A Pimple on the Ass of Progress

When President Trump announced his surprising decision to pause immigration to the US while fighting this “invisible enemy” (surprising not because it makes sense but because it is so central to the neo-liberal Establishment’s project), there was much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Shabbos goy Jeff Flake—who is from SNOWFLAKE, Arizona!—became irate, tweeting that, “Immigration makes America stronger.” Indeed, with tens of thousands of dead bodies piling up, unknown quantities and disease vectors definitely make us stronger, right!? Well, it’s a step in the right direction, but unfortunately MUHCONOMY still wins out (which should please Flake): the upcoming ban will exempt seasonal foreign farm-worker visas, although it is unclear whether some of these other visa programs will also be exempted; we do know, as Jessica M. Vaughan reported for the Center for Immigration Studies, “On March 26, the State Department announced that the applications of new and returning farm and non-farm seasonal workers would be immediately expedited by waiving requirements for most visa applicants to be interviewed.”[1] According to the US State Department, “The H-2 program is essential to the economy and food security of the United States and is a national security priority.” With millions of Americans suddenly out of work and an international pandemic raging, this was a “national security priority”? Really? This is what happens when your entire existence is predicated on exponential growth: too much is never enough, and in this case one single person is too much.

A little over a month ago, on March 15th, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration sent over $57,000 in “supplemental funding” to deal with coronavirus to the Montana Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Council. We should also not neglect that in the late March coronavirus relief package, page 817 of the bill calls for “an additional amount for ‘Migration and Refugee Assistance,’ $350,000,000, to remain available until expended, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.” I would say “unbelievable,” but given the ruling class’s depravity, it’s plenty believable. I’ll just say plain what all of us are thinking: fuck these people.

They are, to paraphrase Tennyson, clowns beyond redemption.

[1] Vaughan, Jessica M., “Trump Waves in Seasonal Foreign Workers as Pandemic Peaks,” April 7, 2020. Center for Immigration Studies