Inside the Beltway: The great avocado panic of 2019

NEWS AND OPINION:

Brooklyn once had a kale shortage during a 2015 blizzard which caused such consternation among hipsters that the situation prompted international headlines and stories of kale angst among the smart set. But wait. An avocado shortage now looms and it could quickly turn into a regular avocadopocalypse, or even avocadogeddon — complete with political turmoil. All blamed on a certain president, of course.

“President Trump’s threat to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border would hit American consumers — in the gut. From avocado toast to margaritas, the United States is heavily reliant on Mexican imports of fruit, vegetables and alcohol to meet consumer demand. Nearly half of all imported U.S. vegetables and 40 percent of imported fruit are grown in Mexico, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” said a new Reuters report.

There’s bound to be guacamole panic as well.

“Americans would run out of avocados in three weeks if imports from Mexico were stopped,” warned Steve Barnard, who is CEO of California-based Mission Produce, the world’s largest distributor and grower of avocados.

Indeed, we remain an avocado-centric nation. According to the Hass Avocado Board, an industry group, Mexico supplied the U.S. with 52 million pounds of avocados last week alone, while California supplied 4.2 million pounds.

328,231,337: U.S. POPULATION UP 6.3%

The census has come under the close scrutiny of President Trump, who pines for a citizenship question to be included on the next census. The nine-word question would ask “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” — and Mr. Trump feels that the census itself would be “meaningless” without that simple inquiry. Grassroots groups have pushed back plenty, claiming the question is discriminatory and would intimidate the “immigrant community” and possibly compromise the final tally.

After lower court rulings against the question, the Supreme Court will hear begin hearing arguments on the case beginning April 23, with a decision handed down by the end of June.

The census must go on, though. The gargantuan effort begins on April 1, 2020, and includes a new write-in portion to specify race, along with a household relationship question for couples to specify whether they are different-sex or same-sex. Paper census forms are available in a dozen languages, printed guides in 59 languages.

“We go to extraordinary lengths to ensure we count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. We know that the 2020 Census is important to every community,” says Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham.

The bureau itself is hiring thousands of census takers and other staff — all required to be U.S. citizens and speak English, incidentally. The bureau is always busy, however.

“Census Bureau population estimates as of January 1, 2019, found the U.S. population to be 328,231,337 which is up 6.31 percent since the 2010 Census on April 1, 2010,” the agency reported on Monday.

Texas had the greatest increase in population in the last decade with 3.6 million new residents, followed by Florida (2.5 million), California (2.3 million) and North Carolina (a distant fourth place with 847,884).

EXPLAINING THE BORDER LOOPHOLE

The number of unaccompanied alien children — UACs — apprehended entering illegally along the southern border has surged 685 percent in less than two years according to the Center for Immigration Studies, an independent nonprofit research group.

“Flawed U.S. laws and policies encourage UACs to make that trip to the United States, and encourage the parents and other relatives of those UACs to pay criminal organizations to bring them to this country. In particular, by law, the Department of Homeland Security is required to turn all of those UACs from noncontiguous countries (that is every country other than Canada and Mexico) over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (in the Department of Health and Human Services) within 48 hours of the point at which they were identified as UACs, for prompt placement in the least restrictive setting ’that is in the best interest of the child.’ In FY 2018, the average UAC spent 60 days in a shelter before being released,” wrote Andrew Arthur — a former federal immigration attorney, congressional counsel and judge — a wide-ranging report for the organization released Monday.

“Generally, most are released to a parent or other family member in this country, the majority of whom do not have lawful status in the United States. This legal requirement makes the U.S. government a de facto co-conspirator with the smuggling organizations,” said Mr. Arthur, noting that this “loophole” is constantly exploited.

“Those UACs are supposed to subsequently appear for removal proceedings in immigration court after release, but often failed to do so. In fact, in half of all case completions involving UACs, the alien failed to appear for court, compared to an already high average of 25 percent for aliens generally.”

THE DEMOCRATIC DENIAL

“Law enforcement doesn’t have the resources to process and detain the crushing influx of migrants arriving at the border. As a result, they are directly releasing migrants into the United States — catch and release. This policy is dangerous, but law enforcement has no other choice because Democrats in Congress have failed to provide them with what they need to enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” Republican members of the House Homeland Security Committee said in a statement released Monday.

“Democrats want to have it both ways. First, they continue to double down on their rhetoric that there’s no crisis, despite growing pleas from law enforcement for Congressional action. What is it going to take for Democrats to acknowledge that there is a crisis?” the Republicans ask.

“Democrats cry foul about how migrants are being detained at our border, conditions that are a direct result of Congressional Democrats depriving law enforcement of the resources they need to do their job. Bottom Line: Democrats need to put aside politics and address the reality at our border: There is a crisis that is worsening by the day. Without Congressional action, the situation on the ground poses,” the GOPers conclude.

POLL DU JOUR

• 94 percent of Americans have a confidence in the U.S. military.

• 78 percent are satisfied with the nation’s military strength and preparedness.

• 71 percent give military officers a “very high” or “high” rating for their honesty and ethical standards.

• 43 percent say the amount of money used for defense spending is “about right.”

• 29 percent say the amount spent on defense is “too much.”

• 25 percent say the amount spent is “too little.”

A Gallup Poll analysis of four polls conducted in 2017-2019 and released Monday.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.