purple. Ezine Spring 2019
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Table of Contents 5
Meet the editors
6
The barrier between
10 the American Dollar Bill 12 Divide 18 Black Lives Matter 20 The life behind bars 24 The electoral college
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Photo Courtesy of Dhiya Dhandapani
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In our society today, politics govern the world around us. From the roads we drive on to the taxes we pay, an understanding of politics is essential for any citizen working and living in this world. Since it’s so important to understand politics so well, we at Purple have created a magazine that disects important issues that affect you today. A political view for everyone is important, so that one can simultaneously learn from an unbiased source, and understand alternative points of view that others may share. We’re glad to bring you a magazine that is made for you, straying away from just a “blue” or “red” narrative.
Purple — Spring ezine 2019|5
Deeper Into
The American Dollar Bill By: Sohail Saffari
The Federal Reserve Seal There Are 12 Ferderal Reserve Banks In The Country. The Letter Shows Where This Bill Was Printed. (Since This Is B, The Note Was Printed In New York).
The Currency Value Indicates How Much Money The Note Is Worth. The Most Common Values are 1, 5, 10, 20, and 100.
Note Number Position The Note Number Position appears in the upper left quadrant. It is a letter number combination that indicates which position on the plate the note was printed. The number indicates the Treasurer Of The quadrant and the letter indicates the position United States Signature within the quadrant. The Signature Provides Authentification regarding the validity of the bill in question.
Information Provided By: The Dollar Bill Collector, United States Treasury and National Archives
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Series Date This number is presented as a the year portion of a date - as in 2004 - and sometimes has a letter suffix - as in 2004A.
Secretary of the Treasurer Of The United States Signature Like the Treasurer Signature, this is used as a form of authentification.
Serial Number The letter which precedes the numbers must be the same number that you saw identifying the Federal Reserve Bank. The last letter of the serial number or suffix letter identifies the number of times that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing used the sequence of serial numbers.
Plate Serial Number The Plate Serial Number appears twice: once on the front of the bill in the lower right quadrant above the Federal Reserve District Number, and again on the back in the lower right corner. It identifies the plate from which the note was printed.
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The
Barrier What’s the Price Americans are Really Paying?
The border wall is the most controversial proposition of the 21st century. With the stigma and debate around the humanity and political motivation behind the wall, there has been very little dialogue surrounding the actual viability of the wall. Questions have risen regarding as to how the country will pay for the wall. Will the government have enough to fund the wall? Are citizens going to be taxed at a higher rate? How will major corporations play a role in dictating how the wall is funded? The border wall was first 8|Purple — Spring ezine 2019
proposed in 2016 by President Donald Trump who was adamant about having a barrier built along the U.S.Mexico border. After winning office, Pres. Trump made the effort of pushing a proposed budget plan for the wall through Congress. When the bill didn’t pass, Trump retaliated by to put in motion a government shutdown which started on December 22, 2018 and ended on January 25, 2019. This was recorded as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and ended with no wall, a 6 billion dollar deficit, and lowered approval ratings
Between
By: Sohail Saffari
of Pres. Trump. However, Pres. Trump’s situation improved after his highly anticipated State of the Union Address following the government shutdown on February 5, 2019. Trump mentioned reinforced security along the border and that he would continue to push for the border wall. After Pres. Trump’s tax plan went into effect in 2018, it seemed unlikely that Trump would go back on his promise to reduce income tax and corporate tax for the border wall. Since the plan has stimulated the economy, it would damage Trump’s
A U.S. Border Patrol agent walks along the Border along the Sandy Dunes of California Photo Courtesy of CNN
political influence if he decided to increase taxes for the sake of the wall. “Well, it did have some impact on the stock market in the beginning, but in the last two or three months of the year, we saw the stock market take a big dive and it has been growing since then,” Professor Mehrdad Setayesh, a Professor of Economics at the Austin Community College and strategist for Samsung, said. “The growth hasn’t gotten back to where it was and still a long way to go. I’m sure
whether it’s six months from now, a year or two years from now it’s going to grow back again.” With the economy being ramped up again, it seems logical that the government now has the ability to pay for a barrier to be constructed along the wall. As of 2019, the government has over 3.654 trillion dollars of revenue in 2019. 2% of that budget is reserved for “miscellaneous” purposes. That is a little over 7 billion dollars left over for construction. 2 billion dollars
more than the estimated cost of the barrier. This point was further supported by Cedric Grice, a professor of economics at ACC and a former political advisor. “The government has plenty of means of funding the border wall...Now the as far as the wall itself, I think people are getting bogged down on terminology,” Grice said. “There are parts of the border where you need to have some kind of barrier so that illegal immigrants don’t just cross. Right now obviously, Purple — Spring ezine 2019|9
Photos Courtesy of AgenSIR and Susan harbage Page
