My tidbits, which you will read after this article releases, touches on the topic I am going to discuss in this piece. I wrote my tidbits a day before I wrote this article and, when I wrote, I wasn’t sure if I should dive deep into the actual issue I hinted toward. But, after going home and spending hours online just reading up about everything going on, I realized that I couldn’t stay quiet. I know that my political views and opinions differ from many of you, but this isn’t even a political issue. It’s about basic human decency. And I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe taking a child from a parent is wrong. It’s sad. And it’s inexcusable.
But let’s back up a second, and really find out exactly what’s going on. I have been seeing a lot of different information regarding this issue and I myself wasn’t sure what was true and what was false. So I went online to factcheck.org, which is a dependable and non-biased website, which simply provides the facts on several issues facing our country today. So what did I learn?
First of all, back in April, the Attorney General enacted a zero-tolerance policy to deter more people coming into the country illegally. After this was enacted, the Department Of Homeland Security Secretary instructed “her department to refer all unauthorized immigrants who cross the U.S. border to federal prosecutors for criminal prosecution.” And, due to this, the children are being separated from their parents. According to factcheck.org, the parents are sent to federal courts and then a detention center while the children are either sent to a juvenile facility, foster care or with a relative.
So, how many children have been taken from their parents? According to factcheck.org, there are “11,517 minors in the “Unaccompanied Children’s Program.” This figure is from June 15 and includes the children that came with their parents or came alone.
The biggest question on everyone’s mind, is where are the children being kept? What are their living arrangements? Many people have been stating that the children are being kept in cages. However, according to factcheck.org, “the government has rejected the idea that it uses “cages” in its facilities. You can look at the factcheck.org article, which is linked below, to find a picture of the facility and determine for yourself if these are ‘cages’ or not. But the fact that this is even a possibility, is disturbing.
The next question is—how does everything work? According to factcheck.org, the children are sent from a processing to a juvenile facility, under the Health And Human Services, in three days. However, for a short period, they are housed in short-term facilities by the DHS. Factcheck.org released a quote from the Department Of Justice saying “These short-term facilities do not employ the use of ‘cages’ to house UACs, but portions of the facility makes use of barriers in order to separate minors of different genders and age groups. This is for the safety and security of all minors in the custody of the United States government.” Other information gained from factcheck.org is this: Some children are being kept in a shelter, called Casa Padre, located in Brownsville where up to five minors stay in dorm-style rooms. “NBC News described the conditions at the nonprofit shelter as “more like incarceration than temporary shelter.” Furthermore, “the former Wal-Mart houses almost 1,500 boys, ages 10 to 17, for an average of 52 days. According to the New York Times, whose reporter visited the shelter, it offers classroom instruction, recreational activities and other services. The minors are allowed outside two hours per day.”
Now there is a lot of other information that factcheck.org did not include in its story. That is about the “tender age shelters” that have opened for children aged five and under, the idea that we still have no idea where the girls are and the overarching confusion whether previous Presidents and administrations had a similar policy. There are plenty of articles you can read to figure out these answers, but I am choosing not to include a discussion on this in my article. One, because it’s all confusing and I don’t want to give false information. And two, because I want to talk about how we can help.
Regardless of your political opinions, regardless of who you voted for, I am sure you can agree that taking children from their parents is wrong. Let me make one thing clear. I do not agree with illegal immigration. I believe that everyone needs to follow the rules and, if they want to come into our country, they need to do it properly and have all the documents they need. However, I also believe that if someone comes to us asking for help as they are escaping a dangerous situation, they should get help. We have the resources, so why can’t we help? Furthermore, from my research, I learnt that coming here with documents, ergo “illegally”, is technically only a misdemeanor. But it has recently become a felony, which is leading to the separations. Oh and another thing—turning oneself in at the border and requesting asylum is not illegal and never has been.
With all this said, I have been in a state of sadness, anger and hopelessness over the past few days. I have many little cousins, a nephew and a close friend’s daughter—all of whom are a very important part of my life. And when I see them, I just can’t help but think of the poor babies who have been separated from their parents through no fault of their own and no information on being reunited. My heart hurts for the older children, who have a sense of what is going on, but no knowledge on when and if they will see their parents again. My heart hurts for these kids who are not being comforted and have been thrown into these facilities. And providing them ‘recreational activities’ and two hours of outside play does not make up for the fact that they have been taken from their parents.
Furthermore, I work with children. I’m studying early childhood education. And I have learnt that children need to feel safe, secure and loved. I mean, this is common sense but children—especially really young ones—need to have secure attachments with a parent or caregiver. And the fact that children aren’t being able to comfort one other, based on comments from someone who was working in one of the shelters who quit after being told not to allow siblings to hug and comfort each other, is breaking my heart.
So how can we help? Texas Tribune has provided a list of all the organizations you can donate to. You can find this list at: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/18/heres-list-organizations-are-mobilizing-help-separated-immigrant-child/.
If you cannot donate money, you can help by calling and emailing your representatives; doing it over and over. If you disagree with this policy that separates children from their parents, deprives a child of their childhood, prevents children from comforting one another and being comforted and all the other despicable acts that are occurring—MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. This isn’t about Republican versus Democrat or conservative versus liberal. This may be based around immigration, but this is more than that. This is about being a DECENT HUMAN and speaking out against this injustice.
We have to do what we can to reunite these children with their parents. I am a citizen of this country. My family came here legally. But I also have compassion and I cannot ignore the plight of these people. Just because it doesn’t affect me, doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt me, sadden me and anger me. If you do, let your voice be heard.
428
previous post
