Of course, we should never stop caring about migrant children. We should care, care care.
I just want to stop paying for them.
Round 'em up.
Send 'em back.
72
@Mike I want to stop paying for Trump's scandals and corruption, for his family's trips to England to visit the Queen, for the outrageous graft that pervades Congress and Trump's cabinet (see, e.g, Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao), for the billions spent on the military industrial complex at the expense of our citizenry's health, welfare, and social security. The pittance we are paying to take care of poor kids on the border? That isn't even a drop in the bucket compared to what your pal Trump is taking out of your hide, my friend.
549
@Mike Send them back to an almost a certain death in Central America. Not our problem, right?
202
@Pete It's not the margin so much, it's the volume.
14
The answer is for illegal immigrants to stop coming to America. If you knew that your kids would be put in a cage if you entered a country illegally would you go anyway? If the answer is yes then what's wrong with you? These people and their kids aren't our problem. Just look at the horrendous homeless situation in it big cities, New York included. We must take care of our own!
25
Reunite them and send them back. Parts of SoCal already resemble Central America.
24
Again a Times Op-Ed writer makes reference to the "Muslim Ban" as though that were a thing that actually happened or exists.
While no fan of the President, I am a fan of facts. And while I'm loath to invoke the phrase "fake news" this is certainly an instance of repeating a lie so often that it's accepted as truth... at least in certain insular circles.
Executive Order 13780 effects visitors from 6 nations. It does not include nine of the ten most populous Muslim nations. Two of the effected six nations (Venezuela and North Korea), have Muslim populations lower than those of the US, Canada, or Israel.
23
The endless cheerleading, ad nauseam, emanating from Wokesterdom on behalf of the millions of illegal aliens already residing in our country (plus the tens of thousands stampeding across our southern border month after month)....costing American taxpayers billions year after year....is precisely why Trump’s re-election is almost a given. Enjoy!
25
The US is not responsible for the lack of family planning and gang suppression in other countries. It's time for Central America to GROW UP.
31
Trump cruelty, family destruction and prolonged child abuse.
34
Ms. Goldberg, as you wrote last week, who's gonna stop him?
23
This coming Sunday, June 23, Donald Trump’s storm troopers will be out in force rounding up people, destined for deportation.
So much for the City on the Hill.
A beacon for a better life, a safer life is being destroyed by a self serving group of white hateful bigots, terrified of becoming a minority, over those of color.
We have truly arrived at the gates of hell. So much for the American dream.
Only white people are welcome. All others, go away.
57
The most dismaying part of all this, at least for me, is how little Americans seem to care about these brazen human rights abuses. These concentration centers - and that's what they are - house people in deplorable conditions, and countless instances of physical and even sexual abuse have been reported. There have been a number of deaths.
The cruelty and the abuse has been slowly ramping up and getting worse and worse - against literally some of the most vulnerable people on the planet - and Americans by and large don't give a you-know-what. I've never been more ashamed to be American than right now.
79
I’m sick to death of Trumps cruelty and sadism especially to migrant children!How can any person believe in such behavior.?Throw him out !!and I don’t care how!!!!!
53
Someoneplease tell Trump !!!
4
We are not supposed to compare this administration to Nazi Germany. However, they separate families, they ignore court orders, they lie in order to continue their brutal tactics, they erect tent cities to where persons are confined, usually without hearings and typically under harsh conditions, often as a result of their membership in a group the government has identified as suspect. The very definition of concentration camps.
Those in ICE better review the Nuremberg trials where crimes against humanity were not allowed to stand just because superiors had ordered that they be done. There are some crimes so horrific that any reasonable person should be able to tell that they are crimes and is therefore demanded to pay the price for committing them.
Six children have died in US custody since the djt administration took over. There had been NO deaths of children in custody in the prior 10 years despite far higher numbers of detainees.
The question is not why this is not an impeachable offense, the question is where is the world court?
85
Yes, let's blame Trump. But what of those "government lawyers" who argue against soap and toothbrushes for children? And just who is the "American Government" who brutalizes those kids? Who are these shadowy lawyers, obscure bureaucrats and the anonymous prison directors? This is how fascism takes over, when good people act badly because they "have a job to do". The Times should not give them a pass. Names. Accountability. We have a right to know specifically who is making those decisions and who argues for cruelty. Because we all know it won't stop with migrant kids.
90
The Trump regime is brutal to migrant children because Trump's base wants it because they hate people of color.
34
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a good idea of calling areas where Latinos being held along the border concentration camps instead of the term being used by the Trump administration, detention centers. The term concentration camp has been used on a number of occasions in the past for such type of facilities. White term has become associated with Nazi Germany it is mot unique to Nazi Germany. America has a long history of cruelty along the Mexican border. The history of the US Border Patrol is filled with cruelty. It seems likely that such cruelty will persist as long a white supremacy remains a strong force in the US. White supremacy is almost like a disease that this country cannot get rid of. No matter how may laws are passed it won't go away. No matter how many times the white supremacists have been defeated they rise again.
31
”At least six migrant children have died in immigration custody since last September.”
When Otto Warmbier died after North Korea released him, a US court ordered North Korea to pay 500 million in damages and compensation.
How much will the US pay when six migrant children have died in US custody?
28
Yes, you'll forget the kids!
Why? Because your focus on the "kids" is hypocritical.
You can't claim to focus on the kids, while neglecting the adults!
Somehow, it's as if the adults don't exist.
There's, according to various sources, about 12 to 15 million or more undocumented immigrants.
Yet, some how, you seem to look past the many millions, and somehow land on the "kids!" Or, the "dreamers!"
How is this possible?! Do you not see the older people? Are they invincible, or do then not exist? or, are they less human or valuable?
Suddenly, it seems, it is the kids this, the kids that, the kids here, the kids there, the dreamers this, the dreamers that!!
What about the older immigrants, do your eyes or your morals not recognize them??!
Oh, yes!! You'll forget the "kids," just like you've forgotten the adults!!
Unless you start to advocate for the adults, too!!!
Stop the moral hypocrisy!!!
Let's have immigration reform for all and everyone regardless of age!!
12
If we could have a columnist and opinion writer throughout the USA.. EVERYDAY...highly visible.... like Michelle Goldberg.. this is my investigated researched report on this SUBJECT.. THIS IS WHATS GOING ON !!! read.. research!! FACTUAL web-based sites..Patience generation born 1980 too 2000. your tolerance and empathy towards people of different religious and sexual preferences, will make younger generation after you HAVE A BETTER LIFE>>
7
As I read this, the face of
Steven Miller
floats nearby!
It's his whole job.
A true monster.
40
Trump is hiding his atrocities. We need a visual. An undercover news report to show what's what.
20
This is now quite normal in Donald Trump's America. Many posters who condone such inhumanity do so defiantly, evidently proud that they live in a nation that subjects children to horrible trauma.
27
Trump's not banking on anything but his base's anti immigrant stance no matter the attendant humanitarian crisis. These "others" are, in their minds, contaminants. The SPCA itself would protest the treatment of these unsupervised underfed caged minors with no diapers, infected with the flu and many never to be reunited with family. This is a GREAT AMERICA?
20
Perhaps these families should stop coming.
19
Follow the money. Find out who runs these concentration camps, and what their political affiliations/connections are. We're talking millions of dollars, and greed makes people do the darndest things.
24
Trump denies separating families (i.e., kidnapping babies and children). He says that Obama did it and that he, Trump, is reuniting the families that Obama separated. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/21/trump-has-another-moment-right-out/?utm_term=.58e9749d640b
Meanwhile, the Senate Republicans are allowing this deranged man to exercise Congress's power to declare war.
17
Where is the Pope? These are Catholic refugees and he is suppose to be the 'refugee Pope'. Is every person on Earth afraid of Trump? It seems that is true. The starving, dirty, sick children in these detention centers are a national disgrace and a stain on our society. I say again, where is the Pope? This is an opportunity to take the moral high ground. Trump is a monster enabled by scared and weak people. Where is the Pope?
19
Trump and his minions must be convicted of kidnapping so that this sort of thing never happens again in the United States.
14
Americans spent a staggering $72 billion last year on the feeding, care and pampering of pets.
Yes, animals have rightly or wrongly been elevated to the status of deeply loved and cherished companions.
But when it comes to fellow human beings, even those in the nation illegally, we are quite ready to withhold the pampering we would happily lavish on our dogs and cats.
Sadly, many of us have lost all sense of humanity and are filled with indignation at the notion of affording undocumented children the same level of love and care we so willing give to animals.
28
What is the responsibility of the wealthy and upper middle classes of these countries people are fleeing?
When are the governments, and the leaders of these countries held accountable?
It appears there are a lot of countries willing to dump its citizens to the wilds of the world with no concerns.
15
Of course as so many of you have said, we are purposefully being exhausted by the daily onslaught of terribleness. It is hard to be an American right now. How can we be a part of this day in history? How can we let these things happen? I agree we must do one thing every day including volunteer to help at the border. Mostly we need to stand up and revolt. What is happening in Hong Kong is important and I applaud the protesters there for caring but we have endured so much more. Why? Why are we not in the streets now? Do we want to be that generation of Americans that allowed this? M
26
Michelle - I tell you I’m shocked, absolutely SHOCKED to discover the Trump Administration has been lying to American citizens, the Courts, well, to EVERYBODY (my dog told me the other day she feels used and betrayed)
9
"...[A]ccording to the Attorney General, the free seminars were merely an instrument through which instructors would induce students to enroll in increasingly expensive seminars, starting with a three-day $1,495 seminar. The Attorney General averred that although Trump University speakers represented that the three-day seminar would teach students all they needed to know to be successful real estate investors, the instructors at those three-day seminars then engaged in a “bait and switch,” telling students that they needed to attend yet another seminar for an additional $5,000 in order to learn more about particular lenders. Instructors at the three-day seminars are also alleged to have engaged in a bait-and-switch by urging students to sign up for “Trump mentorship packages, which ranged anywhere from $10,000 to $35,000” and supposedly provided “the only way to succeed in real estate investment..."
That is from
Matter of People v Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New YorkMarch 01, 2016137 A.D.3d 40926 N.Y.S.3d 66
Fraud is a felony.
However, seeking asylum at our southern border is not a crime.
The real criminal is sitting in the oval office.
46
This week people NYCITY look over torch Lady Liberty , NYBAY HER GLOW LIGHTS . Welcome New Immigrants but this Weekend will not see light in hearts Immigrants .It will be turn off , illegal Raids from ICE Agent children cry hearts being broken. By who President Donald Trump.
2
The only reason I click on these comments is in the hope of somebody posting something about how to help. I read these stories and my stomach turns thinking of my own toddlers. I finish reading these articles feeling sick and furious that Trump and his blind supporters will follow him anywhere and dismiss any crime or outrageous cruelty. If anyone knows any good avenues to help these families, please reply here. We need an outlet, we need to fight back and we need some hope again.
31
Lightsforliberty.org is organizing a protest event for July 7. Also the ACLU and refugee groups like raicestexas.org are doing on the ground work at the border. Donations much appreciated.
16
Maybe we should organize mass bussing like the freedom riders did and get down to that border. Prepare to be hosed and tear-gassed en masse-why aren’t we down there?
10
Thank you Michelle Goldberg, good observation about the emotional acclimatization problem. This irresponsible chaos not to mention the sheer inhumanity is something we must counter.
8
I not only retain every ounce of outrage I felt about this a year ago, but am more even incensed by it now--the prolongation of this massive human rights atrocity compounds my disgust faster than interest piles up on my student loans.
My anger and disgust are, I think, morally appropriate responses; legalism and dehumanizing dismissals of these "illegals" or "migrants" does not imbue these actions with justice. Those who prop up this regime reject empathy and equity alike, and privilege the letter over the spirit.
The better angels of our nature, expressed from the very outset of the American experiment by extraordinary people like Benjamin Lay (look him up if you're unfamiliar: a tiny giant among Americans), are imperiled, above all, by three interrelated characteristics. Two of them are apathy (you're human and in pain; I DON'T CARE) and cruelty (you're human and in pain; GOOD).
But the real kicker, of course, is that the third is anger, or rage, the very emotion I feel in response to these horrors. Half of this nation seems to worship Cthulhu, and the other half, clinging to the "by what right?" indignation of figures like Benjamin Lay, cannot but want to crush the rough beast in our midst, all those "proud boys" strutting around, exultant in their evil, and people like Trump and McConnell profiting from pandering to them.
What does one do when our ethical impulses are in abeyance, and the best and worst alike feel nothing but rage?
10
Sounds like there might be a crisis down on the border, Oh wait , that's not allowed to be said here.
Maybe the House can start working in immigration reform, oh wait, they'd have to stop their investigations for impeachment which will die in the Senate anyway.
The only thing lower then Trumps ratings are Congress's and with good reason
11
My father, his sister, and a cousin came here in 1937-39. The rest of the family? They couldn’t get here...end of story,..their story.😿
13
Thank you for keeping the spotlight on this shameful situation. As exhausted as I am with all of Trump’s bad craziness, I still care deeply about the welfare of these children. Keep sounding the alarm about these policies, which abuse the human rights of these, the most vulnerable people.
9
This notion of “kids” and “dreamers” is troubling, and I find it hypocritical.
It means the “kids” and “dreamers” are somehow worth helping, but for some reason that seems arbitrary to me adults somehow aren’t.
The parents who work hard and try to give these younger people a descent life are somehow sort of evil, yet the younger people aren’t, all seemingly because of their age!
Whenever I hear this, I just can’t understand the reasoning. I see people claiming they hold moral ground, telling everybody else, especially conservatives, how great they are because, it seems to me, they are helping some immigrants based on nothing but their age!
This doesn’t make sense to me. Why? What’s so special that a younger persons life is to be valued more than an older person?!
It seems arbitrary and just an excuse for some people to strangely claim to be on higher moral ground than others.
“Kids” “dreamers” why? Who gives people like this writer the right to determine who gets help because of age?!