“I don’t mind having a big beautiful door in that wall so that people can come into this country legally.” -Donald J. Trump A portion of the current border wall in Brownsville Texas
where there are rivers or things like that you probably won’t be able to build that. If it’s just the land and nothing else, you want to create that barrier.” With consistent disapproval of the wall from nearly all DNC representatives, it has become clear that the only thing preventing the wall from being built is the disapproval of the Democratcontrolled Senate. “A lot of Democrats were in favor of border security, but there are some parts where the wall is not secure enough or needs to be strengthened 10|Purple — Spring ezine 2019
or maybe just build a new wall. I think they should allocate and I think right now they have agreed to allocate some money. The big question is how much money they want to add,” Grice said. A growth of job opportunities would emerge due to the need for construction workers, technicians, and electronic specialists. Though this surge would be temporary, it would have an effect regardless. “Building a wall is like building a bridge or building a bomb for a tank. Anything you build increases GDP,
so yeah, it will definitely stimulate internal economic growth and construct jobs throughout Texas where the wall is being built. They would much rather build something that would turn around and do something else that can generate any kind of flow of economic activity,” Grice said. With the recent government shutdown that ended in February, the government has lost over 6 billion dollars in potential spending. Since the Wall’s proposed cost was around 5 billion, was the resistance warranted?
According to Grice, the only reason the wall hasn’t been built is because of political optics regarding the Democratic National Committee (the formal governing body of the Democratic Party). This entails the very possible reality that there is really no downside to the wall other than political optics. Or is it? The main criticism economist propose is that a wall is rudimentary and the other options regarding border security could be much more cost effective and provide a long term net gain. Some advocates have expressed a desire to increase funding of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. With the increase in funding, the money could be redirected to Research and Development, supplying body armor to agents on the field and many more possibilities. “Well, the construction contractors will obviously be looking for workers to build the thing but that is a short term system. There might be some continuous flow of workers because of maintenance but that’s about it.” Professor Donaldson, an award-winning economist for MIT and recipient of the John Bates
Clark Medal said. “The money could be used for increased funding of ICE and other agencies rather than such a rudimentary precaution. The costs for the wall doesn’t even include wages needed for workers, equipment, or other resources. This is just for the build materials.” Another alternative is creating more a more efficient immigration office that can process individual cases faster so the incentive of illegal immigration decreases. The
becomes more prevalent. If a law makes something easier to do or legal, the crime reduces. If the supply increases, the customers do too. The wall can be paid for but there are other options that could be just as or more effective. The government shutdown cost more than the wall and every major DNC candidate has voted against the proposed measure of increasing border security. With economists stating the benefits of the wall and
A portion of the border wall in South Padre Island
main reason why people immigrate illegally is that it is so difficult to enter the country legally. This situation is similar to prohibition in the 20s and 30s. If there is a law to make something illegal, the crime
an overall increase of border security, our politicians will eventually decide what course of action to take place. Will Trump, push his agenda forward or will the Republican party face another angry mob of protestors? Purple — Spring ezine 2019|11
D V I 12|Purple — Spring ezine 2019 Image courtesy of Getty Images
I DE by Amani Ahmad
b “
uild the wall! Build the wall! Build the wall!” chanted thousands of passionate Donald Trump supporters, clad in red hats, fists held hig, voices emanating from rallies all across the nation. Their faith in the wall was as concrete as the bricks themselves, it was simple, obvious; a solution that spoke to millions of Americans. As they chanted, they dreamt of a wall dividing the United States and Mexico, but they never could have imagined the barriers it would create within their own country. The even more divided future was yet to come. “I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively,” Trump said in his presidential announcement speech on June 16, 2015. It has been nearly four years since then, and President Trump has not faltered his stance on this promise. Trump’s goal of building a wall on the southern border has revealed deep division not only found in politics but among the American people as well. Raaheela Ahmed is an immigrant and an elected official in the Maryland state government, and she believes the border wall “was very simple, it was easy to understand. It fed off of people’s intolerance and insecurities around difference; it was masterful in that way,” Ahmed said. “It’s much more tangible to be against immigration than to be outwardly racist or against people of color… people want to be in their little
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Image courtesy of Nicholas Kamm, Getty Images
equal and accepting America we all dream of. “It’s really an us versus them mentality, he’s fueling the flames of hate towards specific groups of people,” Ahmed said. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes against marginalized communities rose significantly since Trump’s campaign began in 2015. Ahmed believes that Trump’s strong rhetoric surrounding immigration vastly contributed to this spike in hostility and division among the American people.
