PHOTOS: PATRICIA HAUSER, ADRIAN GARCIA, JOHN RAMSPOTT, PEDRO RIOS
The Trump administration policy of separating immigrant children from their parents and putting them in cages is exposing the tip of the iceberg of the incredible history of violence in Central America financed by our U.S. dollars. This separation is more like torture.
On June 30, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in some 750 cities across the country and in Puerto Rico. The crowds were as diverse as our country, responding to story after story revealing the cruel madness involving the abuse of children, mistreatment of pregnant immigrant women in detention centers, and the deportation of parents without their children and the corruption of our government paying millions our tax of dollars to private corporations to indefinitely detain undocumented immigrants. These corporations have provided campaign contributions to Trump and other candidates.
Not all have benefited from a judge’s order to reunite the families; some parents have been deported and it is unknown if they are still alive. Meanwhile, their children are orphaned or awaiting adoption but still in detention in a U.S. cage. This is truly criminal! The American public is standing up to tell our government, “This is not who we are!”
The Trump administration has proposed suspending due process rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and returning undocumented persons to their home countries as soon as they cross the border, without being able to apply for asylum. Some are being deported “in absentia” – meaning they are not present for the court hearing. Very young children have been expected to represent themselves in court! Some members of Congress have instead proposed sending 200 additional immigration judges to the U.S.-Mexico border to expedite processing these cases, which normally take years to be heard.
Through the government’s terrorizing of immigrants, an intolerable fascism is being rolled out that is affecting more than just migrants. This is at the heart of what is going on. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has authority to operate within 100 miles of any U.S. land or coastal border, which includes and affects about 200 million people in numerous states, not just the U.S.-Mexico border. Stripping migrants of their rights threatens everyone’s rights. We learn from history as Hitler’s attack on immigrants later spread to all German citizens.
Meanwhile “establishment” Democrats are trying to position themselves as leaders in the fight to keep families together. Things have certainly gotten worse with Trump, but we all remember it began well before him. Obama became the “Deporter in Chief.”
The finger-pointing of blame continues between the Republicans and Democrats for their inability to agree on immigration legislation, the Dreamers, DACA or comprehensive reform. Lawsuits are freezing many decisions. The elections in November 2018 will no doubt be another distraction since the decision-makers are not prioritizing immigration solutions that do not include Trump’s border wall.
Poor people are talking about the concentration camps for the poor that are now being prepared. Fascism or democracy: Which side are you on?