ALL immigrants, regardless of age, need help and protection with immigration reform.
The notion that only “dreamers” and “kids” are to be “legalized” or protected from deportation, and the rest are to be mistreated and deported because they are older, I think is nonsense and a bunch of hypocrisy!
I would rather vote for Trump against all immigration reform, than have reform for just a few based on their age!! That, to me, is unacceptable!
Reform for all or no reform at all, period!!!
4
Doesn't all this qualify as 'a crime against humanity'?
15
Trump is cruel. What words will get him to stop? I don't think any will force him to change. He has been cruel all his life. I don't think he will change now.
9
Well I hope this topic comes up in the "debates". I also hope the DNC is running ads in Trump states giving examples like this instead of doing their best to eliminate candidates and shut down ideas.
7
Very interesting. A few months ago, when New York and Virginia passed laws that included loopholes for late-term abortions on demand, Ms. Goldberg had no complaints. In fact, her position was that laws and regulations should be purposefully vague because they aren’t intended to address every possible eventuality. Now when loopholes in rules are used to support interpretations she dislikes, she’s not pleased.
The danger now is that rewriting the rules will have other unintended consequences. I hope the right balance is achieved so that children at risk of trafficking will not be left with their exploiters.
10
The families can be together,
any time they want,
either in detention in the USA,
or outside the USA.
The choice is theirs.
But their choices do not include any right
to run free inside the USA,
not unless and until they prove their supposed claim.
They are not Americans.
They have no right to be here,
except as provided by our laws.
That includes the so-called "asylum-seekers".
Since they have choosen to come first,
before they have proven their supposed "asylum" claim,
then they can be -- and ought to be -- detained --
unless and until they prove a valid asylum claim.
And when their claim for "asylum" is denied,
as most are,
they can be -- and ought to be -- deported -- pronto.
Of course,
the Dems obstruct tooth and nail
sufficient funds for detention facilities.
That is on the Dems.
That makes the Dems de facto pro-open-borders,
despite their disingenuous denials.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
Since the Dems claim that the detention facilities
are somehow deficient in amenities
that the Dems seem to think are appropriate,
then the Dems need to step forward
and provide the millions and millions of taxpayer dollars
to fund all those supposedly needed amenities
for the detention facilities.
22
@sam finn
A famous American general once toasted “the memory of those heroes who have fallen for our freedom” in a recent military endeavor, and then added: “May America be an Asylum to the persecuted of the earth!”
The occasion was the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.
The man's name was George Washington.
What do you think? How many rotations per second is Washington doing in his hallowed grave when so many Americans think this as you do about granting asylum to the persecuted of the earth?
Does Trump's hate ring truer with you than the better angels of George Washington's nature? If we're going to make American "great again," isn't Washington himself part of that greatness?
14
It’s time to end the asylum policy, at least in the case of Central America. The issue has divided America. It is the major source of Trump’s continuing approval. If the Democrats reverse course, Trump will lose support. He will stand naked before Pelosi’s spears.
They can always reverse course later.
7
I agree with you politically.
If polling shows that this is a losing position is the battleground states, Democrats have to count the votes and take action
The only thing that matters is winning. Moral victories are the same as a loss to Trump and 3 more years of this mess
2
@Caveman 007. Pelosi’s Spears? You mean little AOC calling these concentration camps? Look at the polls - America is not divided on this issue.
5
if there is any true judgement in this world
folks will go to prison because of this
it is government authorized kidnapping
15
I wish everyone would stop calling them illegal or even migrant. I just spent a week volunteering at a mother and child detention center in Dilley TX. These women and children are REFUGEES. They need our help. To Mike, who wants to stop paying for them, in many cases “sending them back” means almost certain death. Cutting off aid to these countries is beyond stupid. Most of them would prefer to live in their native countries. Because we have, for decades, propped up dictators in those countries, they have become unlivable. We broke it, we should own at least part of it.
717
What responsibility does the ruling classes of these countries have? America may be culpable in backing the wrong leaders, but what makes these places so toxic that their leaders are so indifferent to their suffering.
Perhaps the USA should stop allowing the elite and wealthy families of these broken countries from visiting the USA, conducting business here or sending their children to school here.
49
@Coopmindy
"Refugees" (and/or "asylum seekers")
can be -- and ought to be -- detained,
unless and until they prove their supposed claim
for "refuge" (and/or "asylum").
They do not have the right to run free inside the USA
unless and until they prove their supposed claim.
And when their supposed "claim" is denied
-- or they fail to pursue it --
as is the case most most of the time --
they can be -- and ought to be -- deported -- pronto.
21
@Coopmindy
They are illegal invaders.
17
My family immigrated from Poland in 1985 while the Cold War was still alive and well. They applied for refugee status, and waited, and waited and waited.
My father was allowed first with the rest of his family. He was engaged to my mother at the time. She had to stay behind. And she did for 5 years.
They exchanged letters (you know...the kind that are handwritten, put in an envelope, and stamped). My mother had many detractor at home, telling her my father would never make good in his promise to bring her over. She didn't listen and kept her faith in the man she promised to marry.
My father's sponsorship was eventually approved and after 5 years of being engaged, they finally married upon her arrival in the US.
This is the immigration policy of the US that I keep in mind and know. My parents didn't have the luxury of simply walking across a border and claiming asylum and expecting to be put up in a Hilton free of charge. They did it the right way, applying in the embassy/consulate, they waited, and eventually got through. Maybe it's a lesson progressives ought to remember when they deride the Trump administration but offer zero solutions of their own.
75
@ Jason W
Great story, but if you had to make a choice between violence that could kill you and your family, and waiting forever for a visa that may never come, what would you choose?
I know what my choice would be.
I bet I know what you’re choice would be too.
185
@Jason W
The POPE condemned Trump's separation policies, so I can only assume that the Pope is too progressive for your liking.
Also, the people who survived the Holaucaust as children, also known as "The Children of the Holocaust" have "derided" the Trump administration's separation policies.
And why would you think there are "zero" solutions being offered after as many comprehensive proposals as have been offered, repeatedly - only to be turned down by Republicans.
Republicans couldn't even agree on their own proposals when they had all three seats of power, yet you are claiming that "progressives" (I assume you mean the opposing party known as Democrats) offer "zero" solutions.
AT this point, I'm too horrified to even ask what Trump and his loyalists would define as a "solution".
165
If Poland bordered the USA or was within 1000 miles, how many Poles do you think would have “made the journey”?
The USA was and is a more open society than many in Europe. I bet the USA would have been and in some cases (Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Belarus, Russia and Balkans) would still be first choice.
If the USA shared a land border with Africa, Asia or Eastern Europe, it would be the same thing happening with Latin America today. Broken families and people seeking to escape the hellish conditions created by their leaders and their culture.
98
The Trump administration has no family separation policy. It separates children apprehended at the border from their parents only to comply with a federal court rulings.
A federal court ruled in 1997 that unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally could not be held more than 20 days before being sent to Health and Human Service childcare center.
In 2015, Judge Gee of the U.S. District ruled that accompanied children must be treated the same as unaccompanied children apprehended at the border. They cannot be held in custody with their parents, but must be released to childcare centers. Judge Gee also ruled that parents must be released with their children unless the parents constitution a flight risk.
The Obama administration appealed. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Gee's decision on the transfer of children to HHR centers but overturned her ruling on the releases of parents.
Judge Gee’s order is the only reason Border Patrol separates children from their parents and sends then to childcare centers. Except for her order, children would be held on detention centers with their parents.
You can read the New York Times report on Judge Gee’ ruling at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/us/detained-immigrant-children-judge-dolly-gee-ruling.html
20
The answer for these potential refugees is UN run family refugee camps in Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica just over the border of their countries. Many Americans will donate to support this.
76
No one is going to trade a refugee camp for American residency (illegal or otherwise).
Do you think a Nigerian who flew visa free to Ecuador is going to stop at a refugee camp? A Honduran with family in the USA? They are all coming and the USA has to budget for it.
Until the ruling classes in those Central American triangle countries are removed, those countries will continue exporting all of its indigenous Mayan descended peoples.
10
@Observer of the Zeitgeist Why’d Trump double the deficit?
15
@Kitty P
He hasn't doubled it, or even close. This is one of the myths liberals are spreading about the guy they hate.
The national debt stood at about $10.6 trillion when President Obama took office, and about $19.6 trillion when he left, for an increase of about 86%. The debt is now at about $22.4 trillion, as of 6/21/19, for an increase of a little over 14%.
8
Not only has separation it continued-on Sunday it will get worse. ICE announced today it would began a wholesale roundup of undocumented immigrants. Of course it won't end on Sunday: Parents on their way to work; school's out so children most likely will be at home- either scooped up with the parents or left "Home Alone."
According to the Washington Post, administration officials have been *warned* about the impact but... I guess the President's pent-up energy from his failed strike on Iran- must be released on someone.
7
@Candlewick You object to undocumented aliens with final court orders of deportation being repatriated? In NO ONE deportable?
8
While Trump and Miller surely don’t lose sleep over the appalling treatment of people, the issue now is more to do with a lack of resources to deal with the numbers of people leaving to failed racist states of Latin America and increasingly Africa.
Someone has to come clean and tell the American people and the world how many people are actively migrating, planning to migrate and has the potential to migrate to the USA. You can’t plan resources with out an idea of the number of men, women, children and infants you have to manage.
I think the number America needs to make a plan to support 50 million new arrivals at its border facilities, independent housing, schools, transportation, food aid, clothing and health care.
Most of the nations of this world are ruled by cruel and callous people. The USA is the refuge seen by billions. As transport becomes easier and the push factors increase, America is going to see more and more people.
We should humanely plan to receive 50 million people over the next few years and integrate them into society. It is not right to create a 2nd class of citizens willing to work for slave wages.
6
While your thoughts are well expressed and common sensical,
progressives and reader of this paper will never agree and will label you xenophobic.
4
Progressives frequently gloss over the costs of programs or actions. Furthermore, they lack the confidence to speak openly about cost and consequence for noble actions.
Bernie won’t give the cost of his programs for example.
I think having good estimates of the migrants we can expect would go a long way towards framing resources and solutions. It would also mitigate the worst fears of not knowing how many are coming that conservatives seem to have.
7
"...loophole in the court decision." Loophole? Every time someone is incarcerated in this country, for any crime, they are separated from their children. Every single time. All over this country. This isn't new. And would you have kids stay with parents carrying communicable diseases?
17
@Kurfco
You keep referring to seeking asylum as a crime.
Is that what it is in Russia?
I can only assume that you are writing from a more hostile country than the United States since that's not what seeking asylum is here in the United States.
7
Children brought here illegally and without a health history are always taken to a hospital for a health exam.
They are always entered as homeless in an effort to avoid documenting them as immigrants and tracking their (high) numbers. Progressives are corrupt and dishonest in dealing with immigration.
8
@Jbugko
90% of asylum seekers are not accepted for asylum. Their claims are not adjudicated to be eligible. What's the difference between an illegal "immigrant" and an asylum seeker, then? Uttering the words "credible fear" and "asylum".
7
And now, of course, we are not providing basic hygiene product/services for them. What do we withhold next? Food and water? Do we force them to work? I put nothing past the Trump administration when it comes to their escalating cruelty.
12
I'm not sure if it's a question of becoming desensitized to what we previously considered intolerable, or rather the frustrating sense that there's not that much that we can effectively do in any case. With Trump and his enablers continuing to control so much of the power of our government, the White House, the Senate and the SCOTUS, trying to rein in his worst impulses and actions often feels like pulling teeth. The takeover of the House by the Democrats provided a glimmer of hope but, as might have been anticipated, the effect has proved to be limited.
Trump has shown himself to be manifestly unfit for office in so many ways, but as long as his submissive GOP cohort remains in position to protect him any decisive action against him is stymied. This is SO frustrating! In the end, the only solution must be for Trump and the entire party he has corrupted to be swept from power, and I will do what I am able to toward that end. I pray that it will happen before the damage being done to our country is irreparable.
14
Last week I went to the Holocaust Museum in Washington and watched the movie about Hitler's rise to power. I grew up hearing first hand accounts of that because my father's family was from Vienna and narrowly escaped in 1938. At the end, I had to say something. I stood up and said to the audience: "I have two words for you: Donald Trump." Today, we learned that thousands of migrants will be rounded up like animals. I feel as though I am watching my father's story with a different cast of victims. What can we do? I contribute to organizations that help migrants. I've worked as a pro bono translator for asylum seeking migrants. I've opened my house to a young man and his brother who were separated. This is better than nothing, perhaps--but it feels like lying down in front of a steam roller. How do we not become passive accomplices to Donald Trump's inhumanity?
13
If the US had in place immigration policies which processed legal immigrants on a timely and fair basis and covered seasonal workers which are needed in nearly all parts of the US and allowed for timely, consistent and fair asylum request processing there would not be this chaos.
If Trump were not determined to create an emergency situation at the borders to keep his base engaged with his fantasy wall, the situation at the border would be more manageable. It should be obvious that the increase in border problems comes from the bad Trump policies incompetently managed.
Vigilance is necessary on the family separation issue. It is not enough to write checks to vigilant organizations; those with power positions must be kept attentive to the family separation issues and the conditions in which families legally seeking asylum are kept. Most of the housing, food and "amenities" are purchased from Trump cronies; voters should be demanding value for taxpayer dollars from those making profit from the fear and pain of other human beings.
8
Lynda,
There is no such thing as seasonal or temporary migrants. All of them are coming to America to be full citizens. The value of a Guatemalan citizenship is zero. Same for many nations like it.
The USA has to identify the number of people coming per year and plan accordingly for their integration into the USA.
The differences between the USA and “most” of the world is so great that tens of millions will risk the lives of their children to get here.
5
So, it would seem laws in the country are apparently, optional.
The question is, are they optional for everyone, or just this administration?