president trump speaks at a rally in el paso, texas on february 11, 2019 bubble where they don’t have to deal with diversity.” bubble where they don’t have to deal with diversity.” In Ahmed’s mind, the wall along the southern border of the United States is much more than a physical barrier-it is a wall of ideology and division between people. “His idea of a wall makes sense to some folks who think that we’re not doing all that we can domestically, but it doesn’t 14|Purple — Spring ezine 2019
send the right message for our country nationally, not only towards the immigrant communities but to all the minorities in America,” said Ahmed. She believes that the wall is not a valid or effective solution to illegal immigration, but rather a step backwards in creating the
Dr. Nestor P. Rodriguez, a migration professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, agrees wholeheartedly. He believes that the wall will do nothing but create more barriers in an already deeply divided world. “Countries should be thinking of ways to cooperate and support each other, to develop together and not to build the walls and barriers,” Rodriguez said. “The whole philosophy is in reverse.” He also believes that
(left) protestors gathered at the white house on president’s day 2019 to protest against trump on feb. 15, 2019
Image courtesy of Carolyn Caster, AP Images Trump’s rhetoric surrounding illegal immigration and the border wall has created great fear for immigrants, marginalizing them. “Fear… is a constant feature in immigrant communities,” Rodriguez said. President Trump’s border wall has created division within the American government as well. Trump has not abandoned the wall he so confidently promised in his campaign. On the contrary, the fight for the funding of the border wall is still raging on
in Washington and throughout the nation. Shortly after his inauguration, President Trump signed Executive Order 13767 titled Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements. Much to the dismay of Democrats, immigrants, and human rights organizations, this order formally directed the United States to build a border wall. In the years that followed, the Trump
Image courtesy of Natalie Krebs
administration and the GOP fought to secure the funding for this wall with a government shutdown and the declaration of a national emergency--actions that caused great turmoil in American politics. The shutdown lasted from Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019--a period of 35 days. This was the longest government shutdown in United States history, and to Ahmed, it has shown American politics at its weakest hour. “At one point in time, Republicans and Democrats in Congress were able to sit down and come together on policies, and now that can’t even be thought of,” Ahmed said. “Everyone is at their own extremes of what they want, so how are we ever going to move together towards something if we cant even sit down at the same table as folks who think differently than us?” “The government being shut down for so long, that’s one example. In the past we were still able to come Purple — Spring ezine 2019|15
together on issues. We’re not able to do that in this day and age, and that is fueled by the President’s hateful rhetoric and actions,” Ahmed said. However, the shutdown is not only an example of political division, but of governmental insecurity at large--insecurity that Ahmed believes has decreased
the trust Americans place in their government. “We knew we were politically unstable with the cabinet moves, Trump’s rhetoric and people feeling unsafe, but now this is governmental instability,” Ahmed said. “If our people can’t trust the government to work well and have their backs… then how are other nations going to feel?”
border fence in tijuana, mexico Image courtesy of Spencer Platt, Getty Images
The shutdown caused by political division surrounding the border wall resulted in public outrage as 800,000 federal workers and 1 million federal contractors remained without work or pay. Ahmed witnessed this firsthand. “Being so close to
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“this is
governmental instability” D.C. and seeing the effect it has had on so many employees, it’s heartbreaking,” Ahmed said. “They were out for so many weeks and all these different communities came together to help… it hit people hard.” The government shutdown was not the only barrier America had to overcome. On Feb. 15, 2019, President Trump declared the National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States; a national emergency that both Rodriguez and Ahmed believe was not an emergency at all, but simply another tactic for Trump to secure military funding for his wall.
