May 31, 2018
Since the spate of stories regarding the Trump administration’s heinous policy of ripping children from their parents at the border and immediately transforming them into “unaccompanied minors,” we have learned more about the context of the 1500 “missing” immigrant children. That number represents children who were released to the custody of a sponsor, which in 80% of cases, was a parent (Source: “Following Up on 1500 Missing Immigrant Children in the U.S.,” transcript of interview with Celia Munoz (Obama Domestic Policy Advisor in charge of immigration, Morning Edition, NPR.org, 5/29/18). Their failure to appear is in all likelihood a result of their well-founded fear of engagement with the immigration authorities of the Trump administration.
Yet, while that context may allay our concerns about the fate of the 1500 children who arrived between October 2016 and December 2017, we should be far from sanguine about the fate awaiting the children now being classified as “unaccompanied minors.” As a direct result of Trump’s zero tolerance policy, the number of children being classified as “unaccompanied” has increased and the length of time that they are held in detention has increased. According to The Washington Post, the percentage of children held in custody increased in 2017 from 7 to 10% of all migrant children and the amount of time that the children are being held in detention has increased from an average of 51 days to 57 days. Those numbers are projected to increase dramatically under the draconian “zero tolerance” policy (Source: “‘Lost’ migrant children? Statistics show the government is keeping more of them far longer,” by Nick Miroff, The Washington Post, 5/30/18).
In the face of such sobering statistics, we ask ourselves, what can we do? As a start, we should pressure the U.S. Senators on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and demand that they exercise their authority as a co-equal branch of government, to put an immediate stop to this abhorrent practice. The Democratic members of the Committee are: Senator Claire McCaskill (ranking Minority member), Senator Thomas Carper (DE); Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (ND); Sen. Gary Peters (MI); Sen. Maggie Hassan (NH), Sen. Kamala Harris (CA) and Sen. Doug Jones (AL). Among the Republicans, Senator McCain (on medical leave) and Portman seem most persuadable.
In addition, we should lend our support to organizations that are working to try to challenge the mistreatment of immigrants and refugees in court, or who are lending support to them on the ground. The ACLU Immigrant Rights Project is currently pursuing an action in federal court in San Diego, Ms. L v. ICE , seeking a preliminary injunction to reunite the families ripped apart and put an end to the practice going forward. They also recently settled the case of Colotl v. Kelly, reinstating DACA protection for 28 year old Jessica Colotl. Colotl, a graduate of Kennesaw State University, has been in this country since the age of 11 and her job as a paralegal was jeopardized by the arbitrary and capricious effort to revoke her DACA status.
Kids In Need of Defense (www.supportkind.org) provides legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children. By partnering with over 500 law firms and corporate law departments, KIND has provided representation to 15,800 children in the past ten years. Studies show that immigrant children with attorneys are five times more likely to be permitted to remain in the United States (Source: “Access to Counsel,” National Immigrant Justice Center, www.immigrantjustice.org).
If we want to support organizations that provide advocacy, we can look to the Women’s Refugee Commission (https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/). They focus on sexual and reproductive health, gender based violence, cash and livelihood and rights and justice. Lastly, The Florence Project, in Florence, AZ (https://firrp.org/) provides both legal and social services to immigrants detained at the Arizona/Mexico border.
The bad news is that we have a viciously racist regime that has built a system dedicated to the immiseration of Latino immigrants. The good news is that there are many dedicated Americans fighting that regime tooth and nail. The least we can do is give them a hand.
#Notonourwatch