Because I think I don't like the law requiring me to pay 25% of my income in taxes.
Can I just ignore it too?
21
When we fail children, we fail our future and the democratic values upon which this country was experimentally founded
Not all high crimes and misdemeanors are of the legal variety, the moral may be much more important to consider and to continue to guide us forward
3
What responsibilities to the children do the elite, wealthy and upper middle classes of these failed states have towards their own people?
Should Guatemala be cutting the US a check?
9
I suppose President Trump is caring about American children first.
5
@Tony Francis
Not even his own unless of course it's Ivanka and only after she had that work done.
7
America is dead. Thanks to Donald Trump our ideals, morality and standing are all now, firmly, the gutter. MAGA? I think not. Quite the opposite, actually.
6
My favorite comments are from those who want massive aid to these people and their countries. Yet mention reparations for slavery or massive aid to uplift the descendants of slavery or Jim Crow and the same people have a heart attack.
3
Which kids are we talking about again? Were they the kids running from the fire breathing dragon in Game of Thrones? I just can't keep up with the world any more. Will probably have forgotten about this GOT episode when the 2020 elections roll around.
p.s. cynicism and sarcasm fully intended
1
As my late friend David said: "I weep for America."
4
Immigration officials, ICE, Homeland Security and Border Patrol employees are using the Nuremberg excuse when it comes to the performance of their jobs when it comes to the abysmal treatment of these children.....I AM ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS.
What they are doing is morally reprehensible and criminal and they need to held accountable for what they are doing.
They can’t be allowed to hide behind their badges and their authority.
Only cowards and misfits abuse children.
7
This charade will stop when and if the “migrant/refugees” cease using children to circumvent the US laws. The entire show benefits democrats who are bent on allowing the shameful show to continue.
16
I don't know about anybody else, but I find a deliberate policy of cruel and inhuman treatment at the border explicitly involving children to be an impeachable high crime.
11
How many children will Donald sacrifice in order to prove a political point? to show his base he can keep a promise?
These people, these children, are on our national conscience. The only resolution is to staff up DHS with enough people to process the asylum seekers and end detainment immediately.
Justice and Liberty weep.
3
I care, deeply, but am frustrated about how useless I am. I have no idea what to do. A friend posts on Facebook daily about the children and reminds us to remember the children. Also, these families entered legally, seeking asylum and did nothing to deserve they be separated as a penalty for an illegal act. There are those who say it's the parents' fault and I wonder how we have become such a hard-hearted nation, completely lacking in compassion.
6
Where are the governments of these border states? This is happening on their property and their land. Exert state's rights and stop the separations, now.
3
First, I cannot believe the cruelty expressed in some of these comments. Do you think the parents want to walk thousands of miles in the heat and rain with no food and few provisions for their children? No one leaves their home like that unless they have to. Secondly, the U.S. hardly has 'open' borders, accepting fewer immigrants than many other 1st world nations. Third, it does matter how the world stage perceives us. The U.S. is not an island in isolation. It's called diplomatic relations, a concept that has somehow escaped this excuse for a human being called the president. Fourth, if you can justify the crowded, unsanitary and traumatic conditions in which these children are currently housed, no matter their legal status, then there is no point in discussion with you. You have somehow lost your moral compass, if you ever had one. Fifth, Europe is not without its issues when it comes to the treatment of migrants. Look at Calais, where children live in tents, awaiting some kind of reunification with relatives in the U.K, or the recent criminalisation of those who rescue immigrants at sea. But nothing compares to this--rounding up and confining thousands of desperate human beings who came to us for help, treating them as worse than animals and having the administration go to court to seek out ways to enhance their cruelty, all the while with some citizens finding a way to justify it. Shame. Shame. Shame.
15
This continuing development reminds me of the new and prescient BBC series "Years and Years."
In it the UK government, in the late 2020s, interns the homeless and immigrants in camps. It basically leaves them to rot and die, with the government banking on the citizenry not caring and then forgetting that it ever happened.
1
Michelle, please continue to remind us of what is happening to our - yes, our - children fleeing either with their parents or alone from oppression and violence the likes of which most of us spoiled Americans know nothing about. Daily we are besieged by the latest egregious act from the Trump administration. Now we are awaiting our fate in yet another possible preemptive war in the Middle East. Yet, over these last few years, the most hateful and amoral of actions spewed from a volcanic executive branch is that of which we are doing to innocent Central American children. But for the grace of God, if indeed there is one, those kids, those parents can be ours and us respectively. There is no other way to say this but to admit that our nation is guilty of human rights' violations. These kids are not escaping abuse in all its forms. They are instead fleeing to a now criminally negligent country, yours and mine. Yet I do not hold this Trumpian paradigm totally culpable. Look at our Republican Senate. Look at the Cabinet made up of those unethical and greedy individuals. But most of us it is about us. WE are doing this. WE are guilty either through our silence or hateful rants.
3
And all this has been going on for a year or more? Who are these people who are just following orders? Everybody knows Trump is a poor excuse for a President. Why do people follow his orders?
4
Beyond the child separation issue, this story confirms that Trump's signed executive orders are meaningless. So all those things that he thinks have been accomplished because he signed an executive order, amount to a big zero.
2
"I understand why, bombarded with stories about the Trump administration’s sadism, people can just shut down. One some level, I think Trump understands this as well."
Yes, yes, yes. It is difficult to know how many of Trump's strategies are by design and how many are by lucky accident.
But the record shows that Trump has a life-time history of carpet bombing the media with acts of cruelty and lies. And whether by accident or by design, it has caused people to go numb on them.
In either case, it's an effective strategy. It's hard to focus on Trump's obtuse acts, false tweets, and blatant acts of cruelty when you are bombarded with more of them every few minutes.
2
It turns out mass illegal immigration never stopped. I suppose we're just supposed to take it, right Ms. Goldberg?
14
@Victor Wong. You believe that the only alternative to the present nightmarish policy is no policy at all. That is silly.
1
Family separations are a crime against humanity. America, God is watching.....and to those who claim to be Christians....please stop saying you follow Christ! Anyone who condones this crime against humanity is NOT Christian!
3
Trump and his Russian-Republican Senate do not subscribe to American democracy and decency, nor they care about the reule of law of the Constitution.
The only way to get out of this Trumpian nightmare is register and vote and DONATE to voter registration groups that will help build a blue tsunami that will wipe out Trump University.
https://www.voterparticipation.org/support-our-work/donate-to-vpc/
Just a few dollars can help bring democracy to America.
7
Just imagine how these stateless, orphaned kids are going to turn out as adults. This kind of brutalization is what creates gangs and criminals worldwide—and, yes, here. The crime rate among Hispanics is low now but not for long if we treat human beings like animals bred for slaughter in factory farms.
5
Let’s see how many of you would agree to personally sponsor even ONE of these migrant children. You, as legal guardian and guarantor, would be financially responsible for said child...their housing costs, food, clothing, legal expenses, education, and healthcare....
I thought so....
9
What we need is a person with a known name "star power"
to become a leader for the rest of us. There are thousands
who are concerned, and want to help-but have no where to turn. I was thrilled to see AOC and Katie Porter talk about this
but we have to have a leader with the commitment to take
on this enormous challenge. Where to Find one. Ideally
Democrats in Congress would do it-but that seems hopeless!
This is one thing that keeps me up at night and makes me feel complicit in the growing fascism in this country. I always wondered what I would do if something like a Hitler happened here...and now I know... The question is what...what then must we/can we do? How to combat this? Really? We've marched, voted, called our congressmen, done what we can at the local level, but what? The slide toward fascism is happening on so many fronts and so quickly it's overwhelming, and such a crying shame what this country is becoming...or maybe on some level has always been...
7
Would it do any good at all to complain to my elected representatives: Senators Rubio and Scott, and Representative Matt Gaetz?
What can they do anyway?
Okay, I'll try once again. And I'll await my form email to arrive Monday, saying that they are working to make Florida better than ever. Which, obviously, has nothing whatsoever to do with the nature of my message.
I'm not represented; I'm appeased and ignored, and paying for the privilege. Representative government, bah, humbug! They do what they want, repackage it, spin it, and try to schmooze us into buying it.
My political account is closed. All I can do is watch the political soap opera, the propagandafest.
3
Any pretense of caring about the fate of unborn children, it becomes fundamentally suspicious.
8
There is no justification for imprisoning children as hostages, it will be a permanent stain on our country and erode any moral superiority we perpetually tell the World we have. Imagine babies in Concentration camps...Call it whatever you want, its inevitable the deaths will rise. And for how long is their detention planned? For life? But we've seen this all before and learned nothing. Remember when the roundups started, cattle cars filled with the undesirables headed to the dead end at Auschwitz. Who would ever imagined that just 75 years later we would be doing the same thing. For shame! I cry for our beloved country.
6
Where is Melania on this issue? This is the ultimate child BULLYING!
4
Why isn't this an article of impeachment?
269
Among other things......
15
@rusty carr
Because Pelosi is afraid to carry out her Constitutional duty. There are a lot of documented acts that could be articles of impeachment, but still no action.
18
@rusty carr
It's simple, Trump is actually upholding laws that have been ignored in recent decades. I remember when we were told illegal immigrants didn't steal identities, didn't file false tax returns, didn't drive without licenses, didn't use public benefits, didn't live in public housing and didn't break any criminal laws. Those were all lies and now the fallback line is to ignore their criminal behavior because they are desperate.
17
We never did care.
5
@sunnyshel, speak for yourself; most people care.
2
@sunnyshel
https://www.vox.co m/policy-and-politics/2m
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Rescuing-FDR-abandoning-the-St-Louis-359825
Unfortunately true. FDR did limit Jewish immigration pre WWII, notably sending a boat full of refugees back to Europe and to their deaths.
3
These children are the innocent victims of Trump's determination to Make America Grotesque Again. Such cruelty is an abomination. How impotent do Trump and his minions have to feel to target these most helpless little ones? Trump didn't get his military parade or vanity wall, so he's having to satisfy his evil impulses by killing and traumatizing children instead. All Americans should hang their heads in shame.
5
We should all go on a shopping strike. Buy only what you need to live until the families are re-united. #Givethebabiesback.
6
If there is anything left of the American soul when this abomination leaves the White House; if there is anything left of American justice; if there is anything left of America's sense of righteousness then the trial of t rump and the officials he has installed will rival the Nuremberg Trials in numbers and scope.
A t rump supporter was overheard saying, "I am getting hurt by these policies. It wasn't supposed to be me, it was supposed to be those people."
The t rump senate sits on its collective conscience, unable to hold this wanna be dictator to the norms of decency because they are afraid of that woman and the millions like her who have also sold their souls to whatever demons they have conjured up.
If there are undecided voters out there who cannot see that any of the people running as Democrats would be a far sight better than the sleaze that currently squats in our White House then they are just as cruel and evil as he.
9
@Bob Laughlin Is there anything left of the Honduran soul, Salvadorian justice or Guatemalan righteousness? Or do we just hold those countries to the lowest possible standard in perpetuity?
3
Not only will we never forget, we will not allow the next Democratic Administration to look forward not backward and we will demand accountability for the architects of this policy and those who carried it out.....down to the lowest level concentration camp guards.....
2
Trump’s a bully, and bullying forms the basis of his policies. He bullies Mexico. Bullies Iran. Bullies refugees. Bullies Canada. Bullies China. None of us can be proud of our country, when its actions on the world stage amount to nothing more than thumping our chests and pushing around those weaker than us. I find myself rooting for Mexico, rooting for China. “Come on”, I think, “stand up to him, punch him in the nose!” Call his bluff. Bullies are weak, after all.
6
The child abusers are the parents who submit their children to the rigors of illegal entry into the United States.
12
The obvious truth is that the Democrats do not care about migrant kids but about the political capital and value of writing articles as Michelle has done again. They have not taken care of the homeless kids of US citizens nor their parents as evidenced by the growing number of homeless people. Nor does the NYTs writer write articles about how the homeless are still on the streets because of Trump. You and the little band of followers who perpetually criticize and complain only about the things you believe will garner support for the Democrats and what your delusional minds deem to be "important". Your masks are off!
16
They have a country responsible for them, send them all back there and have them follow the law. Good day
10
“Concentrate!” the woman said, as the girl stared at the six adults lined up in front of her.
She wished that she could be six of her. Then she might fulfill all of their lonely wishes. If only she could stand close to them and feel their touch, gaze into their eyes or smell their breath, she might remember the one that she was supposed to recognize. She did a demi plie, a pirouette, an arabesque, and she finished up with a magnificent saut de chat. Whichever one might be her mother, she hoped to impress with the ballet moves she had learned from an older girl in the camp. They were all impressed, but two began to cry. Which one was it?
The DNA test had at least narrowed it down to these six. She looked at their hands, and then up into their eyes, but she could not catch their scent. Knowing that she could be sent back into confinement, she chose one. But when she was close enough to smell, she knew it was the wrong choice. It was better than no choice at all. And speaking of choice, these people were adamantly against unformed babies being snatched from the womb. But they were perfectly fine with a child who had experienced the love of its mother being snatched from her arms. This is what the real mother was thinking.
6
The adults created the.situations in their countries by ignoring, upholding or colluding with lawlessness and corruption. Now that it is out of control they engage in lawlessness and corruption in bombarding the border and using their kids as pawns. Trump is right on this issue.
6
Racists don't see certain people as fully human. Therefore cruelty against them is not important.
14
I don’t understand why the American Pediatric Academy, NASW, the AMA and the APA are not screaming and billeting over this inhumane policy.
Clearly this policy is a form of child abuse and or neglect and well within the legal action of calling Child Abuse Protection Services.
Any one involved with eye to eye contact no matter how lowly can make an anonymous call.
These guild organizations need to go back to the concept of first do no harm and the concept of speaking out for injustice despite the cost.
For too long professional guilds have kowtowed to all the powers that be and in doing so have lost their moral core.
