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Civil Rights Groups, U.S. Lawmakers Condemn Trump’s “sh—hole countries” Remarks
By Freddie Allen (Editor-In-Chief, BlackPressUSA.com/NNPA Newswire)
6 minute read
—Trump made the comments during a meeting with Republican and Democratic congressmen about immigration reform and President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
— The New York Times reported: “When Mr. Trump heard that Haitians were among those who would benefit from the proposed deal, he asked whether they could be left out of the plan, asking, ‘Why do we want people from Haiti here?’”
—Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond said that the Diversity Visa Program “greatly benefits immigrants from African countries and provides an opportunity for them to achieve the American Dream.”
Civil rights groups and lawmakers on Capitol Hill condemned racially hostile comments that President Donald Trump made during a recent meeting about immigration reform with Democrats and Republicans at the White House.
The New York Times reported: “President Trump on Thursday balked at an immigration deal that would include protections for people from Haiti and some nations in Africa, demanding to know at a White House meeting why he should accept immigrants from ‘sh–hole countries’ rather than from places like Norway, according to people with direct knowledge of the conversation.”
The U.S. congressmen that attended the meeting, according to The New York Times, included: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.); Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Senator David Perdue (R-Ga.); Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); Representative Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va.).
Trump’s disparaging comments received quick condemnation in the civil rights community and across the political spectrum.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association tweeted: “It is a glaring contradiction that as the US is preparing to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as a national holiday, President Trump utters racist statements against Africa and people of color.”
In a statement about the President’s comments posted to her Twitter account, Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), the only Republican serving in the U.S. House of Representatives of Haitian descent, said that his “behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation.”
Love continued: “My parents came from one of those countries but proudly took the oath of allegiance to the Unites States and took on the responsibilities of everything that being a citizen comes with. They never took a thing from our federal government. They worked hard, paid taxes, and rose from nothing to take care of and provide opportunities for their children. They taught their children to do the same. That’s the American Dream.”
Love added that Trump must apologize to “the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned.”
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that President Trump’s comments are yet another confirmation of his racially insensitive and ignorant views.
“It also reinforces the concerns that we hear every day, that the President’s slogan Make America Great Again is really code for Make America White Again,” said Richmond.
Richmond continued: “All of the reservations we have had about negotiating with him on immigration are well-founded. President Trump is clearly more concerned with ending the future flow of immigrants from Africa and the African diaspora than providing relief to Dreamers who came here through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that we can negotiate in good faith with a person who holds such vile and reprehensible beliefs.”
Marc Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League, said Trump’s crude statement regarding immigration from Haiti and African nations is appalling for its lack of compassion, and stunning for its ignorance about the contributions of Haitian and African immigrants.
“Even more troubling was the fact that his slur was coupled with a desire for more immigration from overwhelmingly White countries like Norway,” said Morial. “Congress must reject this divisive and racially-discriminatory approach to immigration policy.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, the president and founder of National Action Network (NAN), said that Trump’s deplorable statements while meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House regarding an immigration deal go beyond racial insensitivity.
“For the President to make these remarks just after he was quoted as saying all Haitians have AIDS and Nigerians live in huts, demonstrates a consistent pattern of racism and bigotry. It is further concerning that he is doing it in policy meetings that will impact laws in this country and abroad,” said Sharpton. “Trump uses White nationalist rhetoric to continue to explicitly defile, disrespect, and destroy communities of color. His lack of presidential decorum is a disgrace to our country’s highest office.”
Sharpton continued: “We must challenge the Senate and Congress to repudiate President Trump’s comments and every Senator that was in that meeting should publicly denounce him. They should also explain why they didn’t say anything in the meeting—and if they fail to answer they should be targeted by the civil rights community as accomplices.”
Sharpton said that Trump’s comments were the ultimate disrespect to hundreds of communities who believe in the American Dream—the same dream of equality and justice that Dr. King had.
“We will not let Trump or his Administration forget these words when we vote this year or in 2020,” Sharpton said.
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OP-ED: How Does Your State Rank for Pre-K?
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “Other states should take note: Georgia proves that state-funded preschool with well-qualified teachers, pay parity with K-12, small classes, and strong continuous improvement systems can be scaled as a universal program,” said NIEER director Steve Barnett. “With new initiatives to support quality, Georgia can expect increased enrollment, but leaders should also actively promote increased enrollment.”
Georgia’s state-funded pre-k program for 4-year-olds was recently recognized as the largest state-funded preschool program in the nation to meet all 10 quality benchmarks, and the first universal program to do so. Georgia’s recognition is the top finding in the National Institute for Early Education Research’s new 2025 State of Preschool Yearbook. The yearbook provides an annual snapshot of state-funded preschool across the country. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia fund preschool programs.
Only five additional states meet all 10 of NIEER’s research-based benchmarks for quality —Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi, and Rhode Island—in this year’s report. None of those programs have the reach of Georgia Pre-K. NIEER’s benchmarks measure essential preschool quality indicators, including teacher qualifications, class sizes, early learning standards, and program assessments.
“Other states should take note: Georgia proves that state-funded preschool with well-qualified teachers, pay parity with K-12, small classes, and strong continuous improvement systems can be scaled as a universal program,” said NIEER director Steve Barnett. “With new initiatives to support quality, Georgia can expect increased enrollment, but leaders should also actively promote increased enrollment.”
Nationally, state support for preschool education hit record highs in enrollment and funding in 2024-2025. The pace of growth slowed, however, compared to the prior year, and many states continue to lag behind pre-pandemic enrollment levels. Preschool enrollment increased by 44,000 children nationally, reaching almost 1.8 million, including 37% of U.S. four-year-olds and 9% of three-year-olds. California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Missouri contributed the most to increased enrollment, adding more than 52,000 new seats.
States spent nearly $14.4 billion on preschool in 2024-2025. Including federal and local dollars, total spending was almost $17.7 billion. Three states each spent more than $1 billion last year: California ($4.1 billion), New Jersey ($1.2 billion), and New York ($1 billion). Together, these three states account for 45% of all state preschool spending. Texas adds almost another $1 billion.
Spending increased by $434 million, or 3%, adjusted for inflation. Twenty-eight states increased preschool funding, including Michigan and New Jersey, which each added more than $100 million. “Not only does preschool access vary by which state a child happens to live in, but so does the quality of that preschool experience,” said Allison Friedman-Krauss, lead author of the report. “Only high-quality early care and education programs support children’s development enough to result in lasting academic and other gains that ultimately deliver savings for taxpayers.”
A record six states met all 10 of NIEER’s recommended quality standards, with Alabama doing so for the 20th consecutive year. Georgia joined this list this year after improving its teacher-to-child ratio from 1:11 to 1:10 and lowering maximum class sizes to 20. Several states met 9 of 10 benchmarks, including New Mexico, which is working toward universal access for both three- and four-year-olds. Once New Mexico requires all lead teachers to have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, it will be on par with Georgia in terms of both quality and quantity.
Not all states moved forward. Twenty states enrolled fewer preschoolers in 2024-2025 than the prior year, with enrollment dropping by more than 1,000 children in Arizona, Florida, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Seventeen states spent less on preschool than the prior year, adjusted for inflation, with Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas seeing the largest percentage declines. Additional information about the State of Preschool Yearbook, including individual state profiles and maps, graphs, and state rankings, can be found at www.nieer.org.
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