Baltimore Native: Residents Could Claim Asylum Due to Murder Rate if They Were Foreign
Baltimore may not be a terrible city overall, but it has undeniable problems that probably wouldn’t have happened if they were going to affect immigrants.
At least that’s what Baltimore native Ellie Bufkin at The Federalist has to say about her beloved hometown.
The recent Baltimore controversy started with Democratic Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings attacking Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan for conditions on the southern border, which has become a talking point for Democrats trying to frame Republicans as cruel and inhumane.
President Donald Trump responded to Cummings by highlighting the problems within his own district, which includes much of Baltimore.
….As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019
Trump was, of course, met with scorn and accusations of racism simply because his target happened to be black. There was no mention of race in Trump’s tweets, but the left has the uncanny ability to hear “dog whistles,” which is just an excuse to shoehorn their own spin into anything Trump says.
Cummings has made similar disparaging remarks about his district in the past, but the left doesn’t have time to worry themselves with facts. They have a narrative to push.
Bufkin highlighted the difference between Democrats’ assessment of the border and their portrayal of Baltimore by making an eye-opening observation: Baltimore residents face threats of homicide so prevalent that they might qualify for asylum in the United States if they were not Americans.
The claim seems a little fishy, but a look into the US refugee resettlement policy gives it some weight.
According to the Refugee Act of 1980, a “refugee” is defined as a person “who is unable or unwilling to return to [his or her] country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.”
So how does that definition relate to residents of Cummings’ district?
Well, Baltimore bucked the traditional trend of steady population growth by shrinking from 2017 to 2018, as cities with high crime rates usually do. Earlier this year, USA Today listed Baltimore as the third most dangerous city in the country, behind only Detroit and St. Louis and edging out Memphis. (This top four creates an elite tier of violent cities, as there is a vast drop-off between Memphis and number five Kansas City.)
The interesting point about the data is how shockingly high Baltimore’s homicide rate is. Baltimore had fewer rapes than either of the top two cities but had many more murders. Only Chicago (21st on the list) had more, which isn’t surprising given that it’s over four times the size of Baltimore.
When you consider only homicide rate, Baltimore leapfrogs Detroit into the second spot.
In short, the threat of murder is causing many residents to flee, giving them reason to at least push for asylum if they were foreigners.
They would only be likely to be approved if you applied a left-leaning interpretation of the law. But that’s the point. Democrats want our country to welcome in anybody and everybody while virtually ignoring the American citizens living in squalor in their own cities.
The left will attempt to blame these problems on the right, despite the fact that leftist policies drive out taxpayers and businesses, leaving those too poor to move without a real shot at employment and gutting the public education system. These risk factors, along with government corruption, have plagued Baltimore for years.
There are good parts of Baltimore, and every single city in this country has some redeeming quality. But that doesn’t give us an excuse to ignore or blame others for real issues within them.
Yes, Baltimore is home to real human beings living in a rat-infested, crime-ridden mess, and hopefully they will stop voting for Democratic politicians with silver tongues and no solutions.
People deserve better than leftism.
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