Theoretically, any WH administration official could be named as being part of this type of abuse and neglect.
I recommend listening to “ the symphony of sorrowful songs” to anyone fearful of acting on what they have seen and or know.
It is happening again.
7
These are concentration camps, period. Separating families from their children, under any circumstances, is not Christian either. Evangelicals who support trump should know better.
Our country has become a disgrace because of trump and his policies. We have gone from being a beacon of freedom and liberty to a country that enslaves innocent individuals.
22
@Joe
You and AOC just don't understand or care (or just want to sensationalize for your own purposes) the difference between concentration camps and how we are detaining the illegal immigrants who are coming to our borders
Ask a Holocaust survivor about their experiences in a concentration camp and then tell me if these detainees are having the same experience.
While the conditions these detainees are experiencing might not be stellar, its eons away from what people experienced in concentration camps.
But I understand - it was only 6 million jews who died (as well as millions of other non-jews) in these camps years ago so it's ok to be so cavalier to use the term "concentration camp"
15
@DB
Several children have died in the new improved U.S. version of concentration camps. More will. The term is absolutely correct.
6
@DB, Two of my grandparents had family members who died in concentration camps. I am not offended by calling these cruel detention centers concentration camps. It is much more accurate to call them that than "camps."
5
Trump and his merry band of creeps are indeed turning cruelty into a political weapon. I am amazed to see the number of people that I know who cut and paste nativist propaganda onto their FB pages.
Trump has turned hate into a political advantage.
History will not look kindly upon this era of the American journey toward becoming what we believe we already are.
16
The parents or guardians need to stop trying to use kids as tickets to get into the United States. There are a lot of countries they can go to instead or they can stay and fight for changes in their native countries. Between Biden tanking and these articles I see Trump winning at bigger numbers than 2016. It is unbelievable how out of touch democratic leaders and the extreme left are with American citizens.
15
Seeking asylum is not the same as using their children as meal tickets. Quite the opposite. Many many families are trying to rescue their families from horrific gang violence. Do your research. Seeking asylum is legal.
6
@Hellen Trump will win on the illegal immigration issue as well as the silly reparations issue perhaps by a landslide.
3
What is there to prevent state child protective services from intervening to save these kids from the inept federal government?
The best interests of the child should be our primary concern.
10
Sadly, Trump and the Grouchy Old Party may win this bet. We did not seem to care about our own children. Remember Sandy Hook?
So sad, how as a nation, our ignorant born fears have delivered policies based upon racism and bigotry along with an unconstitutional poorly regulated militia.
11
I can’t sleep thinking of these babies—and the cruelty of my fellow Americans
10
Ms. Goldberg and her ilk can't quite grasp that as horrid as separated families are, and black reparations need serious analysis, and Biden not calling out segregationist senators is very 1975ish, and "me too" should finally come of age......if we continue to fixate on this stuff Trump will be president until 2024. You go girl, and be amazed when he gets reelected. Democrats just can't bring themselves to fish where the fish are.
12
This author bets we’ll stop caring about the fact that we have over 20 MILLION illegal aliens residing in our country, with sanctuary states like California spending our tax dollars to provide them free health insurance....
16
11 million—who care for our kids and elders, who harvest our food from the fields in scorching heat drenched in pesticides for less than minimum wage, who build our houses and clean them, butcher our chickens and hogs in freezing slaughterhouses and do the myriad other necessary jobs American citizens won’t take. Without those undocumented immigrants, our prices would skyrocket and our economy would fail.
7
@Michaela
According to Pew research about 11-12 million - or 3% of the US population are illegal aliens. The work they do amounts to about 5% of GDP. That makes them more valuable to the economy that you or me.
7
@UH
According to a recent Yale study, over 20 MILLION illegal aliens residing are residing in our country today ....not including their millions of ‘anchor babies’ that US taxpayers are obligated to support via welfare.
3
First, there are no laws. We are a lawless country. We have policies to punish the poor. They are not actually laws. We never apply "laws" to rich people.
Second, the majority doesn't care about anyone but themselves. The readers of the NYTs are a significant minority. The viewers of cable news other than FOX are a minority.
Actually, many readers of the NYTs are shareholders who are all for justice as long as it doesn't affect their portfolio. This country is owned and operated by and for corporations. The only way to change anything for the better is to punish corporations. Something the readers of the Times will oppose vigorously, even as the feign outrage at the current fascist regime.
A minority of people are still concerned about family separation in this lawless land. But they will always be a minority now.
3
I want you to think about this. Your house is on fire, so you gather your children and your partner and you head for the door. On the way, your partner falls through the burning floor, it's horrible, but you keep going, to save the children...finally, you make it outside. You, and your children, clutching your legs, are finally safe....but police are there and suspect you may have caused the fire, or worse, you have the flu....they take your children from you and arrest you. For months you are detained until you finally meet a lawyer. Your first question? Where are my kids? He doesn't know, the government doesn't know, no one really knows. They're just gone.
You are a refugee, the burning house is your country. Welcome to America.
14
With any other humane nation, this disgrace would ruin any chances for reelection. Instead USA must be humiliated with what will doubtless be a close election.
5
Democratic candidates, spend all your energy and resources on behalf of these children! Unite and campaign to stop the Muslim Ban, the concentration camps!
There is a massive generation of 18-30-somethings who long to live up to that old urgent message, when they come for the first minority, don't stand by and say nothing...
4
Who cares about American children? The bleeding heart progressives never mention them.
13
excuse me. it is the bleeding heart progressives who support the Medicaid expansion, universal Pre-K, family leave, and probably a dozen other pro-child initiatives. Ask the Republican leadership where they stand.
8
@M
Really? Because I don't hear the GOP talking about kids much, either. Can you point us to reliable data outlining all the good things Trump and his party have done for the children of the USA?
Thought not.
8
Why are these children turning up in NY Shelters?
Which idiot from which law school dares argue that soap is not a necessity? (Names!) Did he win?
Was the SCOTUS decision a unanimous one?
Why doesn't the US sponsor Planned Parenthood clinics abroad?
IMO children and parents must be microchipped so that even if separated they can find each other.
So far as children dying -- it can happen. And frankly, I am more concerned about the apparent fact that the children in the camps are not being educated and that foster families are not found for them and that the issue of the dreamers has never been resolved. Undocumented people have a very hard time of it.
BTW Michelle, would you be willing to take one of these kids in?
5
@Auntie Mame. millions of us would be willing to take these kids in but the Trump administration won't allow it. Not everyone is as heartless and cruel as you are. Stop assuming everyone is like you.
4
@kay
Good to know. Because the someone is making huge amounts of money in the present system and providing nada for the kids in return. Many of the children are from Guatemala which has experienced a huge population explosion. A family I know adopted a child from a barely teen-aged mother there 28 years ago.. Two years after they adopted her, they were offered her brother, whom they did not take in. (Birth control is needed.)
The Dreamer issue is still not decided. Many of those young adults have lived here most of their lives.
Sorry to have offended you and I sincerely hope the children do get good homes and ultimately citizenship.
I am curious now as to the legal status of the WWII child refugees in England post war.
1
The Trump Administration continues to sink to new lows:
"A Justice Department attorney this week argued in court that the federal government should not be required to provide soap, toothbrushes or even beds to detained children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Government lawyer Sarah Fabian argued Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that forcing children to sleep on cold concrete floors in cells is both safe and sanitary.”
~ Mary Papenfuss
7
A president with hate in his heart. A president who displays this hate on a daily basis. Disgraceful.
8
Someone told me just yesterday that a government official in the Trump Administration argued that migrant children did not need soap and toothbrushes. I laughed when she told me it was all over Facebook, and said, "Hey, not even Donald Trump would make such a stupid statement!"
Color me red. I should have known.
334
@Rose
I would much prefer my tax money to go toward soap, toothbrushes, and schooling for immigrant children this administration hunted, snared, and caged, than spend one more dime on Trump's golf weekends, or Sarah Huckabee's trip to see the Queen, or Melania's Africa "fact finding" tour that was a total waste of money and just an excuse for Miss Do-Nothing to see the Dark Continent before her family's crime spree ends with the next election (hopefully). As a self-professed germaphobe, surprising that Trump is denying others soap and toothpaste.
95
I used to think that Hillary made a mistake when she called Trump supporters "deplorable'" but I now see that she was right; anyone who supports this vileness is deplorable.
29
@LauraF, Obama supported it.
6
@Ryan
Do some research. Not at all the same.
4
Let's define these families for what they are - Immigrants seeking a way into the US. Some are really seeking asylum and others are just using that as a lever to get in. These people only become ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS when they fail to show up for hearings, or leave the country voluntarily, which unfortunately accounts for the vast majority. Call them "Undocumented" is a trap, by those intending to give them legitimacy for breaking the law where none exists.
6
@John, the vast majority do show up for hearings.
3
Understanding the law is so easy, and yet so many here have a hard time understanding the basic principles of it. If you steal a candy bar you've committed a crime because it is illegal. If you assault someone you have committed a crime because it is illegal. If you murder someone you have committed a crime because it is illegal. If I walk across the Canadian or Mexico borders without presenting my identification, I have committed a crime and I could be put in jail or deported. The same is true for every other country in the world. If someone illegally crosses our border or overstays a visa or does not voluntarily leave when they were supposed to, they have committed a crime. This is not debatable.
10
@John, being in this country without a visa is not a criminal offense. You can be deported for it, but you have not committed a crime. Some forms of border crossing have been criminalized, but the punishment is a fine, and not deportation.
So your assertion that they have committed a crime is not debatable is very much debatable. I suggest going to the USCIS website, where you can find an annotated copy of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) in toto that is very clearly presented and accessible to read. It requires effort on your part, but after you read it you will have a much better idea what is and is not debatable.
12
Thank you, Ms. Goldberg, for highlighting this issue. Yes, it is so hard to maintain the level of rage we saw when the first news came out about children being ripped from their parents’ arms. But we are so privileged to be able to read this and shake our collective heads, “Oh, dear, this is so horrible. Those poor families, rotting in detention camps, while our tax dollars enrich the contractors who run them. Oh, dear.”
Lightsforliberty.org is a new group, just days old, focused on community organizing to end detention camps in this countr. There is a national event planned for July 12.
I partly blame members of Congress for not taking action immediately. I also blame MSM. Why must I keep hearing about polls on candidates with an election over sixteen months away when children are suffering and dying now?
Your article should be on every front page and every news channel as often as necessary to bring public awareness to the realities of these cruel actions of the administration. Members of Congress and more investigative reporters should insist on witnessing the internal conditions in these camps.
Conditions in these camps are horrific. Children are dying! There are terrible reports from witnesses to detention centers within the U.S. of children and their families being treated worse than animals: their clothes torn off their little bodies, food and water withheld, sleeping on dirt floor cages outside in all kinds of weather. Please, Call your MoC!
9
Where are the missing children? We me a good working assumption is that Trump and his Cronies have trafficked them into sexual slavery or slaughtered them and sold them off for body parts. Extreme you say, but have we ever had such a man as The Donald? He is a friend of Jeffrey Epstein. Both Epstein and Trump are rich and believe their money should be able to buy them any thing their sick minds want. It is easy enough to proof that is not the fate of these children, just show us them. They are not like loose change and your keys in the couch cushion. They were living breathing people. Mr. Trump you and agents under your orders have taken them into custody. Bring up the bodies, these are far more important they Hillary's e-mails or Barack birth certificate. With a track record like yours we can only expect the worst Mr. T.
1
"But if there’s one thing this administration rarely backs down on, it’s cruelty."
It's an understatement today, more than two years into this administration. But it's been patently obvious since the Trump people took over the WH. These people are cruel with a captial C. In their soulless minds, their ends justify their means, however sickeningly incorrect the methods and logic they employ as their rationale.
The Party of Mean, and it's dark-hearted leader, grows meaner and more cruel with each passing day of their control of government.
America is not a shining city on a hill, as long as we have this sick ticket running our country off the rails. Thanks, Michelle, for reminding us over and over how Trump and his people treat people and their families who are coming here for a chance at a better and safer life.
8
Drum up a war with Iran.....constantly shift American's attention.....and forget about the children.
What have we come to?
11
There is only one solution to this horrible program of child separation. Donald Trump must go. So I encourage all of you to get mobilized and take to the streets. We did it in my youth and ended the Vietnam War. We can do it again. Get mobilized and make sure he either gets Impeached or defeated in 2020 by the electorate.
11
Nice I am glad to see family separations.
I think they should also but a big brand of the forehead of everyone they deport that says "I was deported."
7
@Emily, and how about cutting off the hands of thieves?
You are calling for a government more like that which al Qaeda institutes in its territories than like the government described in the Gettysburg address.
Just sayin'.
5
@Emily
You don't think it's evil to separate children from their parents? You think that's nice?
5
@Emily
Just like they forced those yellow stars on those folks in Europe in the 1930's. But brands on the forehead are even more horrible. So good to see evil hasn't lost it's momentum.
5
I only hope that this issue is somehow kept in the news (possibly by Democrat candidates) and will drive more Hispanic Americans to the polls in 2020.
10
Your family history goes back centuries, making a living on the streets of Romania by begging. Your father has a criminal record and you have a four month year old brother, - the answer to your family issues is "Move to the America".
5
Dump Trump for one night in one of the detention centers with no soap (Mr. Germaphobe) and no blanket or a toothbrush. See how long he lasts!
7
Calculating from roughly 425,000 migrants arriving at the border during the period in question, the rate of child separation is 165 per 100,000. The rate of child separation (deducting emergency separations where abuse was determined to not exist) in American society is about 47 per 100,000.
Exigent circumstances do exist, as mentioned in the article, because of the possibility of trafficking. The point of these calculations, though, is to show both that many of these separations at the border are unnecessary (and therefore, like the lawyers say in the piece, unjustified), and to remind people that lawful child separation in American society is a fact and does have its own numbers.
