Is This Who We Are?

A quick note unrelated to the title: Clearly I failed to return back in 2013. I have no excuse. Life happened, and I dropped the ball...and here we are in June 2018. I hope to be back on a semi-regular schedule, at least until I begin law school in August. Time will tell whether that actually happens. Right now the state of our country is terrifying me to the point that I’m losing sleep. I hope putting some of these fears and anxieties into a more concrete form rather than allowing them to rattle around in my mind will be cathartic. If I can spur conversation in the process that’s even better.

Another note: I wrote this super quickly over a couple of evenings without much proofing. Judge away but know that I’m actually a little bit intelligent, even if it’s not evident here.
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Is this really who we are? As a society. As a nation. As a world. As humanity. This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. So frequently that it keeps me up at night. I’m terrified and disgusted by the fact that the answer seems to be a resounding, “Yes!”

This isn’t our nation’s first, or even second, foray into separating families for the financial or political gain of those in power, or for fear of the other and the unknown. It’s almost as if this is an old tradition for us, and it’s sickening.

Some more thoughts that have been rattling around recently. I wrote this before 45 signed his Executive Order to put out the fire that he fucking started. I also used news as sources rather than actually looking up the law. Please feel free to correct me (with sources) if I’m wrong. While I will not have conversations about whether or not we should care about what happens to other human beings, I do want to learn & understand more.

• There is absolutely NO law requiring every immigrant who crosses the border illegally to be charged in criminal court and detained. (One source, although I looked at many.) Previous administrations have processed many of these cases through civil proceedings. The so-called “zero tolerance” policy enacted by this administration means many more adults are charged in criminal court for “improper entry,” even if it is their first offense. The criminal charge results in detainment, and children, of course, cannot (and arguably should not) be detained with ‘criminal; adults, resulting in the systematic separation of families. This administration dictated this policy, and this administration can change it. Changing this policy does not require an act of Congress. Literally.

• Further, the criminal charge increases the likelihood of deportation. The children are not included in deportation proceedings decreasing the possibility of reuniting children and parents/caregivers.
• Immigration court does not allow for the right to counsel, so we are literally asking these CHILDREN to represent themselves in a court of law.

• Some people are using children who are not their own to enter the country under false pretenses. I have no doubt about that. However, even that does not justify family separation or the detention of CHILDREN.

• The Obama administration prioritized the deportation of only the most dangerous undocumented immigrants. The current administration has no priority list for deportation and only references “criminal offenses.”

• NO HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL!

This demonizing and dehumanization of those entering our country improperly (or any human being, for that matter) is the beginning of a slippery slope toward all sorts of atrocities. Are we too far down that slope? I hope not. However, failing to recognize what is happening, or simply denying it, only increases the speed at which we move even further from the ideals we claim to hold so dear. We will likely always fall short of our ideals because ideals are just that -- a standard of perfection, according to dictionary.com. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to reach them or that we should make excuses for why we haven't reached them.

And my final thought of the day: There is no circumstance in which it is acceptable to do irreparable harm to a child. Forcibly removing children from their caregivers (even if said caregivers are not their biological parents) and then denying them basic human needs like affection and comfort is something we cannot ever take back. It is not so different from removing Native American children from their homes and families. I cannot, in any way, endorse what is currently happening on our southern border. I am ashamed of the way this country is behaving.