How many of us can just sit by and watch the horror stories we see on television of families being torn apart at the borders and not cry? Like me, do you want to help stop this? Children are being kept in tents and detention centers without their parents which is cruel and unusual punishment! Some siblings are even being separated! Do you find it frustrating and want to help, and feel sorrow and embarrassment that our country is committing another atrocity? Me too, and that is why I am writing this. There is no time for apathy!
Personally, one way I can help is to share actions that can be taken and also explore some of the facts and history of the situation, so that we may band together and find ways to stop this type of atrocity! Many lies are flying (are you surprised?)!
First, in my blog title, I am not using holocaust quite properly as they are not being murdered, however, one father has taken his life, and the tents being set up in 100-degree weather could result in deaths of those who cannot take that extreme heat. This is an extreme situation that requires extreme words to describe it!
Apparently, Steven Miller and Jeff Sessions, two known racists have thought up this new policy (and don’t believe them when they say it is already legislated; it is not!) This new policy is torture and the proponents should be litigated criminally; it has been condemned by the United Nations. Can you believe we are the ONLY country in the world who will not support human rights for children? https://www.thecut.com/2018/06/u-n-condemns-u-s-separating-migrant-children-from-parents.html. This is a policy to further their agenda for the wall and to play to their racist base. And this is another tool in the fascist playbook (I can suggest many books on this topic if you need them including Madeline Albright’s latest book).
America’s history of inhumane actions is one in which the majority of us do not take pride! But, perhaps you like myself, imagined that we have learned lessons from our past? Apparently not! First, we enslaved African people by ripping families from their homelands and then separated families for sales and for profit. Then as we took over this ‘discovered’ land, we pushed out the native Americans, killed them, and forced them into unpleasant territories. In the last century, we interned Japanese families in America, even in Colorado where I live. Now we add this new atrocity to our list of inhumane acts. When will we learn to embrace human rights and treat one another with compassion? Where is the GOP’s so-called family values? Non-existent I say!
Our current GOP leaders are so scheming, so conniving, so such gluttonous for power that they would rip children from their mothers, so they can hold these separated families as ransom for a stupid and expensive wall they want to build to keep more people out of our country! What happened to the promise that Mexico would pay for the wall? They need to be held accountable for these heinous crimes! Democrats should not fall for this ploy, nor give in on the wall (it won’t help and that money could be used more wisely). The cabinet and staff of the White House condone their cruel policy on the news. John Kelly and Steven Miller seem to be the instigators of this idea and has wanted it for years. Jeff Sessions, a known racist, is promoting this new policy and even quoting scripture to try to make it sound reasonable. Not buying it!
The new zero tolerance policy, as set forth by this administration, states that any migrant family without a border inspection will be prosecuted for this minor misdemeanor. So, the parents are imprisoned, and the children are warehoused. Often the parents will plead guilty to the misdemeanor and are sentenced for a few days while they await trial. They have a hard time reuniting with their children and often are deported without them. That leaves the children behind. This policy is cruel and inhuman! I have zero tolerance for it!
Others are beginning to speak out against this abhorrent policy. Even former First Lady, Laura Bush’s comments in the Washington Post on Sunday calling the action immoral and cruel (http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/laura-bush-trump-family-separations-are-cruel-immoral.html). Faith leaders are also condemning Session’s reference to Roman’s in the Bible as the same quote has been used to justify slavery. If you read the verse further it talks about love. In addition, many Democratic leaders are visiting shelters and joining protests too. Joe Kennedy changed his plans on Father’s day to join in speaking in Texas. He stated, “humanity doesn’t come with citizenship or a green card.” Even paid workers at the border are having a hard time doing this work, and some are quitting and blowing the whistle on the immoral actions being taken against small children. As with most issues and this administration, follow the money. Someone is making money off of this new policy, mark my words! This could become an important issue in the 2018 mid-term elections for certain!
The new and unwritten policy says that even when a family presents itself legally for asylum at the border and are complying with the current law, our government can separate the children so that the parents can be jailed. In a prior civil rights case, Flores, dictates that kids cannot be kept in the same type of detention the parents are put in, so they must be separated. It is this administration’s choice to jail these people with credible asylum claims, who have not broken any laws, and also taking the children away. There is no current policy that supports their actions! This will likely leave irreparable scars on the psyches of these families, especially the children! And further damages the world’s view of America.
Now the GOP is trying their usual scapegoat by blaming Democrats for a non-existent policy! They are the ones that set this unwritten and un-heart-felt policy into action! They say something needs to be done, when it is them who hold the power in all three branches of the government and are the ones who can take action. Asylum seeking is allowed under our current law and mothers fleeing from horrible situations should be welcomed. They are not criminals; they are doing what any of us would do under their situation! These parents don’t know our laws, may not even speak English, and expect to be welcomed at our borders to escape from horrible situations in their own country, some of which are promoted by the U.S.
So what is the difference between asylum and refugee as defined:
“Refugee status or asylum may be granted to people who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group or political opinion.”
“The difference between asylees and refugees is largely procedural. A person who requests asylum in the United States is called an asylee. A person who requests protection while still overseas, and then is given permission to enter the U.S. as a refugee, is naturally called a refugee.”
For many years there has been rhetoric around updating and changing the current immigration policies but no one has tackled it, likely due to the political climate. The current legislation was passed in 1965 with an update in 1990!
“The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States.”President Lyndon Johnson signed the Hart-Celler Immigration Bill fifty-three years ago on Oct. 3, 1965. The legislation, which phased out the national origins quota system first instituted in 1921, created the foundation of today’s immigration law.
In 1986, additional legislation was passed regarding employers. In most countries the employers are severely penalized for hiring ‘illegals’ and that is the best deterrent. “The law criminalized the act of engaging in a “pattern or practice” of knowingly hiring an “unauthorized alien” and established financial and other penalties for those employing illegal immigrants under the theory that low prospects for employment would reduce undocumented immigration.”
Then in 1990, “The Immigration Act of 1990. Enacted on November 29, 1990, was an amendment in United States immigration law that increased the number of legal immigrants that entered into the United States every year.” It was signed into law by George H. W. Bush and was first introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy in 1989. It was a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.
In addition, I feel these actions prove that this administration is racist and misogynistic. Sessions is known to be a white supremacist and he is promoting his agenda with cruel policies! Many of the separations are mothers from their children. This administration has shown time and time again that they wish to turn back the clock and take rights away from women. If there was an American white family in another country detained at a border like this, I bet you would hear outcries from the GOP.
Read, watch and call about legislation that is proposed. Senator Feinstein has put forth SB 108 and that one is worth supporting. My Senator’s office does not know when it will be brought to vote, while meantime about 50 families per day are being separated. However, the GOP HR bills are ones that we need to condemn as they would continue these actions of detentions at the borders! Calls, rallies and outcries have to make a difference so please participate in those actions as you are able. Everyone can make a call! In the article below, there are groups to support and who are taking action. If you are an attorney or know when that can assist, legal action is one of the best ways to fight this. There are many good organizations and resources to support with money and time listed in this article: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/how-you-can-fight-family-separation-at-the-border.html and https://www.vox.com/2014/7/14/5895277/children-border-how-help-donate-volunteer-foster-immigrants-refugees
There will also be a march in El Paso, TX on the 27th. If you live there, check it out. We had a rally in Denver last week, so watch for others in your area and please take part.
If you agree with me, please take action! We ask how could the world allow the holocaust to happen; I say we collectively allowed it to happen; people didn’t take action; apathy is rampant; and we can’t allow this atrocity to continue!