Moving one step further into the debate -- based on some of the comments -- if the inherent danger in crossing the border is cruelty perpetrated by American authorities, it isn't a legitimate argument to say the parents are willfully putting their children in danger. That argument on the right is just bogus.
On the left, a person is not assumed to have fled danger just because they're here. That is determined by a credible fear interview and court hearing. Nor is it lawful to cross the border illegally to apply for asylum. The actual law is that a person can not be denied asylum because of how they crossed the border. They could be legally punished for how they crossed the border if it is a crime, but the punishment can't include denial of asylum or refoulement back into persecution.
5
Most of these immigrants cannot read, and are unaware of the family separations! I hope YOU don’t claim to be a Christian!
4
@Mari, I don't, now that you mention it. Not only that, I'm totally baffled as to what being able to read has to do with what I wrote. If you have the time, please explain.
2
Why wasn't there uproar when this was happening under the last President? Things may have been improved if that was the case.
6
@New York
Because he was black and so the media refused to criticize him because they thought it would harm race relations.
Ie if the first black president is a failure, they may not ever be a second. That could not have been allowed to happen.
8
@New York, The number of immigrants coming to America under President Obama were considerably less than today. Also the children separated from parent(s) were done so only to those who had a criminal record, or they suspected the child(ren) were not biologically related to adult(s) they were with. Which is the difference between then and this current WH administrations blanket policy of separating all families regardless of criminal charges/record. And again, unlike the current administration, Obama did not cut off aid to those impoverished central America countries. And nor has any previous president ever publically express such distain and disrespect for other races, ethnicities or for certain people who follow a particular religion as this president and his WH admin has consistantly has done. I don't advocate for open borders, but I do advocate for some understanding, empathy and compassion for the weak and less fortunate among us regardless of where any of these people are from...
16
I feel helpless. What can we do right now, to help these kids? I've heard about the upcoming demonstration on July 12, but that's a long time for these children.
7
Kinder Kamps. Has a horrid, familiar ring, doesn’t it ???
Thanks, GOP. 2020. Bigly.
15
So no photos are taken, names written down? No forwarding information, no cell numbers, no addresses, no computer entry, no file for each and every human being that is processed by our country at the border? No consultants hired yet to give advice on how to do this, no lawyers, no volunteers, nothing? Has any journalist been allowed to view the entire take-in process? If not, why not? If so, what happened?
23
Ripping brown immigrant infants and children from their families, punitively, is a crime against humanity. This is a deliberate act, committed as part of a widespread or systematic program, by this administration, and directed against an identifiable part of a civilian population. We must hold these people accountable. This and other such actions on our border include these customary crimes against humanity: dehumanization, deportation, extrajudicial punishments (e.g., criminal imprisonment of legal asylum applicants), kidnappings (losing track of these infants and children), unjust imprisonment (of legal applicants for asylum), enslavement (e.g., $1/day forced labor), torture (e.g., ripping infants and children from their families), racial discrimination.
24
@Robert
How many are you willing to personally and financially sponsor?
8
@Michaela
The US relies on immigrants for cheap labour, and it has always been thus. Immigrants tend to be law-abiding and hard working. They just want the same chance at a better life that your ancestors wanted.
5
@Michaela
That's not the point. Separating kids from their parents and then losing them is just evil. They're just children, for heaven's sake.
Where's your heart?
8
It's one thing to care about migrant kids, something else entirely to put the blame for their condition squarely upon the parents who put them in that situation. It's way past time to stop those parents from using kids as pawns to break the law.
13
@minidictum
If you don't mind, may I clear up a few misunderstandings? Most of these families are here legally. That is, they are applicants for asylum. And our own laws require us to accept and consider their applications no matter where they are. Were you in their position, I believe you would do the same on behalf of your own family--unprecedented drought, little food, brutally corrupt governments, lives at risk. What kind of parent would not try to save their family? Finally, how can you presume to know what is in their minds, i.e., tell us they are "using kids as pawns to break the law?" From here it looks like you have forgotten that they are human, too.
9
@minidictum, if you were facing starvation, fleeing violence and knew your kids had no future where you live, what would you do? Find your humanity. There is no justification for treating these asylum seekers as criminals. NONE.
8
How about blaming the US for interference in Latin America which causes economic turmoil, violence and displacement of populations
7
What do we do? Please tell us what we can do!
7
He wants to build a wall to keep them out, yet here we are sheltering, housing, and feeding, registering, and creating such smoldering hatred towards the US that South America could be our next Afghanistan. They have the guns, the leaders, the drugs and the people who just won’t take this abuse anymore. This administration can be summed up in one word moronic which is why a women needs to be our next president we know how to get squabbles at the playground settled before they even start and how to nurture the lonely child back into the game. We have had centuries of this one-upmanship which could be argued is what made America what it is today but this has all come at a huge price. It now time to look at life through equal eyes and I just don’t see how a man can do that, they have never ever learn’d beyond the sandbox
5
@CathyK
Yes, the migrants (the majority of whom are from Central America NOT South America) hate the US sooooo much, they keep on trying to get into our country anyway they can.
Apparently, the immigrants who come here wish to live under our system of laws but when it comes to actually adhering to our immigration laws and processes, all of that disappears.
The woman vs. men argument is nonsense.
7
One must assume that immigration officials, ICE, Homeland Security and Border Patrol employees have families, many of them with children of their own.
These people are the dregs of society to do this heinous job of treating children the way they do.
14
Doremus, good post. It suggests a solution. Every agent who separates an immigrant child from his parents should have his children taken away and put into those same camps — without soap, toothbrushes, blankets, or privacy.
If we did that, ICE and the Border Patrol agents who are both out of control would soon stop doing their evil deeds.
3
@Doremus Jessup
Dregs of society??
My god, how disingenuous can one be???
Most of these officials have an extremely hard job to do. They do not make the laws - they are charged with insuring these migrants adhere to our laws.
Do some of these officials perform their jobs illegally or callously, yes - I'm sure there is a small portion of these official who do.
But overall, they are doing what they have been asked to do by their country.
Your comments are a classic case of "shooting the messenger"
5
@Doremus Jessup yeah, wouldn't it be nice to speak with one of these government workers who have children, safe at home, while treating the children of potential immigrants as cattle? they are deplorable.
4
It really bothers me when people say they'll vote for Trump because the economy is good.
But he's separating families, locking people up like criminals in despicable conditions . . . He's cruel, corrupt, and foolish.
How anyone can vote for him for any reason is beyond me. Most of us have more than enough - can't we look out for others?
17
@Susan
More "fake outrage" by the Left.
Our President did not initiate the laws governing separating families who come into our country illegally.
But guessing for your comments, you're Ok with illegal immigration so I'm sure whomever you vote for in the next election will support this.
So, good luck with that.
7
@DB you base your thoughts on guesses? I've not seen any comments that support illegal immigration.
4
@jeffk
Judging by your comments, you are guessing on my thoughts,
So, I might be wrong but since we both did not write the initial comment and I know I don't have the ability to read a person's mind (can you?), anything we write in response to the initial comment, is a GUESS!!
Trump thinks we'll stop caring about any individual outrage, because we're too numbed and overwhelmed with his daily distractions and vulgarities and his ongoing flagrant violations of norms, decency and the law. And aren't we?
3
@Amelia, no. I think people may have gotten tired of yelling on line about it, but good people care and will be speaking loudly in their votes this 2020 to get this deranged, cruel and demented administration out of office.
When will the hypocrisy of “caring about kids” stop?
What about the adult immigrants? How do people neglect the fate of other immigrants, and then suddenly seem to wake up when its “kids?”
I don’t get it.
People don’t seem to have as much concern that adults are being essentially kidnapped off the streets like criminals, mistreated and locked up.
Then, all of a sudden they’re like “kids kids kids ...”
I don’t get it! Are older immigrants not human?
Why can’t we be consistent and just protest everything?
Is there like a switch that’s turned off when somebody is “old” and then somehow turned on when one is a “kid?!”
Is this like compartmented morality or what?!
I don’t support any relief against deportation that doesn’t include everybody, including adults!!!
We must stop the hypocrisy!!
Older people are human too!!!
If we are going to help the “kids” then we must help the adults too!!
Let’s stop the agist hypocrisy!!!!
6
@Frea
Agreed, but children are vulnerable in ways adults are not, and they require more care.
2
The way to help the kids is to help the adults! Claiming to help just the kids is to me hypocrisy!!
Just open the borders.
There. Problem solved.
2
@Skippy
If there were no borders anywhere in the world, we would be one world. One world. What an idea.
"The question is whether, over the course of this numbing year, we’ve learned to tolerate what just last June seemed intolerable."
That should also have been a question when too much of the country just Did Not Want To Hear Any More about the wide-ranging corruption and illegality in the Reagan administration. Having had a bellyful of it about the Nixon White House the previous decade, too many of us were weary of hearing the bad news which 'Republican' (I personally call them Caesaro-Oligarchist) administrations produce on an alarmingly consistent basis. I remember feeling some of that fatigue myself. Now I wonder if our Caesaro-Oilgarchists haven't been at this deliberately for the past half-century and if Trump is only the red dye cherry atop this toxic sundae. Seriously.
1
I wonder why national media isn’t keeping it on the front page. They should be able to look through the noise and keep it front and center. Why aren’t they?
8
There is something fundamentally wrong with parents who choose to put their children in danger by crossing the border illegally. Please stop trying to place the blame where it doesn't belong.
50
@Robert Howard, no. The blame rests squarely with the Trump administration and anyone who supports this absolutely shameful and completely unecessary policy. The actions of the parents are more understandable than the American position.
168
@Robert Howard
1. These parents actually find the "danger" the children face here to be far less threatening to life and limb than the horrible danger they fled in their home countries.
2. Asylum seekers are not illegal, they come without papers, but can do so legally to ask for asylum.
240
@Robert Howard. Keep Trump in Office, and you and yours might be fleeing for your lives also.
The blame is on Trump and every white person in this country that fears the inevitability of becoming a minority.
114
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. The US doesn't want these people to come in illegally. We have an orderly process for this and it should be followed, These border crosses don't care about our laws, it is what separates us from the third world. Why would be want to bring that here, just for cheap lawn mowing, and toilet cleaning? No, thank you. We can't solve the worlds problems by bring in these folks. Central Americans go home!
12
@sob. seeking asylum at the border is NOT a crime. Read our laws and constitution and gain a clue.
2
Why aren’t the democrats flooding the media (tv, print, internet etc) with images of these terrorized children?. The public cannot be allowed to forget these children nor ignore the cruelty of the Trump administration.
4
Thank you for keeping the spotlight on this issue. I think Republicans are terrifying the country. Are you really American if you’re not rich? Are you sure? Are your children cannon fodder for a war with Iran? Will we throw them in cages too? We need to continue to both investigate and publish who the Republican donors are and to publicize plans for comprehensive immigration reform. Republicans don’t plan anything. They just destroy lives.
7
Senator Pat Toomey's six Pennsylvania offices are where we gather every Tuesday - Tuesdays with Toomey - to hold Senator Toomey accountable. This coming week, we'll be taking turns standing on a wooden box, holding a microphone and then a sign, telling him, the city of Philadelphia, the country and the world that child separation is heinous. We'll make phone calls, write to the editor and to our representatives. Readers, make a sign and get out there wherever you are! Protest for the kids, for the families!
6
Trump should be tried for “crimes against humanity.”
Seriously.
14
Hey Republicans! This will be a big part of your legacy. I hope you feel good about it. I hope you are proud of yourselves.
12
@Magan
Yes, trying to stem the overwhelming tide of illegal immigrants to our country is something we are very proud of
..and its sad the Dem really don't care about these people..they just want their votes..so stop being so righteous.
3
They're not "migrant kids".
They are children of illegal immigrants.
The same whiny progressive leftists who complain about the conditions of the detainees, refuse to fund expansion of ICE (including more processing agents and better facilities) and in fact are actually talking about eliminating ICE altogether.
They are MONUMENTAL hypocrites, and they have no interest in the detainees at all.
It's all a cynical political game to them - any means to an end,
Which, is why Trump will win again in 2020.
13
He will win only if people bury their heads in the sand, get their news from FOX, and continue to believe his constant lies. There will also be continuing election interference. He is not a legitimate president and he should be in jail.
4
Many are seeking asylum — they are not “illegal immigrants”. They are being blocked from fair adjudication.
Most of those who have been put in camps have fled violence, oppression, and poverty. They have traveled hundreds or more miles, many to seek the American dream. They have brought their families with them to SAVE them. They do not deserve to be treated this way or have their children ripped from them. That's not the American Way.
Most people living in this country are descendants of illegal immigrants — people who invaded or settled territory that wasn't theirs; entered without papers; and live in places that do not belong to them.
Much of the country and most of the Southwest is stolen land. Hence, most people are living there illegally. Should they be deported, too? Or, put in camps?
Instead of focusing on these immigrants' supposed illegal status, pause for a minute, take a deep breath, and think about what they are being subjected to.
Our Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Our country stands for liberty and justice. Unless you are heartless, like Trump and the Republicans, you cannot justify such mistreatment.
6
@Marsha Pembroke
Baloney.
It all boils down to my final point, which you chose to dance around, but not address.
It can be fixed and the House is the only organization that can fix it because the House controls funding.
But they are too busy handwringing about Trump to take time away from such high priority stuff and instead devote it to the migrants they falsely claim to care about.
So, I repeat:
The same whiny progressive leftists who complain about the conditions of the detainees, are the ones who also refuse to fund expansion of ICE (including more processing agents and better facilities) and in fact are actually talking about eliminating ICE altogether.
2
We need to return these people post haste to their country of origin, or better yet,, not let them in, and stop this cry9ing about how the US is being unfair to these people who are breaking our laws and causing the hardships they are enduring. Its like they are burning themselves on the hot stove and its the stoves problem they keep touching the hot elements even after being warned and I'm just disgusted at article such as these that attempt to blame the US for the problems caused by these migrants
45
@stan: seeking asylum is not illegal. Again, seeking asylum is not breaking the law. The Trump administration is not being forced to be cruel -- it is *choosing* to be cruel.
