1]

58. Aaaand another new one. Let's bring out the Jewish card!

I'm not sure who's hyperventilating here, but it definitely isn't me.

I will not not "udder" another word.

[awesomerwb1]

61. You are completely insane.

Not one anti-semite bone in my body - you brought up BS's religious background, not me - and I'm "udderly" disgusted you would stoop so low to accuse anyone of that with zero proof. No kindly.....FO

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. "Udderance"? Is that where you milk a comment for every drop?

[themaguffin]

100. Oh please, all he had to do was answer the question simply and not be coy.

[treestar]

126. that one udderance could have spoiled the milk

and put the cow out to pasture.

[George II]

24. There's a video in the third tweet, contiguous not chopped.

[LanternWaste]

15. Curtains and flowers in a cage...

doesn't make it less of a cage.

[ehrnst]

19. But not close the detention centers - just not call them "detention centers." (nt)

[Perseus]

81. You do understand that besides the mistreatment, biggest issue is kids seprated form their parents?

The separation is a brutal torture, these kids are afraid, they will scared scarred for life, where is my father? where is my mother? why is she not with me?

His support for these "detention centers" or whatever he wants to call him is not only disappointing coming from him, but it is sad, and in my book it automatically disqualifies him for president.

What an ugly thing to say...in other words, he is with the buffoon on this one, he would just be nice and give them soap, tooth brushes, and other things for hygiene, but their parents?

[hlthe2b]

2. this may well cinch it...

I too find that attitude nauseating and inexplicable.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Oh boy,Bernie just lost

more support me thinks. His statement does not surprise. Nuf said.

[George II]

13. Why is he equating his father coming from Poland who was NOT interned or whatever....

....he wants to call it to little children being held against their will in squalid facilities?

His father got off the boat (presumably it was a boat) and immediately assimilated into NY society. But his father was white.

[ehrnst]

20. I know. It's wandering off topic to something he knows more about.

Talking about his own or own families' hardships...

[sprinkleeninow]

55. Maternal and paternal grandparents came off a ship and were processed at Castle Garden

with little more than the clothes they were wearing, assimilated into society quickly. They had to learn English and life in America. Limited education in Czechoslovakia. So they weren't 'high class'. Country people they were.

These migrants are being treated inhumanly, like savages for God's sake.

I'm so sick over this.

[Hekate]

37. One small quibble: at the time his dad came from Poland he wasn't "white" in the way you think...

Even in the early 1950s when my in-laws came over, they got a job together at a little New York private school doing cooking and so forth -- it was going well right up until the owners found out they were Jewish, then poof, no job. There was a lot of discrimination in many places where WASPs thought they owned the space. Quotas, too.

NOW you look at Bernie and think "white," but that wasn't the case for his dad -- any more than it was for the first two generations of Irish or Italians.

[murielm99]

27. It doesn't matter how much support he loses.

He has not confirmed that he will drop out. We will see him staying in until the convention and meddling with things.

[Wellstone ruled]

29. Sure looking that way.

[ehrnst]

33. Indeed. He's not silent on anything that he wants people to know about him. (nt)

[ehrnst]

32. Many who support him tend to support him no matter what he says

or doesn't say.

Many consider him to be the metric by which all progressive ideas are measured, and therefore to agree with him is to be always on the side of progressivism, and to disagree with him is to be suspect.

Sanders definitely supports this view of him, as has been noted by progressive colleagues.

[Wellstone ruled]

36. Agree,saw this first hand and in real time

in 2016. Nuf said,and I watched him in action during a rally.

[redstatebluegirl]

96. Wow your first sentence sounds awful familiar.

Kind of scares me. I have to think that his chances are slim with this many strong candidates including more than one strong progressive.

[ehrnst]

97. Here is where you may have seen it...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=169431

[George II]

3. Is he interviewing for a job in the trump administration?

[crazytown]

17. Please proceed Senator

[mcar]

4. So he's just going to change the names?

[Hoyt]

6. Until we open the boarders, or get really smart and help solve the problems where

people come here for a better/safer life, we are going to have to do something to "accommodate" people.

While Sanders hasn't got a chance for my support unless he becomes the nominee, he has a point on this, even if people misinterpret what he is saying.

[ehrnst]

25. The thing is, many Democrats have slammed Pelosi for increasing funding and oversight

as simply "serving warmer burritos" or 'just improving Red Don's concentration camps, and history will judge those who do horribly" with legislation that would seek to improve and fund better facilities, rather than somehow "shutting them down."

I have to wonder how differently this will be recieved by them.

[LuvNewcastle]

69. We've got to put them somewhere, and I don't think there's

anything wrong with calling them detention centers. I don't believe, however, that we should separate the kids from the parents. I see no reason why we can't detain them as a family and deport them as a family.

