Written by Margie Delao

As history has proven, natural disasters and health crises will disproportionately affect socially and economically underprivileged communities. During Hurricane Katrina, low income and African American communities were affected by the hurricane at astronomical rates. The HIV/AIDS epidemic swept through marginalized minority LGBTQ+ communities, further exacerbating rampant discrimination against those testing positive for the disease. In both cases, the government failed to act with urgent and sweeping policy to combat the Katrina fallout and the HIV/AIDS epidemics. As a result, minority communities paid the price. Just as much can be said regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic. As the days, hours, and minutes wear on, the U.S. government’s directives on social distancing and economic relief packages flurry onto media outlets, overtaking the country in a snowstorm of breaking news. The coronavirus will no doubt affect millions, but it is evident that the pandemic will be especially disastrous for immigrant communities. That said, what actions is the federal government taking to provide protection for immigrants, especially for those in ICE detention centers? With a proven track record of racist and discriminatory policies against immigrants, it is no surprise that President Trump is doing little to protect immigrant communities during the pandemic.

The fear mongering and racially charged narrative that Trump developed during his campaign is deeply embedded in the policies he enacted during his presidency. Trump has pushed for the building of a wall at the U.S. and Mexico border, enacted travel bans for primarily African and Muslim majority countries, and reinterpreted the Public Charge Rule by linking the naturalization approval process to an applicant’s income and reliance on certain public programs. All of Trump’s immigration policies are the result of his abhorrent xenophobic campaign promises to keep out immigrants fleeing war and conflict and obtaining citizenship. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Trump administration enacted the removal of English and Spanish CDC posters on the coronavirus from immigration courts in the midst of a pandemic. These policies only serve to leave immigrants vulnerable in their communities during the pandemic, wanting for vital, lifesaving information that their government is loath to provide them with.

The most vulnerable immigrants during this crisis are those who remain in the ICE detention centers. As the virus is known to spread quickly among large groups of individuals, those who are incarcerated are especially vulnerable, as they lack the option to socially distance themselves from others. The ACLU recently stated in their lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Agency that ICE detention centers are notorious for inhumane, unethical, and unsanitary living conditions. If the U.S. Government does not release vulnerable immigrants from these detention centers, it runs the risk of further spreading the disease among a much more defenseless swath of the population. With the pandemic worsening, the U.S. government has rushed to “flatten the curve” and slow the virus’ spread. In conjunction with pressure from lawmakers and advocates, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the Public Charge Rule will not apply to any immigrants seeking testing and treatment for the coronavirus. What is especially critical to this change to the Public Charge Rule is that it will encourage immigrants to receive testing without fear of being denied a green card or citizenship.

Even with recent change in policy, how will immigrants trust the government to provide resources without future retribution amid anti-immigrant rhetoric Trump established during his campaign and through his policy initiatives? It is too early to predict whether the change in the Public Charge Rule will effectively encourage immigrants to seek out testing and treatment. Immigrants are especially vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic. Unless the government changes the narrative on immigration policy and enacts sweeping policy to support these vulnerable communities, such as releasing immigrants in detention centers or placing a moratorium on deportation, many will contract the disease, and even die due to fear of seeking out treatment.

Rockville, February 25^th – The Montgomery County Young Democrats are pleased to announce our awarding of a $500 dollar grant to Springbrook High School Students for a computer science hackathon.

Several students from Springbrook High School’s Academy of Information Technology are organizing a computer science hackathon (coding event for students to be enriched in the realm of computer science) named Brook Codes. They aim to bring together students who are interested in computer science regardless of their socioeconomic status, and to promote equity, access, and diversity. The event will also show that coding can be a fun activity for people of all skill levels and prove the computer science is not only for the wealthy and well-connected.

After hearing from the students, the Montgomery County Young Democrats Executive Board voted to award them a $500 grant toward their proposal. Technology is a growing career field, and it is important for youth to be involved in and learn about tech jobs.

The Brook Codes Hackathon will help provide students from all economic levels with a way to gain more exposure to the technology field and nurture their interest in STEM (science, technology, math, and engineering) careers. It will take place on April 18^th, 2020 from 9 AM to 7 PM, at Springbrook High School. You can register online here.

The goal of the all day event will be to “design a game you can play with children around the world. It doesn’t matter how old they are, what language they speak, where they are, or how they access the Internet. They should be able to connect with you right away and understand the rules of the game immediately.”

The Montgomery County Young Democrats are pleased to encourage more young people to get involved in the technology sector, and to encourage more underrepresented people to get involved as well.

For more information, reach out to Michael DeLong at michaeldelong94@gmail.com or mocoyoungdems@gmail.com, or Communications Director Margie Delao at margie.c.delao@gmail.com.