146
@stan, the US is to blame for its own policies!
48
@stan: Other than the suffering of the migrants themselves, what problems are being caused by the asylum seekers? How has your life in MA been affected by them?
76
"The government went to federal court this week to argue that it shouldn’t be required to give detained migrant children toothbrushes, soap, towels, showers or even half a night’s sleep inside Border Patrol detention facilities." The previous sentence was from an article about the Justice Dept and their appeal to the court. Also, there are no stalls in the bathrooms, if you can imagine. The judges were shocked at this demand from the government. Whoever wrote the government's position of children not needing these basics, as well as privacy in the bathroom, should live in those conditions for a week. How low can this administration go.
14
"I understand why, bombarded with stories about the Trump administration’s sadism, people can just shut down."
Last night I heard about the soap and toothbrushes, and gagged. Last week I saw an overstuffed cage-like enclosure in El Paso teeming with adult men, baking in hot sun, no capacity to bathe, and little room to move.
Michelle Goldberg you've nailed the Trump trick of eliciting outrage, temporarily fixing a self-created problem which gets semi-fixed under court order, and then, when attention moves on to some other crisis such as Iran, the immigration carnage stops being covered.
In other words, Trump disregards court orders just as he disregards Congressional subpoenas.
Trump's attitude towards immigrants is sickening. He calls them "animals" and treats them as such. We can anticipate outbreaks of disease and more deaths.
AOC was justly criticized for calling immigration facilities concentration camps. Yes, that was a brutal word, and our treatment of immigrants may not be like Nazi Germany, but it certainly ceases resemblance to the America I grew up in.
567
"criticized", yes. "justly", no. The heroic AOC was entirely correct.
109
@ChristineMcM
The immigration facilities are exactly what the concentration camps were in Austria in the 1940's. And the Americans who approve of these camps are exactly like the approving Austrians in those horrific days.
132
@ChristineMcM
They ARE concentration camps
113
Everyone it seems loves to point fingers, but how many Americans have welcomed these immigrants into their communities? When the wealthy communities invite these refugees into their circle of schools, neighborhoods and cities, then I'll buy into the sincerity of the proponents of helping immigrant refugees.
8
You are suggesting that any one of us can just "tell" that the illegal immigrant is in good health, able and willing to do work and will not cause harm, etc.
I can't tell if a panhandler on a downtown street is looking for food money or drug/alcohol money - so I defer to professionals and donate to organizations that have better understanding.
If you think you can "tell" anything about a nameless, faceless illegal immigrant from a distance then you are truly amazing.
I will continue to trust that the immigration procedures we have - clearly flawed - are better at determining eligibility to be in the US than what is within my skill set.
4
An inhumane bunch running our government.
8
What is this “we” nonsense? Try Speaker Pelosi. Where is her outrage- soap and toothbrushes as....luxuries? Where is the outrage from any Republican Senator, Representative, and many Democrats. These are supposedly our- leaders?!
My...impatience is the only thing growing. Lead or get out of the way. A third party is looking better and better. Will this give us another 4 years of this president? Well, Madam Speaker, it’s perhaps what this country deserves.
76
@Jo WilliamsBy any measure there is a crisis at the boarder. Tens of thousands arrive every month seeking asylum, and the Border Patrol do not have the resources to accommodate everyone. The fact of the matter is that, while there are separations, most of those seeking asylum have been released into the general population. What is needed above else is Congress to act with new legislation and FUNDING to address the dire situation. Many border agents are actually using there own personal resources to help these people (no, they are not the SS guarding concentration camps!). Where are the proposals of the Democrats in Congress to address this situation. Trump is loud, but I only hear crickets from the Democrats (unless they are complaining).
11
@Romeo Salta, the congress did give funding for Trump to stop the crisis at the border. He is not using it for those purposes intended though. Sorry, but this is all on Trump and his administration.
43
@Romeo Salta
Funding requires legislation.
Legislation requires debate and an final up-or-down vote, a process that starts with the legislation being scheduled and presented to the House and the Senate as part of their daily work.
The Democrats control the House, and there are a number of bills addressing these problems that have gone through this process and have been passed. Those bills have been sent to the Senate for debate, negotiation and an up-or-down vote - i.e. the process of democratic governance.
The crickets you hear are coming from the Republican-controlled Senate, where the republican leader controls scheduling and presentation of bills coming from the House.
Currently, the republican leader of the Senate chooses to not put those bills on the Senate's schedule. Those bills from the House are stopped and put on a shelf....somewhere. The process of debate, compromise and final outcome of legislation is frozen, mainly along party lines.
The Republican leader of the Senate is Mitch McConnell and he cheerfully takes responsibility for this inaction.
We need to vote him and his party out of office.
53
And this week, a DOJ lawyer argued to the 9th Circuit that insuring safe and sanitary conditions for migrant kids does NOT mean the government must provide beds, soap, and toothbrushes—that sleeping on a concrete floor is adequate. These are children in our custody; this is being done in our name; how in the world can we allow this monstrous cruelty to continue?
11
Yes, the family separations which began under Obama. Trump was just following precedent. But ordered them stopped by Executive Order, which Obama did not do. Thank you.
6
@Southern Boy- 100% wrong. Under Obama, only unaccompanied minors were housed. He only "separated" families if the adult was involved in serious criminal activity [drugs, guns, etc.]. He used the civil court system, so detaining families/individuals was not necessary. trump, and trump alone, invoked a separation policy via his "zero-tolerance" policy. Stop lying.
13
The enslavement of millions of Africans, Jim Crow laws, the genocide of Native Americans, and systemic unequal justice are all part of American history.
We like the mythological version that depicts our country as noble, championing freedom and democracy here and abroad.
However, there is an ample dark, cruel and twisted streak running through American history.
This latest act of inhumanity is just another example. It is especially vile because so many officials and public servants are carrying out an inhumane policy.
7
@Ricardo Chavira
There is absolutely no comparison to slavery and Jim Crow. They are not citizens, not slaves, were not brought here in chains and can leave anytime. Comparing their situation to slavery and Jim Crow is insulting.
1
I'm beyond upset but what can I do? I used to complain on the phone and online to my congressman, Justin Amash, but he's already done the right thing. And now the all-powerful DeVos family is doing its best to crush him.
My senator, Debbie Stabenow, is a Dem with no power in our GOP-controlled senate. And writing to or calling other lawmakers is useless because if one is not in their district, it's an exercise akin to a mother speaking to her comatose child.
It looks like the only way to right the ship is to get rid of the GOP -- a highly unlikely scenario. i never thought I'd see the day when the majority of our lawmakers would be such feckless jackals.
12
Funny, every time I cross the border into Canada, the only things that get separated are a couple of blankets in the trunk that get pushed aside during the routine check by customs officials.
6
The cruelty shown by this administration is seen in the only group of Americans they care about: the Republican base.
Last June, by a 20-point (55 percent to 35 percent) margin, Republicans supported the policy of ripping families apart.
In April, after a year to reflect on the horror of what their President is doing, a plurality of Republicans, 49 percent, still say such separation is acceptable, with 34 percent saying it is unacceptable. (Quinnipiac poll)
To sum up: To about half of Republicans, "Spilt Them Up!" is as an acceptable policy for families as "Lock Them Up!" is for political opponents. About a third still seem to have a soul, and the rest can't decide. (University of Maryland poll)
"Emotional burnout" is only part of the problem. Empathy killing hatred on the part of millions of Americans is the other. Trump, Miller, and their congressional sycophants are not the only ones who have disgraced themselves and their country.
6
I actually think this is but one of the many media snares to hide the pending war in. Had China used force to subdue the crowds in Hong Kong, we might well have read of the missile launch against Iran. Especially since Prez Trump is performing his immeasurably important on/off again act.
Time is running out. And the military is desperate to create the opponent's first strike.
I fear the future.
However brutish Trump's designs to exercise 'cruelty gratis' are, you have to give it to him, he has been consistent in dehumanizing people; otherwise, one couldn't possibly explain the sheer pleasure he derives by pointing out his prowess, when haranging his base, in demonizing desperate folks escaping famine and death at home. Of course, these migrants didn't dream that, upon reaching the border, they would be further victimized by a lack of empathy, separate their families by force, and starve them to death emotionally and, at times, literally. These United States, with such a gleeful exercise in inequality, cannot be recognized as the beacon of freedom anymore, and receptive to those escaping violence at home. I guess we stopped being able to walk in their shoes...by choice. And that is an awful state of mind to be in.
2
I wish it were not needed, but thank-you to Ms. Goldberg and immigrant rights lawyers and agencies for following this issue and reminding us it hasn't gone away. It really is hard to keep up with all the incompetence, malfeasance, and cruelty perpetrated by the Trump regime.
6
Alas, our president - and largely the GOP - is counting on us to not care about a lot of things. If we don't care about enough major issues we - in short - become sheep. Sheep are easy to fool, easy to control, easy to fleece. Turning folks into sheep is the main priority of all who wish to become dictators. And our president appears to have this priority in mind.
5
Many of the cruelties, along with the people enforcing them, will long outlive him and his administration.
And Graham.
And McConnell.
2
The separation of children who could not be verified as related to accompanying adults was meant to prevent the cruelty of human trafficking. This was a law from the Bush admin.
What would be a better way of preventing human trafficking? Just at the last Superbowl in Atlanta there were 169 people arrested for sex trafficking. At least 9 of them were minors.
It is clearly not an easy thing to do and our border processing is clumsy at best, but if it was your child would you prefer he/she continue through the border to be used it stopped and held for verifications?
How to make it better?
3
By any measure there is a crisis at the boarder. Tens of thousands arrive every month seeking asylum, and the Border Patrol do not have the resources to accommodate everyone. The fact of the matter is that, while there are separations, most of those seeking asylum have been released into the general population. What is needed above else is Congress to act with new legislation and FUNDING to address the dire situation. Many border agents are actually using there own personal resources to help these people (no, they are not the SS guarding concentration camps!). Where are the proposals of the Democrats in Congress to address this situation. Trump is loud, but I only hear crickets from the Democrats (unless they are complaining).
5
@Romeo Salta, the answer is quick processing, more judges and courts to expedite hearings, keeping families together and not treating them like animals. Congress have given Trump billions to address the crisis (see the Trump Gov't Shutdown if your memory is foggy) but Trump is not doing that. In fact his new toady in the DOJ, Barr, is making it much worse. Trump has no excuses for any of these crimes against humanity; none.
1
Unfortunately, what we need are footage and images. I can’t understand how this incompetent administration has been so effective at keeping the press from getting any!
6
@Eric
BTW the costs of keeping these kids in detention are huge. (And someone is getting very rich off such schemes as "sheltering" these kids in NYC. WHO?)
A Democrat candidate who could provide cost figures and a plan for getting the children out of "custody" and into families would have a big up in the polls.
And amnesty for the dreamers.
1
Shame on us. Shame on us all for letting this continue.
303
@M. Carpet
What are we suppose to do when all our words, letters, emails, phone calls do Absolutely Nothing to change the course of this tragedy? One feels impotent against the forces.
Those in charge, they are not listening and they do not care anyway as long as they are on the trajectory to becoming a millionaire by supposedly being a public servant.
19
Moral posturing is easy. There is an emergency at the border, as even NYT articles have conceded, and I don't remember seeing Ms. Goldberg's plan to stop mass illegal immigration into this country. The asylum system is being gamed, with some adults bringing children who are not theirs. This needs to be stopped, one way or another.
14
Massive development aid to Central America; tough action against rampant human rights abuses — there and here; welcoming asylum seekers; ending cruel and inhumane conditions; stopping the separation of children and parents; greatly curbing deportations; recognizing that immigrants, whether undocumented, “illegal”, or not, are net contributors by far to the society and are involved in less crime than native born U.S. people, etc. are all parts of what need doing.
Loudly going on about a massive illegal immigration “crisis” and advocating for cruel and unusual punishment will not solve the problem. Trump's been doing these things for two years and the flow of immigrants has *increased*. His policy is not only immoral and wrong, it's not working.
By the way, before decrying Ms. Goldberg as a hypocrite, have you gone back through her columns? I'll wager that she, like millions of progressives and leading Democrats, has not only decried the camps and the separations, but has supported the development projects, promotion of social justice and democracy, and helping Central American countries.
Seems you would rather look down on people of color and those trying to making a better life for themselves and their children than stop Trump's outrages or improve the social and economic conditions that have produced the immigration.
2
It does not surprise me, that most of the comments reflect more outrage at Trump (who I despise also), than the dictators, despots and dysfunctional gov'ts of the countries these migrants are fleeing from.
The mistake of the migrants, is that they are entitled to this country as if there are endless, and plentiful resources to accommodate them. When this country has endured economic and social shifts that's badly damaged many US lives.
The migrants sheer numbers and vigor, should be making demands, and forming alliances with the cultural brethren to FIGHT, not flee.
The arrogance of the US, is thinking they can solve all the world's problems of other countries.
We cannot.
Be honest people, you're witnessing the limits of the ABILITY to handle so many people who are so ENDLESSLY helpless in the interests of turning their own countries to their needs.
I have higher expectations for them and what they can do for change in their origin countries. Rather than the condescending attitude, they can't do more for themselves without it coming at the expense of our trust in them.
9
@Regan DuCasse I think they would be more likely to make changes at home if they knew the US was not just a bus ride away. Instead of growing up fanticizing about changing their country they are picturing their life in the US.
4
As long as the US continues to interfere in Latin America, there will be a displacement of populations.