[Hoyt]

72. +100. No separation, and work on developing policies that help folks

South of our border. But, right now, something is necessary unless we just open borders (which is OK with me).

[LibFarmer]

7. Seeking asylum is a human right and is international law

People seeking asylum should not be locked up for exercising their rights.

Senator BS is completely wrong about this and reveals a xenophobic streak.

[mr_lebowski]

9. Agree that this was indelicately expressed, per the tweet, didn't see the interview

I think what he's trying to say is border intake facilities like this are still going to be needed, we just need to improve conditions considerably.

But Bernie's caring about US workers wages is not some racist thing as you're suggesting. It's not just about white people's wages, it's all US (actual citizens) worker's wages. It's not an unreasonable or inherently xenophobic position/argument, esp. when considering undocumented workers.

[George II]

14. The last tweet has a 50-second vided segment in which that was said.

[ehrnst]

22. There are many that have expressed that "making the concentration camps nicer"

Is colluding with "Red Don."

Or "serving them warmer burritos" instead of closing them is "not acceptable."

[mr_lebowski]

38. Well, that's kinda silly because no matter what kids are going to show up alone

And there's not going to be any simple solution to 'where they should go' for a certain %.

We can debate what the 'rules' should be in terms of finding people to take care of them, whether to release their parents also held in custody, etc. Generally the current policies are draconian ATM, for sure

BUT ... there's going to be kids showing up we're simply not going to be able to do anything other than hold them until we can find safe places for them. We can't just release 5 year olds onto the streets.

[ehrnst]

64. You'd think, wouldn't you? (nt)

[PatSeg]

10. "Places where people are not treated as criminals"???

Well, I suppose that is true in a sense. People in U.S. prisons have access to showers, soap, toothbrushes, medical care, three meals a day, blankets, beds, clean clothes, and some form of recreation.

Children in these detention camps are often treated worse than convicts in prison.

[George II]

11. Yes, that struck me too. What are they being treated as, vacationers?

[Eric J in MN]

67. Bernie said he'd close the current facilities

...and instead have facilitaties where people aren’t treated as criminals.

[AlexSFCA]

82. those toddlers and kids are treated worse than criminals

they don’t allow visitors and they separated infants from parents. They don’t have basic hygiene supplies and many kids died already. BS is now leading xenophobia on the left. I see what he is trying to do, reclaim some of the trump’s base many of whom were equally supportive of sanders in 2016.

[NYMinute]

16. If any other candidate had made this statement

the devotees would have called them "republican lite"

When Senator BS makes it, they bow and say "amen."

[lunamagica]

23. What is his problem? Sanders, call them what they are: CONCENRATION CAMPS

[Renew Deal]

26. He's pandering to Trumpers again.

[Kahuna7]

45. Yep. nt

[Tipperary]

28. Damn, is he losing it? nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

30. We need a hero.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287169694

[SouthernProgressive]

34. He is all about branding. Always has been.

Give them a more kind and gentle name and move on.

[Princetonian]

39. Faux outrage again. There were "detention centers" under Barack Obama and Clinton too.

I see nothing wrong in what he said. This is a shit-stirring clickbait news title.

[DrToast]

43. Yes, this was kind of going with my question I just asked below

I was under the impression the problem with Trump is that the conditions where people are being held are inhumane.

[Princetonian]

44. Exactly.

Beware the handwringers.

[DrToast]

40. What have we done historically with asylum seekers?

I confess to not knowing the history of it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

47. Release them to sponsors with instructions to return when their hearings are scheduled.

[DrToast]

50. Why do people say these facilities existed before Trump?

I understand the conditions are horrible under Trump, but I was under the impression these facilities predated him.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

51. Because sometimes people seeking asylum don't have sponsors readily available.

[DrToast]

52. Ok thank you.*

*

[AJT]

57. They were held until some background checks were

done on them, and the sponsors. If the checks came back acceptable they were released in the sponsors custody. If the checks were not ok, a criminal record or something, they were held and deported. If they were unaccompanied minors or if the adult had a criminal record or was a human smuggler the children were held until they had a safe place to go, either here or back home. These facilities have existed for a long time, but the people occupying them were not treated as horribly as they are now, especially the children were cared for with compassion.

[Kahuna7]

46. But, Joe Biden said, 'boy!'

[Nanjeanne]

48. Anyone watching would know that they were talking at cross purposes. Sanders wasn't describing

current facilities when he said he wouldn't call them detention centers. He was talking about what he wanted to see instead. In his very first question Sanders was asked if he would close the current facilities and he said yes. Then there are additional comments about immigrants and his family being immigrants and that he wouldn't want to call them anything that reflected the idea of jails.

