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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRussian Asylum Applications In U.S. Hit 24-Year Record
Earlier today there was a somewhat clumsy post by a DU'er who, seemingly with reluctance, was sharing a some observations regarding their perception of an uptick in Russian patients in their mid-west Clinic. Other DU'ers chimed in with similar anecdotes.
Unfortunately - the post was misunderstood - and the OP was attacked as well as others who pushed back on the criticism. Frustrated, the OP self-deleted.
It wasn't the best thought out post - but did pique my interest.
So - a little searching and came up with this article - which seems to provide some support for the idea that more Russians are immigrating/seeking asylum in the US now than anytime in the recent past.
https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-asylum-applications-in-u-s-hit-24-year-record/29204843.html
U.S. authorities received 2,664 new asylum applications from Russian nationals in the fiscal year ending on September 30, a 39-percent increase compared to 2016.
Also interesting is this brief 2017 report
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKCN1B10V6
This implies immigrant visas would continue. I'm assuming "non-immigrant" means professional and tourist travel. The article also says that when non-immigrant visa services resume in Sept they will be at a "on a greatly reduced scale”.
These are Trump-era policies.
I get it - there are complications. In the first article, it says:
In a ruling last year, the European Court of Human Rights said that by enacting such laws, Russian authorities "reinforce stigma and prejudice and encourage homophobia, which is incompatible with the notions of equality, pluralism, and tolerance inherent in a democratic society."
So - now its a double whammy if you are suspicious about this - now you can be potentially seen as anti-immigrant and anti-gay.
Difficult terrain for DU discussion for sure.
But - I think we've all believed or accepted that the Russians were trying and did interfere with the 2016 election.
And we're all pretty sure Trump conspired with Russians in some capacity in the run up to 2016.
We called Helsinki "treasonous."
But do we just give Trump a pass on this issue? This is a difficult call.
This seems to have started organically here on DU - not some propoganda/blog post. (assuming the intentions of this mornings poster were pure)
Being DUers, I like to think we can talk about this, minding the borders of civility and avoiding xenophobic remarks.
But I don't think we should ignore it.
Ignoring this seems too much like "getting along with Russia is good thing..."
Not ready for that level of assumption...but nevertheless - "Welcome to the USA!"
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DFW
(54,387 posts)Here in Germany, there are numbers of Russians applying to live here that could fill a medium-sized city. There are NO towns in Germany any more without a few native born Russians. When I was applying for my residence permit here, the office next door had a Russian applying for residence status and a work permit, and he brought an interpreter because he was asking to work in Germany without knowing three words of German. The case worker was asking him what kind of work he envisioned doing here. At first, she got no answer, because he didn't understand a word she said. Under the circumstances, the case workers have a hard time figuring out if it's a case of someone fleeing persecution or someone wanting to earn more money.
The Germans have a standing joke about the process:
German social worker: Are you politically persecuted?
Russian asylum applicant: Can't complain
German social Worker: Are you religiously persecuted?
Russian asylum applicant: Can't complain.
German social worker: Are you persecuted because you're gay?
Russian asylum applicant: Can't complain.
German social worker: Then why do you want to come here?
Russian asylum applicant: Here, I am allowed to complain.
Before she retired as a social worker, my wife was assigned hundreds of Russians, many of which frustrated the hell out of her. She even sometimes had me get on the phone and talk to them, relating what she wanted to say, because they didn't know enough German to communicate with her. Every hospital here has Russian nurses to take care of patients who show up knowing nothing else.
As for me, I have a number of Russian colleagues that I see on a regular basis here in Europe. I also see them at large gatherings in the States, and there hasn't been one of them yet that has missed an event in the States for lack of a visa (and I see them in places where they are allowed to complain).
The ones that never make the headlines do fine. They learn German, get jobs, assimilate. The ones that come for money, to game the system, or join organized crime--they are the minority that make the evening news. In Sweden, half the crime series have Russians as the bad guys. You'd think Sweden had 40% Russians living there.
It's hard to take the figure of 2,664 yearly applicants as a serious burden. Germany must get that many every month (or less!). Surely we can process that many in a year without overextending our own social services?
