i hate to do this. never want this blog to be a platform for discussion on anything other than life's frivolities...but.
there are children being kept from their parents. young children. some of them actual infants.
in our country.
save me your "but this happened under obama's administration".
that's not at all the point. in fact we have had pretty horrible immigration laws for a long time. pre-dating the DREADED OBAMA!!! that's why there are some pretty amazing non profit organizations out there. but more on that later.
the truth is this:
the prevailing administration is a living contradiction to all that we want this country to be.
the thing is....the thing is i want these people fleeing to our country to have the asylum which they seek. i'm hearing/reading comments where they are being referred to as criminals. i do not for one second believe this. not for one. and you shouldn't either. this is racism and you are believing lies. ( i say 'you' on the off chance there are people who show up to this post via a search thing, i know YOU are super cool)
now i know there are laws about immigration. most of them were written a long fucking time ago. amendments made here and there over the years...did you know that in the late 1800's there was something called the chinese exclusion act? apparently there was an influx of chinese immigrants then and due to pretty severe xenophobia a law was passed restricting chinese asylum seekers.
seems kind of familiar to me.
good to know:
congress has complete authority over immigration. the presidick's power doesn't extend beyond refugee policy. and what's happening currently doesn't seem to be distinguishing between asylum seekers, refugees or "criminals".
these families are walking to the border stops to seek asylum. not jumping fences on the lam.
so in addition to removing children from apprehended illegal migrants, children have been separated from asylum-seekers.
THAT'S why this process is entirely fucked up.
seeking asylum isn't illegal.
oh and this nonsense about the democrats creating a law that separates children from their parents at the borders? nope. there IS NO LAW about separating children from their parents. even if done illegally! that's a fresh policy from trump's admin.
it's a threat. meant to deter illegal immigration. and children are sitting in detention centers without their parents. traumatized for life. let that sink in.
so who do we listen to? what do we believe? i know it's hard. i tend to want to listen to experts on matters i know nothing about. you know, people who fight the good fight? people who have a lifetime of experience learning actual facts firsthand. not an authority figure propped on a platform who doesn't know his asshole from his big toe. and DEFINITELY NOT jeff sessions.
people like wendy young who "is the president of Kids in Need of Defense, a nonprofit organization that provides immigrant children with pro bono legal support and that has criticized trump’s immigration policies. young has worked on immigration issues for 30 years, well before joining KIND, including serving for a period as chief counsel on immigration policy for the senate judiciary subcommittee on immigration, border security and refugees."
here is a good article on what she does, what she's learned and what she feels the current administration is doing all wrong.
“The reality is, even though theoretically they have the authority to do that, through the immigration laws, to prosecute the parent, in the past that was truly the exception to the rule,” Young said. “The administration stating that they’re required to do this law flies in the face of a long-standing history of treating families like families and recognizing that the children, whether attached to a family or arriving unaccompanied, have particular vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.”
“People are fleeing dire conditions, and they have to make extremely hard choices about how they’re going to survive. Some of the calculations that one might make about what might deter people in an office building in D.C. are not necessarily going to translate to people’s behavior who feel that they’re in dire straits.”
the more you know.
here are ways you can help:
become a freedom fighter! join the ACLU.
donate to RAICES - this is a texas based non profit that helps reunite children with their parents.
the texas civil rights project - looks for people who speak spanish to help translate for families and their children who have been separated, as well as volunteers to help with the legal intake process.
i hope you donate your money and/or time to help.
if not then use your voice! get out there and march on june 30th! if there's no march in your city - sign up to HOST ONE!
click here to join a march already scheduled in your city.
thank you.