These were disingenuous tweets and the interview, while confusing, tells a different story.

In fact, long before this interview being posted - Sanders' wife tweeted:

Link to tweet

?s=20

[TheSocialDem]

63. wait though, this isn't what they wanted him to mean

The Bernie hit jobs on the forum are getting insane..

[Nanjeanne]

80. That's true. But it's a symptom of social media. People read tweets and think its fact. They read

someone's interpretation and never read the actual words or watch an actual video.

The interviewer who tweeted this is getting tons of tweets back pointing out how wrong he was but it's still out there in the twitterworld and those who want to believe will still believe.

Social media has it's good points but it really destroys a lot of people's cognitive thinking.

[MyNameGoesHere]

49. Haha The Onion strikes again. Oh wait, fuck

He really said that.

[Buzz cook]

53. Does anyone here really believe Sanders wants children in cages?

Are people on DU going all in on calling Sanders an inhuman monster like Trump?

I think some people need help from Dale Carnegie.

[LiberalLovinLug]

54. Do you propose the OPEN BORDERS that Republicans have been accusing us of being for?

Not holding potential asylum seekers and migrants until they are officially granted entry? Just letting them through to find their own shelter and food in small towns along the border? With no money?

Every western democracy has some kind of detention centers, whatever they call them, for undocumented immigrants that are wanting to get in. Its not only the most secure thing to do, its the humane thing to do. In comfortable ways, with their parents and soap and toothpaste.

Another attempt to twist and take out of context some quote from Sanders to make him seem to say something he is not. How many of these a day we have to suffer through? My gawd, doesn't this get tiring?

[DrToast]

56. +1

I'm no fan of Sanders, but I didn't really understand the criticism he was getting over this.

[Duppers]

59. Misleading subject line.

These are not the safe, comfortable accommodations he was talking about!

[madville]

65. Makes sense, they need to be fixed

We have to have somewhere to house and process immigrants, especially unaccompanied minors.

[Eric J in MN]

66. Q: Will you close these facilities? Bernie: Yeah.

You’re pretending Bernie Sanders said the opposite of what he said.

[Eric J in MN]

70. This thread is garbage.

Watch the videos. Bernie Sanders says the opposite of the summary. He wants to close Trump’s facilities and have ones where immigrants aren’t treated las criminals.

[NCjack]

73. Yes, you are correct. This thread is garbage. nt

[Vegas Roller]

74. Senator BS - please call them what they are

CONCENTRATION CAMPS

[Gothmog]

75. These facilities need to be closed

[Eric J in MN]

77. That's why Bernie said 'Yeah' when asked if he'd close them. NT

NT

[Gothmog]

78. So we have two different answers from sanders?

[Nanjeanne]

83. No. Hours before this interview he said he would close these detention centers. In the interview

he said that he wanted people seeking asylum to be in a safe place, not a jail and he didn't want them to be called detention centers because that implies a jail-like atmosphere.

This was tweeted before the interview

Link to tweet

Listening to the interview, it can be confusing based on the jumping around that's done but the point where Sanders talks about not wanting to call them detention centers is very definitely when he is talking about how he would like to house and treat asylum seekrs.

[Eric J in MN]

85. The Twitter summary of what he said is wrong. NT

NT

[Gothmog]

93. Where is a link to this?

[Eric J in MN]

111. Play the video in the OP and you'll see the tweets in the OP summarize it wrong. NT

NT

[greatauntoftriplets]

105. Torn down and burned to the ground.

As much as possible, anyway, since a lot of them look like they're of concrete construction.

[SunSeeker]

76. If you don't like that term, Bernie, how about "concentration camps"? That's what they are.

I imagine this will be a topic of the debate tonight....

[Gothmog]

79. These facilities meet the definition of concentration camps

[Eric J in MN]

84. Bernie Sanders was saying that buildings

...for immigrants should be so humane that “detention centers” isn’t the best term.

[SunSeeker]

87. Why does he refuse to call them, in their present form, concentration camps?

https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Bernie-Sanders-refuses-to-call-US-temporary-shelters-concentration-camps-592998

[Eric J in MN]

91. I guess he thinks that term is too severe and

...since none of the other presidential candidates call them “concentration camps” I guess they agree.

[SunSeeker]

95. Julian Castro does not think the term concentration camp is "too severe."

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449274-julian-castro-i-agree-with-the-sentiment-behind-ocasio-cortezs


Do you think what the observers described in Clint, TX amounted to a concentration camp?