2
Recently several Republican controlled states have been passing laws in the name of "pro-life," aka "to save babies." Yet these same people are tearing families apart and putting babies in cages, or not giving them proper medical attention when needed. How are these actions morally acceptable to them but women having autonomy to their own bodies is evil? How do they not understand they're committing irreparable harm for the rest of these children's lives and their families? I'm not suggesting open borders. I'm suggesting we have some compassion for these weak and less fortunate people. I'm suggesting we try to understand what is going on in their countries of origin in an effort to try to make changes that would result in these people not being forced to leave their homelands. War, poverty, famine and religious persecution continue to force people to flee all they've ever known in search of a place where they can try to prosper in. Our Fore-Fathers created America for many of the same reasons as these people seeking asylum...
19
Michelle, you are right in supposing that we might all get tired and burned out with this administration's policies. They want us to! Thank you for the exposure on this issue, please continue, we hail and support you and your colleagues . I will persist by calling Congress and the administration , supporting the ACLU in the court battles, and continue to act locally with local agencies that support people, and demonstrate compassion. Jean
6
Having just returned from a trip to Europe, let me just say that the people we met and spoke with (perhaps, more honestly, the ones who, upon discovering we were American, spoke with us) find America a disgrace and that Trump, including his kith and kin, should be brought before the ICC for crimes against humanity.
Family separation is just one reason they gave.
944
@Peter Hornbein
Yes, you're right but......the financial scam began a decade ago is still running needing closure and that is of course, a war. Economic gain always trumps reason.
As with the onset of WWII we need a scape goat to claim first strike, especially since we are planning to slice off northern Syria for the new country of Rojava to send Iraqui oil to the Med.
It is not possible that anyone in America does not know this. I would have blogged this at the article on Prez Trump calling off the missile strike but of course, posting is not allowed on these articles.
3
@Peter Hornbein. Good old “Europeans”—they certainly know how to deal with unwanted individual men, women and children (non-combatants) in their midst
9
Big deal. Like we care what Europeans say about us
7
I'm not sure that Trump's base - which is all that he cares about - ever cared about migrant kids who have been effectively kidnapped from their parents while attempting to enter the United States at the Mexican border.
The families wanted to apply for asylum as per international norms and procedures when their kids were coercively or forcefully removed from their custody
8
Applying for asylum means to do it in the first safe country — Mexico. It does not mean walking 1,000 through Mexico to get to our border.
8
Where are the kids mr trump? They have all been accounted for right? What efforts are you making to reunite families mr trump? The media needs to hold mr trump to account at every opportunity. What are the facts? Please share with the public mr trump! Thank you Ms. Goldberg for keeping this issue front and center. I remain furious and disgusted with this administration.
11
I've never been prouder to be a member of the ACLU.
And for people who aren't, there's never been a better time to join.
34
And we wonder why people around the world hate America. Making enemies for generations by how we're treating the least of us. Soap and toothbrushes are now luxuries?
22
@GSK
You're right that many worldwide hate America, and Americans. But there are many who still brave the odds to attempt access to a life in America.
1
This is truly one of the most shameful moments in our country's history. Children. Thiis about children not adults who have gone astray but children, our most vulnerable humans. I can't add another word that reflects my disgust and horror at what our country is doing. But what to do? I have friends who go to the border every few months to help, they are retired and are fluent in Spanish. For myself, I will force myself to read about this, even when I can't read another word, send money to organizations that help and change my fall vacation to the border instead of the beach in Mexico. How ironic !
13
"For example, a 6-month-old was taken from his father because the father had a conviction for marijuana possession."
A 6 month old? Uffda, that gets me right in the feels.
9
Not only is Trump wrong in thinking we'll stop caring, he seems to be ignoring court orders to stop these crimes against humanity. The more children in cages we see; the more we hear about them sleeping on concrete floors and being denied soap and toothrushes, the more American public opinion will turn against this administration. Even evangelicals may regain some of their Christian values and say "Enough!" If not, membership in the Southern Baptist church will continue to decline. It is already its lowest in 30 years, with half of Southern Baptist youths leaving the faith.
10
@Christy
Evangelicals do not have Christian values, au contraire they have old testament values a lot of which involves destruction, genocide, wars and enslavement of others.
4
I am commenting only to add my voice of outrage. Please keep writing about this. This is a moral stain on our nation. We know better, and have no excuse.
27
Trump is a problem but not a surprise. History is littered with people like Trump who seem to take delight in either cruelty or attention. the real problem is the cowardice of the elected officials who represent parts of the country that are either fearful of the unknown or bigoted or both.
The real surprise to me is the number of people in this country who are willing to support actions that seem so opposed to any moral upbringing they should have gotten (and probably did) from their parents or the society they were a part of.
20
We need continuing front-page investigations, not just Opinion articles. No offense, Michelle! But Trump has us all rope-a-doped with his daily insults and instabilities, so that we lose sight of the real and ongoing injustices inflicted by his administration. No one should be allowed to forget for a moment that our government is stockpiling people in concentration camps along the southern border. Our nation is on a very dark path. As much as I hate where we are now, I fear even more where we are going.
10
Michelle Goldberg continually repeats the falsehood that the Trump administration initiated a policy of separating families at the border. The Trump administration has never had such a policy. It separated children apprehended at the border from their parents only to comply with a federal court rulings.
A federal court ruled in 1997 that unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally could not be held more than 20 days before being sent to Health and Human Service child care center. In 2015, Judge Gee of the U.S. District ruled that accompanied children must be treated the same as unaccompanied children apprehended at the border. They cannot be held in custody with their parents, but must be released to childcare centers operated by the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Judge Gee also ruled that parents must be released with their children, but the Plasma administration appealed and the the 7th District Court of Appeals over turned this part of her ruling,
Judge Gee’s order is the reason Border Patrol separates children from their parents and sends then to childcare centers. Except for her order, children would be held on detention centers with their parents.
You can read the New York Times report on Judge Gee’ ruling at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/us/detained-immigrant-children-judge-dolly-gee-ruling.html
15
@William Case
What is it that you aren’t getting here?
This is not an issue of legality. Do you think Nazi Germans broke laws when they rounded up Jews and others to take them to death camps? They didn’t.
This is about what is right and what is wrong.
Holding people of any age for indefinite periods of time, under frequently inhuman circumstances without legal rights or legal representation is wrong.
It’s wrong no matter who they are or what they did.
And it’s wrong to take children away from their family members except — and this is the only exception— except when those family members’ presence presents a danger.
Ask yourself: What would it take for me to leave my home, on foot, with only what I could carry on the uncertain hope that life might be better someplace else? What would make me run? How bad would it have to be?
It’s no different a question for you running from the home you live in today than it is for anyone in any other country.
We are punishing refugees for seeking asylum.
Sure, there will be some criminals in there and our country has the right to exclude them. But we do not have the right to twist the definition of “criminal” so that we treat all people crossing the border as criminals.
That is against our own law. This is against international law. And, more importantly, it’s wrong.
6
I don't see any mention of separating children from their mothers in Judge Gee's ruling. Where is your proof that the Obama administration is somehow responsible for family separation? You mention a lawsuit, but give no proof. I would be interested in seeing that if you can produce it.
7
@chris
I did not say the Obama administration was responsible for family separation. I pointed out that the Obama appealed Judge Gee's ruling, but was only partially successful.
3
Since family separation and children in cages first came to my attention, I have not stopped thinking about this every single day. I can't shake the horrible realization that I live in a country that can currently be this cruel.
These deplorable situations absolutely fit the historical definition of "concentration camps" and if we find the idea of Japanese internment camps inhumane and unacceptable, how are we not outraged we're again opening these facilities to detain the current group of people the government doesn't want to allow to mingle in with the rest of the population?
My heart feels crushed for these children and their families, and for the heartlessness of a country that enabled these separations and confinements to begin and currently allows it to continue. It's shameful.
467
@Leah Thank you. "I can't shake the horrible realization that I live in a country that can currently be this cruel." And I can't shake the horrible realization that 30% or more of my fellow Americans approve of these torture techniques and cheer trump on.
196
Who is this "we"? I am as devastated now as ever by this evil act committed in all our names, but mainstream media seems to have moved on very quickly. A year ago Rachael Maddow was all choked up, but not so much anymore.
4
Thank you for reminding us of this ongoing, unnecessary cruelty. Like you, I hope we haven’t lost our capacity to care that poor children are being ripped from their parents in the name of our country.
9
When we talk about children coming from Central America, we should remember that the conditions they live under there are, to a large degree, caused by our actions in those countries. The extreme division of wealth in those countries was a result of the actions of US agricultural consortiums (e.g., The United Fruit Company) in the area. This wealth disparity caused the rise of socialist parties in the area. That led to the US funding of right wing death squads as part of the anti-communist policies of the second half of the 20th Century. They caused many to flee, especially the poor or indigenous people. The treatment the immigrants then received in the US, prompted the formation of, for instance, the MS-13 gang in L.A. That was followed by the sending of its gang members back to El Salvador, creating even more threat to the people of the region.
Many of these conditions are still there, causing families to leave the region to seek asylum in the US. Where else can these refugees go? They can’t go east or west. Going south does not offer any safety (Columbia and Venezuela???). Mexico is not a safe place for them to stop due to the significant presence of drug cartels who exist to feed the demand for illegal drugs in the US. That leaves the US.
Families do not take such long, arduous and dangerous journeys on a whim. They take them because of justified fear for their family’s safety.
How far would you go to save your own children?
61
@AS Pruyn
Spot on! The roots of this crisis were nourished by our own vices, first corporate greed and second our drug habits. These refugees are caught in between market forces whose worst effects, in a posture of convenience, we blame on them.
Our pundits are not doing enough to bring this maco-view of history into public scrutiny. Until we own responsibility for this, adequate solutions will evade us.
16
Michelle Goldberg Bets We'll Stop Caring About Working Class American Kids:
Whose parents will have their wages driven down by millions upon millions more unskilled migrants (22 million here already in violation of US law);
Who will be denied K-12 educational resources that will be diverted to teaching ESL and otherwise supporting non-English-soeaking migrant kids; and
Who will face higher costs for State college tuition because of in-State tuition for millions more non-American kids.
When will Michelle Goldberg care about working class American kids?
34
@Frank Quit voting for republicans Frank, the wage stagnation and cuts in education (among other problems) are primarily because the GOP care more about wealthy donors and corporations than working class Americans.
45
@Frank
I am one of hundreds -- possibly, thousands -- of people who are teaching English to speakers of other languages as volunteers. (I am also licensed to teach Spanish, just for the heck of it.) And there's the plus of American kids getting to speak other languages with their schoolmates from other countries. (I can't argue the tuition thing because it doesn't make sense.)
12
@Frank
If immigration is so bad and is causing so much harm to America's economy, why - according to Trump - is our economy the strongest it has ever been?
We're already denying resources to American kids, but not diverting that to ESL, but, instead to Charter and Private schools (I teach special education, so I've witnessed this with my own eyes, albeit Trump says to not believe what we see, only with what he says).
I'm not sure of your logic regarding higher tuition; however, when more students attend colleges under the US system of tertiary education, tuition costs generally don't change or decline because of the increased revenues.
Perhaps you should ask Betsy DeVos and Trump when they will begin caring about working class kids.
37
As the Times reported yesterday, there has been an unexpected flood of immigrants at the border in recent months. As a result, funding is woefully inadequate and the system has broken down.
Even Republicans support billions in emergency funding. But the parties can’t agree on a single bill, causing unconscionable delay. Trump is partly to blame for abuses but the bigger problem is that you can’t run a fair and just system with woefully inadequate funding. The main culprit here is Congress.
6
@michjas
Well, it isn't just the inadequate funding that is preventing us from running a fair and just system. It's individuals who are neither fair nor just.
9
@michjas Trump is 100% to blame. He is the one who approved this policy. Thanks to Trump's idiotic ranting and raving illegal immigration is skyrocketing. Anything Congress proposes will get denied by McConnell and crew in the Senate. He has stated (and I quote) he is the "grim reaper" for any proposals from the Democratic led Congress, not due to right or wrong, just because the Dems propose it. Have you seen some of the routine votes lately with 100% of Republican congress people voting against them? We are talking very routine motions. How's that for effective governance?
4
Something I've never understood: if these persons are in such peril in their present living situation, then why cannot they remain in Mexico until their application is processed - that is to say, in a different city/country than they presently live??
It's akin to passing several hospitals over hundreds of miles, in the midst of a supposed emergency, in route to their favorite hospital. It doesn't add up.
26
Good point. In addition, if Mexico is so bad that desperate Central Americans won’t stay there, it’s all the more reason to have carefully controlled immigration processes, rather then just apprehending people and releasing them into the US.
8
@David H.
If one understands the conditions in Mexico, it makes perfect sense. Mexico is not without its own problems of gang violence and its economy is not strong enough to absorb all the asylum seekers.
So it's more akin to leaving a poorly staffed, dangerous, dirty hospital and passing by several others that are similarly bad to go to the good hospital hundreds of miles away.
It's not a matter of "favorite," it's a matter of quality.
3
@David H. having lived in central America, I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is and walk that terrain. You have zero idea what you are talking about. Like most people on the right you choose to criticize from afar, not look into the facts and not engage in any meaningful way. I challenge you to go down there and try to help. It is very rewarding work, but I promise you, you will get your hands dirty. Get back to us once you have done that and you will have some credibility.
6
Family separation is supposed to be a deterrent. If it doesn't work because we're too soft-hearted when the parents dare us to do it, then we can try something else.
6
@kwb
What, pray tell, do you think we should do if terrorizing immigrant families doesn’t work?
Perish the thought!
@Donna Nieckula
Ship them back home asap.
2
Where are the courts in this? The administration argued in court (although the attorney had trouble thinking of anything to say in its defense) that having children sleep on concrete floors and denying them soap was okay. In fact, it sounds like the torture that goes on in many middle eastern countries. The court was properly shocked, there need to be significant and meaningful sanctions. Personal fines against those authorizing this horror, orders for implementation of a meaningful tracking system, and orders for the immediate reunification and release of the separated families should be the minimum. Donate to the ACLU, they are doing a very lot of difficult and tiring work on this issue, they are fighting a good fight.