Rodriguez questions the validity of Trump’s rhetoric and the accuracy of his sources that lead him to declare a national emergency. “I really have problems understanding some of the things he says because he is lacking to back it up,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not my opinion, the facts are there… and they don’t support what he claims is happening.” Rodriguez has studied immigration patterns in depth, and he believes that there is no emergency at the southern border of the United States. “I don’t think we need a border wall, I don’t think we have a good reason for one… Right now, the level of unauthorized border crossings that have been apprehended has dropped dramatically by over eighty percent since 2005,” Rodriguez said. “There’s obviously no crisis.” Ahmed agrees with this
and claims that Trump is only Trump is declaring a national emergency willing to do to use funding to build the wall whatever it takes to he promised in his campaign. ‘Build the wall’ and ‘Make “Trump knows that it’s not a America great again.’ For national emergency… [he is] Rodriguez, Ahmed, and millions doing this to get [his] wall built of other Americans, the question by any means possible and that still remains: Will the United is an issue because we actually States be able to overcome this have emergencies great divide? that could happen and the money is going to go to the wall instead,” Ahmed said. “What if we have another hurricane Katrina? We’re not going to be prepared for that if we’re paying for the wall.” Trump’s border wall Image courtesy of Spencer Platt, Getty Images has caused many barriers in America, both socially and politically. Despite it all,
the mexican side of the border
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#BLACKLIVESMAT What is Black Lives Matter? An organization advocating against anti-black violence and racism. There are chapters all over the world, especially in the United States. Many of the protestes lead by BLM have been in response to police brutality. They spread their message through social media with the viral hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and through other means such as protests and demonstrations. #BlackLivesMatter has been tweeted around
30 million
times from its creation in July of 2013 to May of 2018, averaging around 17,000 times per day
Information provided by Vox Media, The Guardian, and Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter was founded on
July 13, 2013 The movement was founded by
Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi who created #BlackLivesMatter (which quickly went viral) partially in response to the 2012 murder of an unarmed teenager named Treyvon Martin.
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Chapters of Black Lives Matter in the U.S.
TTER Images courtesy of: Kristin Little Photography, MomsRising and Scipps College
Clockwise from top: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Tometi PurpleCullors, — SpringOpal ezine 2019|19
by Hannah Lucas
The Life Behind Bars A closer look at the inside of immigration detention centers, and the stories that reside within them.
Stone cold floors and crowded rooms characterize the immigrant detention centers of south Texas. Detainees sleep in tight quarters, surrounded by their fellow refugees. Although they have all ended up here, they have little else in common, places and stories all melting into a mix. Despite the trauma and desperation that drove them here, their suffering is not over. Crowding in detention camps,
U.S. President Trump’s policies on immigration are notoriously strict. Image courtesy of EA WorldView. 20|Purple — Spring ezine 2019
Migrants Maria Meza and her tw daughters sprint from tear gas thrown at the border wall betwe the U.S and Mexico in Tijuana, Nov. 2018. Courtesy of The Conversati
win s een 25, ion
waiting patiently for their lawyers to deliver a promise of hope, to a better life. It’s a bleak outlook from there, living in a gray world. But the hope is what tides them over. The immigration landscape today is much different than it was 30 years ago. The number of families and unaccompanied minors fleeing gang violence and poverty is at an all time high, and the current immigration system is not equipped to handle such a demographic of migrants. “El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, [are] considered [some] of the most dangerous places on earth, which [have] caused unprecedented levels of migration,” Amnesty International, a human rights based organization, said. When families are caught at the border, they are sent to family detention centers, often with little to no access to social or legal services. In these
detention centers, they often experience grave abuses. Over 1,000 accounts of sexual assault have been recorded in these camps, with over half of the accused being ICE employees. Of deaths in detention centers, over half were determined to be from poor or substandard medical care. One of the main issues facing U.S. immigration is the system itself. “There is a massive influx of immigrants from a different demographic than before… but now, more than ever, the system is receiving massive numbers of families from Central America,” Professor of University of Texas at Austin Gary Freeman said. Since the immigration system was built around Mexican, single, male migrants, it’s unprepared to handle families. According to Amnesty International’s recent report, which details that “on any given night, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warehouses more than 30,000 immigrants in prisons and jails—a number that has tripled in the past 12 years.” Compounding this issue is the debate on the catch and release system. “Catch and release is one of the issues that plagues our immigration system today,” State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. of the 27th District said in an interview. According to Vox, catch and release is a term that is usually related to any law that deters the immediate capture
of every single migrant crossing the border, and the subsequent deportation, while being held in a detention center in the meantime. This leaves the alternative practice of releasing them while they wait for their immigration hearing, instead of detainment. However, this is exactly what Trump is looking to avoid, and a statement by the White House said, “Porous borders, legal loopholes, and insufficient immigration enforcement resources allow aliens to illegally cross our borders and often prevent their removal once here.” Movements against the system of catch and release demand for more immigrants to be detained until their hearing, which can be just weeks, but can be as long as several years. “It can be difficult for people to recover after spending so much time in detention centers,” Lucio said. Many would be appalled to see the conditions of detention centers. It’s shocking to see the way people are treated. Without the system of catch and release, immigrants’ stays in detention centers are prolonged. Detainees are left to sit in “unsafe” and “almost inhumane” conditions in detention centers, Director of Community Immigration Services for the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) Alexandra Minnaar said. The state of immigration detention centers is prison-like, as many centers are housed in correctional facilities. Another issue is overcrowding due to the rising numbers of immigrants detained. “Families are being separated and beds are being filled,” Lucio said. Purple — Spring ezine 2019|21
Children inside a detention center in mcallen, texas use tinfoil as blankets. Image courtesy of The center for border protection.