[Eric J in MN]

112. Julian Castro saying he agrees with the 'sentiment'

...of AOC isn't the same as if he said: These are concentration camps, and that's why what I'm going to call them from now.

[SunSeeker]

113. Sanders could have said he agrees with the sentiment. He didn't.

He could have defended AOC against attacks for using the term, like Castro defended ber use of thd term. Sanders didn't.

Instead, he insisted on using a euphemism: "Places were people are not being treated as criminals." He apparently thought "detention centers" was too severe.

[Eric J in MN]

114. Bernie Sanders was asked about calling them concentration camps in a different interview.

Bernie said he had “not used that word" but “I have a lot of respect for Alexandria and I think she’s doing a fantastic job. What I will tell you is that we are locking up children and keeping them in deplorable conditions for weeks in places that are not meant for kids, and that is absolutely unacceptable.”

https://forward.com/news/national/426187/sanders-aoc-ocasio-cortez-concentration-camps/

[IronLionZion]

86. There is some overlap between Bernie and Trump's voters

I supported Bernie in 2016 and voted for him in the primaries, but not now. I don't believe he is racist but he clearly panders to some of the working class Americans that Trump panders to. I was also unemployed when I supported Bernie, full disclosure.

We'll see what Biden has to say tonight. We have plenty of candidates this time.

[msongs]

88. seems to me bernie is getting undeserved abuse over these comments

perhaps his comments are a tad unartful but I get what he is saying

[SunSeeker]

90. He has had lots of opportunities to call them what they are. Why won't he?

Why does he refuse to call places like Clint, Texas, what they are?


https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Bernie-Sanders-refuses-to-call-US-temporary-shelters-concentration-camps-592998

[NurseJackie]

89. Is this the beginning of the end?

It's sickening how out of touch he is. That is the best interpretation I have of his remarks

Is this the beginning of the end?

It certainly leaves a BAD taste in my mouth.

[Eric J in MN]

92. If the interview above gives you the impression

...that Bernie Sanders likes the status quo then please watch this 2 minute statement he made today:

Link to tweet

?s=21

[Autumn]

94. We all know that most anything posted about Bernie here, as in the OP will be twisted to

show him in a bad light. I have seen one poster add their own words to a published article in an attempt to make him look bad and pass it off as part of the article. The people on twitter responding to the tweet are pointing out the lies in the posted tweet about Bernie.

[Nanjeanne]

99. I think this young 14 yr old activist says it all.

Link to tweet

[Autumn]

107. That was very sweet. Thank you for that.

[ehrnst]

102. "Twisted to show him in a bad light..." Using his own words?

[Autumn]

106. He didn't say what was quoted in the tweet in the OP. They are not his own words. nt

[Cary]

115. Who is "we all?"

7% of the posters here?

[Autumn]

116. Yes. nt

[Cary]

117. Impressive

[Autumn]

118. Here's what impressive, a lie posted about one of the candidates being allowed to stand.

YMMV.

[Cary]

119. One must choose one's battles

I choose not to worry about a 7%, especially when that 7% has chosen to act towards me? unnecessarily, in ways I find to be obnoxious.

Have a nice day.

[Autumn]

120. Well here's a quote for your problem Cary.

It has been attributed to many people including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt but it's not a sure thing but it's a fact that there is a lot of truth in it.

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

[Cary]

121. Ah, but choosing one's battles wisely is an idea.

And I see your Eleanor Roosevelt and raise it by one Sun Tsu:

‘Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.’

Is 7% big enough to matter? I don't believe so.

[Autumn]

122. Well it's a good thing you don't support that dreaded 7%. nt

[Cary]

123. Ha!

Yes it is all.about me.

I am speaking to the idea as to why I think the 7% are just 7%. Another old saying comes to mind: you catch more flies with honey than you catch with vinegar.

I could say more but then you are drawing me into a battle and my whole point is that it isn't my problem. And obviously that point was lost here. So it goes.

[ehrnst]

98. It's been quite a week for Bernie, hasn't it?(nt)

[SidDithers]

103. "What he really meant was..." nt

Sid

[Autumn]

109. I'm sure Enreque Acevedo didn't really mean to lie... since he's corrected his tweet.

Unlike the OP who doesn't seem to care to correct the OP.

[happyaccident]

104. DECENT

[Cha]

110. K!

[treestar]

124. He's going along with the Orange Horror in thinking they must be locked up

That is Barr's doing. He initiated a policy of detention for the whole case. Before the Horror figured out this way of being, they were generally let go and most went to their hearings. Dotard lies when saying most of them don't.

[donkeypoofed]

127. Aaah, Bernie is just too old to do this anymore

He's hopelessly out of touch. He wants to win at all costs, with the price being divisiveness.