Quick Takes (v70): Aren't We Doing Enough?

Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY-22) is my congressman.  He was not my preferred candidate, but as a constituent, I try and stay engaged.

 Today I received the latest edition of the newsletter, the Williams Weekly Wrap-up, which just happened to arrive on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, an occasion politicians are incapable of ignoring, regardless of whether they agree with - or practice - Dr. King's philosophy. Here's how Rep. Williams addressed it: 

MLK day is not a day for politicians, it's a day for pastors. We must speak the truth as he did.  "Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord's glory will be your rear guard." Isaiah 58:8

A bit later in the Wrap-up, Williams wrote about a school in Brooklyn; take a look: 

James Madison High School in Brooklyn was closed down this Wednesday in order to house nearly 2,000 migrants who had previously been at Floyd Bennett Field. 

This short-notice disruption in the lives of American families and the education of American students was the result of numerous successive oversights, at multiple levels of government.

It's not clear if he's counting Congress as one of those "multiple levels of government," but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say no. His update continues: 

The ongoing migration crisis has been ignored for long enough that now, every state has become a border state, and every city has become a border city.

I joined members of the Education and Workforce Committee in writing to Mayor Adams in hopes that we can receive answers to questions of why a public school was chosen as the site to shelter migrants, whether there are currently any plans to use other public schools to this end, and what will be done moving forward to prepare these facilities to return to educational use.

You can read our letter in its entirety here.

Here's the opening of the letter, which was dated Thursday, January 11th:

We were alarmed to see recent news reports that a school in Brooklyn was closed and students sent home in order to shelter nearly 2,000 migrants. As you know, James Madison High School was ordered to close on Wednesday, January 10, because of the decision to house migrants from Floyd Bennett Field in the school’s gym. These students were forced into unplanned virtual learning, and it remains unclear how long the disruption will last (emphasis added) or whether there will be future disruptions. Furthermore, it appears this was a last-minute decision with little notice given to affected parents. 

The letter didn't miss the opportunity to call out that long-term remote learning isn't optimal - even though the Representatives had no idea how long the remote learning would continue. 

Now, here's my favorite part, with emphasis added: 

We find this school closure completely abhorrent. As we have made clear time and time again, schools should be used for educating students, not housing illegal aliens. It is grossly unfair to penalize school children for a problem not of their making, and it is entirely irresponsible to put illegal aliens over our own citizens... It is shameful that children enrolled in New York City’s public schools had their education interrupted because Democrats have shown so little interest in stopping illegal immigration. The nation’s children should come first, not those who break the law. 

Is your blood boiling yet? Your heart pounding with America First-ness? A "Yeah, screw them!" feeling? Those are the emotions the letter strives to inspire, so please, don't let them down.

It ended with questions for Mayor Adams, with a demand for answers within 14 days. Paraphrasing the letter, why pick a school to put the migrants in? Were they vetted first?  When were parents notified? How long will the school be closed? How is the school being prepared for students to return? Could this happen with other schools? If yes, how and when?

So, why were migrants housed at James Madison High School? The AP's Melissa Goldin fact-checked and posted her findings on the afternoon of January 12th. Here's what she found. 

In anticipation of a potentially damaging storm, nearly 2,000 migrants being housed in tents at an outdoor Brooklyn shelter were moved temporarily to a nearby high school in the borough’s Midwood neighborhood on Tuesday night. All of the migrants had left the school by early the next morning. Classes were held remotely on Wednesday and resumed in person on Thursday.

Per the article, "the migrants had all returned to Floyd Bennett Field by 4:27 a.m. on Wednesday, after winds had subsided." So, by the time the letter was drafted, the migrants, like Elvis, had already left the building.

I'm not a religious person, but that doesn't stop me from looking up verses when I see them, particularly when they're offered up by politicians. As I interpret Isaiah 58, the basic question is "Aren't we doing enough?" and the answer is, pretty much, "No - you're not,"  if you continue to oppress others, finger-point and speak ill of them, and deny them food and shelter. Here are verses 3-7 and 9-10, to add context to verse 8, the one Williams quoted.  

"Why have we fasted, but You have not seen? 

We have denied ourselves, but You haven't noticed!"

"Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, 

and oppress all your workers.

You fast [with] contention and strife

to strike viciously with [your] fist. 

You cannot fast as [you do] today, [hoping] to

make your voice heard on high.

Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person to

deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to

spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast

and a day acceptable to the Lord?

Isn't the fast I choose: to break the chains of wickedness,

to untie the ropes of the yoke, 

to set the oppressed free,

and to tear off every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

to bring the poor and homeless into your house,

to clothe the naked when you see him,

and not to ignore your own flesh [and] blood?

Then your light will appear like the dawn, 

and your recovery will come quickly.

Your righteousness will go before you

and the Lord's glory will be your rear guard.

At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;

when you cry out He will say: Here I am.

If you get rid of the yoke from those around you,

the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,

And if you offer yourself to the hungry,

and satisfy the afflicted one,

then your light will shine in the darkness,

and your night will be like noonday." 

I could be completely off base with my interpretation, but even if I am, would anyone really be proud to leave them out there, in that storm? 

And would one who was proud of that really be talking about Dr. King today?