I have largely stayed away from politics since the last election cycle because that election was so polarizing that any mention of any opinion seems to ignite all kinds of backlash, but I can not stay silent on this situation at our borders.
Separating children from their parents and housing them in “camps” is completely unacceptable. These families have suffered hardships in their own countries (which is why they are coming here in the first place) and have faced unimaginable obstacles to come to America in hopes of finding a better life, and our response to their plight is to rip innocent children away from their parents?! To put them though more trauma?!
This is atrocious...and not American at all!
Now to address the backlash...
”This was started by Obama/Democrats.” “This has been going on for years.”——Honestly, I don’t know if those statements are true or not, but that doesn’t even matter. The fact is, traumatizing families at our borders is wrong. It is wrong if Democrats started it. It is wrong if Republicans started it. I mean....we don’t put up with that excuse as parents when our kids use it as the reason they are doing something wrong....”yeah, but he started it!” is not a viable excuse in my house. Continuing someone else’s wrong doing does not make it any less wrong.
”They are criminals.” “They are breaking the law.”——In our country, no one is a criminal unless they have been convicted of a crime. Being arrested....being accused of a crime...doesn’t mean you are a criminal. In America, people are innocent until proven guilty, and there is a process to follow in order to determine guilt. People who have crossed our border illegally also get these same protections. They have the right to a hearing to determine whether or not they are allowed to stay. Some people who come illegally have ligitemate reasons for coming here, and receive asylum or other legal status.
But this issue deals more with what to do with people while their status is in question....ok.....I understand that.....so......under our legal system very few people end up incarcerated while they await trial. Usually, the only people who reamain in jail are those who have committed some atrocious/violent crime, and even in the case of serious offenses, a judge usually takes into account the defendants financial and personal situation i.e. whether or not the accused can afford to “make bail” or has minor children to take care of. Minor offenses like criminal trespass, for instance, rarely warrant incarceration before trial. However, in the rare instances that pre-trial incarceration is necessary, the welfare of any children involved is given top priority.
I understand that illegal immigrants are a “flight risk” and need to be detained while their legal status is determined, but why can’t we detain families together....in reasonably comfortable quarters? Remember, it’s not the “tent cities” that are the issue here.....it’s the separating of children from their parents for no other reason than coming into our awesome country the wrong way.
The most sickening part of this is that people are only looking at it through the lens of political affiliation. I don’t care if you identify as Republican of Democrat. I don’t care if you are a Trump supporter or not. I don’t care where you stand on immigration reform. This issue is about families and innocent children. This is a moral issue about right and wrong.
This is America. This is the county that has prided itself on protecting the world against oppression and tyranny. The is the land of the free and the home of the brave! Maybe it’s time we started acting like it.
Tela