Many immigration detainment centers are unequipped to handle a huge influx of people. In a report by NPR, a migrant, Elizabet, talked about how the facility was always freezing cold, there were bugs in the mats on the floor where they slept and they were given food that appeared to be rotten. Elizabet said that out of the 9 moms there with her, 6 or 7 withdrew claims for asylum because the conditions were unbearable. Elizabet herself withdrew her claim, and is headed back to Mexico, where she first 22|Purple — Spring ezine 2019
fled from gang violence. Systematic issues within the immigration system cause victims to return to
places of trauma and violence. “The current system itself is failing and needs massive reform” Freeman
“The Current System is failing and needs massive reform” -Professor Freeman
said. Immigration detention centers can also be detrimental to detainee health. Freedom for Immigrants, a national nonprofit that looks to end immigration detention in the U.S. has found that medical issues are the most often reported abuse inside detention centers. In December 2018, two Guatemalan children died in the custody of the border patrol. One of these children was a 7-year-old girl who died from dehydration. In a statement to the Washington Post, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the girl “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.” The severe treatment of mere children held in detention centers has lead to their untimely deaths. Among the many issues in detention centers, sexual assault is a prominent one. Over 1,000 complains of sexual assault have been reported by migrants being held in detention centers, and the overwhelming majority never even reach trial. One deep seated issue is the power imbalance between migrants and
immigration officials. Migrants can be threatened with deportation if they refuse or report. After a Honduran immigrant was raped in custody by an ICE officer, he told her “she couldn’t tell anyone or she would be deported.” Abuses of power involving sexual assault cases are extremely common, as migrants are in desperately vulnerable situations that can easily be taken advantage of. This vulnerability increases when it comes to unaccompanied minors in detention centers. After being separated from her mother, a 6-yearold girl was sexually abused in a detention center, and then “the child was then made to sign a form acknowledging that she was told to maintain her distance from her alleged abuser.” The 6-year-old girl was then expected to take responsibility for protecting herself from her abuser. Systemic abuses like these are present in the immigration detention centers today. This, and the influx of central American immigrants seeking asylum
Members of a migrant caravan walk inside Mexico on October 21, 2018, near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico. Image courtesy of Vox. from violence and persecution have created a need for change in the way that migrants are treated in the immigration system today.
Immigrants sit inside a detention center facility in south texas. Image courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Purple — Spring ezine 2019|23
A Road to Presidency by Hannah Lucas In a general election, the president is elected tbrough a process known as the electoral college.
but how does it work?
Voting for a candidate means you’re actually voting for the elector that was chosen by that candidate’s political party. Electors can be any members of that party that are eligible to vote except major political leaders (members of the House or Senate).
the electoral college is composed of
538
VOTE
electors.
1 Elector = 1 electoral vote The number of electors each state receives is the number of House members plus the number of Senators. The amount of House members is determined by state population, with a minimum of 3 members per state, while the number of Senators is alwasys 2 per state.
So, Why does this matter? 24|Purple — Spring ezine 2019
Any adult U.S. Citizen who is not a convicted felon may cast their votes in a general election, which occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
so where does
your Vote come in?
In the Electoral college, electors cast votes to determine the winner of the presidential election.
Winner-take-all System The party that receives the most votes in a state gets all the votes from that state.
A BreakDown of Faithless Electors Over the course of the US’ history, there have been 167 faithless electors. Here are the reasons why they voted:
The only exceptions to this rule are Maine and Nebraska, where the state winner receives 2 electors plus the electors for every congressional district they’ve won. the opponent receives the remaining votes.
Now, The electors Vote! Technically, electors aren’t required to vote for the party they belong to. There is no constitutional provision/federal law that requires it. However, the U.S. Supreme court has held that electors are not guaranteed complete freedom. This allows states to punish electors who vote for someone else.
Electors who don’t vote for their party nominee are called
Faithless electors
71 67 29
changed their vote because the candidate died casted a vote for a different candidate abstained/casted an abnormal vote
After electoral votes are casted, candidates require
270 Votes to win
In the event that no candidates reach 270 votes, the House of Representatives chooses 1 of the 3 candidates with the most votes. In the history of the electoral college, there have only been 4 instances where the candidate who won the popular vote did not receive the majority of electoral votes. Purple — Spring ezine 2019|25
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