Rockville, MD- The Trump administration’s recent expansion of the list of countries under the travel ban reflects their continued politically motivated efforts to target African and Muslim countries under the guise of National Security.  Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar (also known as Burma), Sudan, and Tanzania will as of February 22, 2020 be added to the list of countries on the ban.

President Trump is already on trial in the Senate for abusing his power and extorting other countries for the sake of advancing his personal political interests in the name of national security.  The misuse of power by President Trump is evident in his most recent efforts to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine in order to have the Ukrainian President publicly open inquiries on Trump’s political rival, Joe Biden. In this case, it can be argued that the most recent expansion is yet another politically motivated move, but in this case, it is to reinforce the notably xenophobic edge of his campaign.

In a disappointing judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the initial ban stating that it is not prejudicial and that it is under the President’s authority to curtail immigration in the interest of national security.  That being said, it should not be under the President’s authority to influence foreign policy for the sole purpose of appealing to their voter base during their upcoming reelection year.

The Montgomery County Young Democrats condemn the expansion of the ban and urges the courts to impede these politically motivated efforts.  Unless something is done, President Trump will continue to manipulate foreign policy for his own personal benefit with a complete lack of regard for the country he governs.

The Montgomery County Young Democrats (MCYD) are involved in politics for many different reasons. Here Michael DeLong, MCYD President, writes about country clubs in Montgomery County, how they receive large property tax breaks, and why these tax breaks are harmful and should be repealed. 

One of the issues that we Montgomery County Young Democrats care about is fairness and ensuring that our schools and services are well funded. Montgomery County is home to a great many people and businesses, from Bethesda to Silver Spring to Gaithersburg. What many people don’t know is that our county hosts fifteen golf courses and country clubs-and that these clubs get a massive property tax break.

Currently Maryland’s State Department of Assessments and Taxation assesses land owned by country clubs and gold courses at $1,000 per acre. They do this because of agreements signed with the country clubs, and this is under a fifty year old law intended to discourage development of open spaces. What this actually means that the country clubs pay property taxes on only a small amount of their land’s actual value. The actual market rate assessments for these country clubs range from $12,500 per acre to $1.1 million per acre!

Essentially, while homeowners, businesses, and other people are paying property taxes to fund schools, health care, parks, and other county priorities, wealthy country clubs have a huge tax break, and are not paying their fair share. And these clubs are very well off. For some of the clubs, member initiation fees can be over $75,000! To give just a few examples, Manor Country Club near Rockville has a property value of $5.1 million, Chevy Chase Country Club’s property value is $8.3 million, and Woodmont Country Club is valued at $15.5 million!

Getting rid of these unfair tax breaks for wealthy country clubs would yield an additional $10 million in annual property taxes for the county, which could be used to fund better county services and promote economic opportunity. For the past few years, Delegate David Moon has introduced bills to eliminate this giveaway. Last year he remarked that “this country club tax break deal is probably the most glaring and obvious example of unfair tax policy.”

Moon is right. And this year, Montgomery County faces a budget shortfall of $99.8 million, driven in part by stagnating property and income tax revenues! Repealing the property tax break for country clubs would help fill that gap and reduce budget cuts. Recently I was part of a protest in front of Columbia Country Club (valued at $7.1 million) to draw attention to this issue and urge that the tax break be revoked.

Budgets are moral documents. And at a time when budget cuts will hurt the county’s least fortunate, rich country clubs should pay their fair share to ensure that Montgomery County is a good place to live for all its residents.

Rockville, MD – In light of the November testimony on President Trump’s treatment of Ukraine as well the additional information that has surfaced, the Montgomery County Young Democrats support the U.S. House of Representatives’ impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

The impeachment hearings held by the House Intelligence Committee in November further solidified the accusations made against President Trump.  Multiple witnesses testified and shared their interactions with President Trump and his advisors.  From the infamous phone call with the President of Ukraine to the threats made against his own fellow government officials, President Trump’s recent actions are gravely concerning and a violation of his oath of office.

The witnesses’ testimony outlined the chain of events and revealed President Trump’s intent to withhold foreign aid and employ other abhorrent tactics for the sake of his personal political gain.  After a thorough investigation, the U.S. House of Representatives rightfully impeached President Trump on December 18th for abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

The Impeachment trial will be held in the U.S. Senate this month and the Montgomery County Young Democrats urge the Senate to conduct a fair trial.  It is important that the laws that govern this country also apply to the highest office in the United States, and that no one is above the law.

For more information or comments, contact Michael DeLong at 925-708-1135 or michaeldelong94@gmail.com.