Today is Tuesday, June 18, 2024. It’s late here because Elliot and I sat down to watch an alleged crime thriller on Netflix called The Postcard Killings, adapted from a book by James Patterson and Liza Marklund. The film had more twists and turns than a jagged road and we were puzzled during most of it. The plot, as it was, details the harrowing experiences of a New York City detective, here played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who investigates the death of his daughter and her husband in London and comes upon a series of grisly serial murders being committed by a devious pair of innocent-looking American pair of killers. The plot meanders and spans many European cities, including London, Munich, and Sweden. What connects these killings are postcards mailed to various journalists in these cities and it’s one of these journalists, Dessie Lombard, that the detective teams up with to solve these mystifying murders. For a thriller, there were very few thrilling moments and not many moments of suspense. So all in all, I would not recommend this film.

Today in a major decision by the White House, President Joe Biden announced an executive action allowing certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the country – a sweeping election-year move that could offer deportation protection to hundreds of thousands of people.

This measure is covered in an online CNN article by Michael Williams entitled “Biden announces new executive action protecting some undocumented immigrant spouses and children of US citizens.”

The presidential action will provide legal status and protections for about 500,000 American families and roughly 50,000 noncitizen children of immigrants under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen, a senior administration official said. It amounts to one of the federal government’s biggest relief programs for undocumented immigrants since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was announced by then-president Barack Obama in 2012.

The action is definitely one that is aimed at appealing to key Latino constituencies in battleground states, including Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, that will be crucial for Biden’s chances to claim a second term. The move can be viewed as an olive branch to immigration advocates and progressives, many of whom have sharply criticized Biden for previous restrictive actions, including steps this month to limit asylum processing at the U.S. southern border.

The president formally announced the action during a White House event today marking the 12th anniversary of DACA. Biden stated, “Today’s a good day,” during the function in the White House’s East Room.

Today’s action allows those spouses to apply for residency without needing to leave the United States – a key change that the Biden administration argues will keep families intact.

Contrast this approach to the immigration crisis today taken by the sitting president to that of his demented opponent, Donald Duck, who infamously separated families and children at the border during his terrible presidency. He is currently proposing to do the same: to rip spouses and children from their families, homes, and communities, and place them in detention camps. How can this senile man have supporters in the Latin community after he’s proposed doing this? It’s utterly irrational.

Immigration-advocacy groups welcomed news of Biden’s announcement. Todd Schulte, president of immigration-advocacy group FWD.us, said of Biden in a statement, “By removing barriers that prevent spouses from staying with their families, he can fulfill his promise to protect those harmed by our broken immigration laws.” Schulte added, “We encourage the president to act boldly and with the confidence of knowing Americans across the political spectrum support these responsible protections for individuals who have lived in our communities and proven their contributions to our country for years.”

The change in status could impact up to 550,000 individuals, according to the Migration Policy Institute, and allowing those individuals to seek higher-wage jobs could have sizable economic benefit.

Undoubtedly, those in the party of Trump already criticized Biden for doing the right thing. Republican Whip John Thune stupidly noted, “They are increasing incentive for people to come here illegally,” which is not the case here at all. Another Trumpican, Senator Thomas Tillis, who has worked on immigration issues told CNN that the better solution would be to find a bipartisan bill. But this douchebag actually voted against the bipartisan border bill earlier this year, so this guy has no credibility at all.

With this bold move, President Biden has demonstrated that he still has the moxie to effect change. Let’s hope this executive action is not challenged by forces arrayed against it.

Who’s counting down to the first presidential debate? I am. And it’s only nine days away. I’m not a betting man, but I have this suspicion that Duck will ditch the debate and leave an empty podium. This should sink him even more with American voters. But let’s see what happens.

Stay safe and be well.