20
@Eero
no soap is torture!
come on the detAinee's never had it so good.
3 hots and a cot.
thank you uncle sam.
2
Since it is a long time since the sane majority has been powerful, we must keep on speaking, yelling, do whatever it takes to keep this open. The so called lawmakers have abandoned their responsibilities in their bubble of self interest. This applies to most wrongs needing attention.
13
Mr Trump is not accomplishing this disgrace on his own and as we know "following orders" doesn't cut it which means the brainwashing has to start at a very young age. It happened in Europe during the first half of the last century and it appears to be happening here now
We are a nation with many angry people who have themselves been oppressed by less than well meaning leaders using the guise of religious belief to advance their own personal agenda.
We are gullible because we are kept in the dark and our so called leaders, those who actively seek positions of control, know the citizenry, when still children, can be easily manipulated. This is why privatization of education is so important. If children can be isolated into groups which shape developing minds to comply with the prevailing world view of their leaders, the battle for the hearts and minds of the nation is won.
The separation and apparent loss of migrant children is part of a process which relies on fear to maintain order. We appear to be on a slippery slope which is leading us almost inexorably to the dictatorship it appears Mr Trump and his financial backers so covet.
28
@Ian MacFarlane
Trust me, one doesn't need private schools to manipulate and brainwash; all one needs is a system of standards and high stakes testing that force public school teachers to teach what the state requires.
5
America, under Trump, has lost it’s shine. Perhaps the most obvious proof of that is the lack demonstrated outrage over family separation and the incarceration of children as a government policy.
A citizenry that would howl in protest if the price of gas went up 50 cents, is near silent at the practice of caging children. Each political side, blames the other, but nothing changes. History will show, as it has many times before, this disregard for moral and ethical righteousness, as the beginning of the end for once great society. Taking children from their parents, and locking them up is now the American way.
25
Humans are hard-wired to feel sympathy for children, the urge to care and protect for them. It's entirely natural to freak over images and stories about children in less-than-ideal situations. "It's for the Children" is the first argument trotted out to justify a position whenever feasible. So, everyone who is reacting on that instinctive level, what's your solution to the swarms at the border? Any child who reaches the border continues across it unhindered, hauling their parents through with them? The US offers shuttle services guiding them to wherever they want to go? Just make them citizens, because, you know, they're children and they deserve an American life (and to become Dreamers)?
20
@Seethegrey
As a human with a strong urge to care for and protect my fellow humans, I say YES to all of your questions re what to do with the children. My question is: What kind of person wouldn't want to give a kid a chance at a good life?
38
@Seethegrey
What's my solution? It goes like this:
1) Don't take children away from their parents.
2) Give children soap, toothbrushes, and a warm place to sleep. Heck, I'm so wildly liberal I say give them toothpaste and shampoo, cots and pillows and blankets, edible food, showers and toilets, and something to do with themselves all day while they're waiting to be processed, like the soccer games and English classes that got cancelled a few weeks back.
3) Assign enough judges to these cases to allow them to be processed expeditiously.
4) Don't add to the problem by incarcerating asylum seekers--they have a legal right to be here until their case is heard (and after that, unless it's denied).
5) Use diplomatic pressure and financial aid to help mitigate the nightmarish conditions these children and their families are fleeing in their home countries.
6) Pay for the soap, toothbrushes, judges, and foreign aid by rolling back the Republicans' tax cuts on the richest of the rich.
7) Remember, if you consider yourself a Christian, the Golden Rule and Matthew 25: 34-45.
53
@Seethegrey
Well yah, it's called due process. You set up a court date, folks get representation and we figure out if the circumstances warrant merit.
I have no issues with folks trying to pursue the American Dream.
13
This is how dictatorships work. They split and exhaust the opposition. They never give up. So we cannot either. Take daily action - one small thing - donate to charity, make a phone call to congress, write an oped to your local paper. And be sure to take care of you during this struggle, because it is a struggle. We always knew this would be a marathon. We are about 2/3 of the way through and we need our second wind and also save something for the sprint at the end.
829
@Steve
REPEAT:
This how dictatorships work!
18
I care about the separated children and all children . I care about the destruction of social norms. I care about Trump’s daily assault on the truth. I care about Trump’s abysmal treatment of our allies and in turn, his love affair with autocrats. I care that we have a man occupying the White House who is on tape saying it’s his right to assault women. I care that nothing is being done to provide affordable healthcare to the citizens of this country, I care about the disparity in incomes between the very rich and the ever-diminishing middle class. I care about the corporate malfeasance that seems to be more and more prevalent. I care that Amazon paid no taxes last year. I care that Trump refuses to reveal his taxes, that he is stonewalling Congress’ responsibility of oversight. I care about the rolling back of air quality and this administration’s denial of climate change and his pulling out of the Paris Climate Treaty. I care that Russia attempted to interfere in our elections and our president believes Putin over his own intelligence community. I care that he has defended the Prince of Saudi’s Arabia while there is solid evidence the prince called for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. I care, but I see most Americans as becoming increasingly “checked out”....as long as the economy is going well; they seem to be willing to give Trump all the credit for the improved economy. I care, but I wonder just how long I can continue to care, yet remain sane?
1087
@Kathy Garland: Many people hack it by believing that the universe is run by a sentient agency that created our reality to entertain itself, and wants the show to go on forever. "One nation under God". But some of these believe that this God tires of the show, so it is about to turn the "on" button "off".
The long term survival value of reason remains to be established.
37
@Kathy Garland Those of us who far care outnumber those who don't. The problem is that we're utterly exhausted from the deluge of horrors since donald was elected, but we must stay strong and keep doing whatever we can to be sure he doesn't get a second term. I'm confident that he won't, but we mustn't get complacent. Stay strong, keep forging ahead with your heart open and caring!
153
@Kathy Garland
I'm with you, Kathy Garland. I'm exhausted. And working hard not to be fearful given the erosion and explosion of norms that I wake up to each morning. I'm horrified to think that even with an injunction in place, immigration agents are taking advantage of a loophole without consequence.
The only way out is through. To that end, important to believe that this anomaly will be over soon - and keep fighting with letters, calls to Congressman and Senators. Make sure you vote and get everyone you know to vote. It is our weapon against this aberrant administration.
96
Thank you for keeping the spotlight on the plight of these kids. At a time when brinkmanship over Iran, performance art at Congressional committee hearings, and awkward declarations are made by Joe Biden are dominating the headlines, we need to remember the pain being inflicted in our name on children at our borders. We cannot become numb. The children certainly are not.
747
"and awkward declarations are made by Joe Biden are dominating the headlines"
With how friendly and helpful he's always been to those Very Fine People, I'd not be shocked at all if Biden was coordinating his awful gaffefest with them.
Please, PLEASE tap ANYONE else in our primaries.
8
@syfredrick
Thanks for including Biden in a list of Trump's and the Republicans' doings. That moral equivalence shows me that your comment ought not be taken seriously at all.
6
@syfredrick
You are so right.
Biden has proven he is just not up to the task.
He is feeble and completely out of touch.
America is in the fight of our lives to remove this psycho, Trump, who is literally torturing young children by separating them from their parents and keeping them in cages, while arguing in front of judges that they should be made to sleep on cold concrete floors.
Meanwhile Biden is in LaLa land, reminiscing about the "good ole" days, 50 years ago, when the Senate all worked together.
Dems need a fearless fighter, a strong articulate leader who is OUTRAGED over these daily heinous human rights violations and willing to call Trump and his henchmen out for their vile, disgusting treatment of young innocent children.
23
I would really appreciate it if the New York Times published a list of organizations which are helping these children and migrant families so that we can contribute to them and fight against this unlawful regime that is flouting human decency and the UN Convention on refugees.
201
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=87&v=YIUZvBycIKs
A link to read about the critical mistreatment of migrant children in Texas.: sometimes 50 to a room. It makes me cry.
11
Trump is not the only sadist. He could easily be restrained by Republicans in Congress but their base not only approves of Trump's inhuman treatment of immigrants, they enjoy the inflicted pain and suffering.
Republicans are not supported by the best Americans. They are voted in by some of the worst. Some are Evangelical Christian hypocrites who have hijacked the meaning of Christianity. Some are greedy parasitic capitalist who would steal pennies from a pauper to help pay for their fifth home. Some are white nativists who believe people of color are inferior. That's the Republican Party - a party of America's very worst - a party of angry, aggrieved white haters and sadists.
If that were not the case, they would express outrage and stop Trump, but that is the case and they adore him for his cruelty.
113
@JABarry
I agree with your sentiments; however, I wouldn't say that Trump's supporters adore him for his cruelty. I would say that they adore him for his efforts at "maintaining" the whiteness of America.
2
@JABarry These Republicans are not the Republicans of my ancestors. THOSE Republicans joined the party right after the Ripon Convention, and put their lives on hold to fight for Lincoln and the cause of egalitarian Democracy. These "Republicans" are the heirs of that mob that screamed "Give us Barabbas!" and those thugs who waylaid, beat and robbed the traveller on the Jericho road.
3
“There are kids in this country being systematically brutalized by our government.”
This will never be OK. Because if it is OK, all of us have lost our humanity. Food, clean water, soap and, yes, toothbrushes are all pretty basic necessities for children. Children don’t belong in cages. Babies need to be with their parents. Concentration camps are not the answer for migrant families seeking asylum.
I would have thought all of that was pretty obvious.
73
@Diana C Given many of the comments here, some have already lost their humanity. they hide behind tired old arguments and illogical tropes. They do not see their own culpability in this. And they are perfectly happy to stay in ignorance. They are shameless.
5
The only way to stop this madman is to separate him from office.
21
"Gelernt described a case in which a Honduran man was separated from his three daughters because he was H.I.V. positive. (Their mother had died of AIDS.)"
I truly hope this Honduran gentleman's health doesn't further, but if it does I know that US taxpayers will be on the hook for expensive medical care as well as taking care of his 3 children no matter what. The NYT keeps repeating the myth that unlimited and unregulated immigration into this country is an economic benefit, but common sense tells us otherwise. Enough is enough.
20
@mpound
Yes, much like we're on the hook for all of the health problems incurred by the millions of obese, lazy, uninsured caucasians in Middle America (my mother, a retired nurse in Ohio, has quite the catalog of horror stories). Funny how no one complains about those people.
3
@mpound
"the NYT keeps repeating the myth that unlimited and unregulated immigration into this country is an economic benefit..."
Please cite where the NYT has ever said this because it hasn't.
2
@mpound Speaking as a 10th and 12th generation Yankee WASP, whose family's most recent sacrifice for this Democratic Republic was my father's death in combat against the Nazis, I wholeheartedly support our historic policy of offering refuge to the "Tired, poor and huddled masses." Maybe we should forcibly sterilize those current citizens who exhibit symptoms of the gene for xenophobia.
2
Why is it that Central American migrants cannot find asylum in Mexico?
21
Of all the horrendous projections that have emanated from criminal iq45's administration and the entire criminal Rep Party this is The Most Sickening and unbearable act of all.
Beyond words.
11
the cruelty is the point
18
Trump and his hatchet man, Stephen Miller, are despicable.
21
All this and forced-birth too. There is little harmony in human cognition.
10
Trump wants us to keep caring about migrant kids. It gives his base more to be angry about.
79
@Alan It would be hard for his base to get any more base, but they're trying.
@Alan It would be hard for his base to get any more base, but they're trying.
37
Apparently Democrats have already stopped since they won't approve necessary funding to help take care of them. They will of course pretend to care during the election, but really they just want votes.
19
@Keith, the House gave Trump billions for border control and humanitarian aid. Who are you trying to kid, Keith?
5
Most Americans welcome LEGAL immigrants, but do not want ILLEGAL immigrants. They recognize that the US cannot afford (or choose not) to support our own citizens: the poor, the ill, elderly, disabled, veterans, et al., and that they and other US taxpayers cannot possibly support the hundreds of millions of foreigners who would like to come here.
US laws allow foreigners to seek entry and citizenship. Those who do not follow these laws are in this country illegally and should be detained and deported; this is policy in other countries, too.
The cruelty lies not in limiting legal immigration, or detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, or forcing those who wish to enter the US to wait for processing. What is cruel, unethical and probably illegal is encouraging parents to bring their children on the dangerous trek to US borders and teaching the parents how to game the system to enter the US by falsely claiming asylum, persecution, etc. Indeed, many believe bringing children on such perilous journeys constitutes child abuse.
No other nation has open borders, nor should the US.
27
@Mon Ray
pls provide data showing the encouragement you mention. "What is cruel, unethical and probably illegal is encouraging parents to bring their children on the dangerous trek to US borders and teaching the parents how to game the system to enter the US by falsely claiming asylum, persecution, etc. Indeed, many believe bringing children on such perilous journeys constitutes child abuse."
and we do not have open borders. if we did, there would be not be officials at border crossings. the EU has open borders. we have driven from switzerland to france and germany and barely realized we crossed the border. "No other nation has open borders, nor should the US."
28
@Mon Ray
Notwithstanding that immigration from Mexico is at an all time low. That many are fleeing dangers in Central America that any sane parent would over danger or death. That there also efforts at quietly paring down legal immigration. That the impacts of tax loss and lost economic vitality on the US will be profound from immigration blocking.
All of these are highlighting the fundamental racism and nationalism at the core of these efforts.
9
@Mon Ray
"many believe" that's trump's claim all the time - never document who the many are. and pls tell me who teaches these parents how to game the system. where is your data re falsely claiming asylum?
see this https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2019/may/17/dan-crenshaw/are-vast-majority-asylum-claims-without-merit/
pls provide data showing the encouragement you mention. "What is cruel, unethical and probably illegal is encouraging parents to bring their children on the dangerous trek to US borders and teaching the parents how to game the system to enter the US by falsely claiming asylum, persecution, etc. Indeed, many believe bringing children on such perilous journeys constitutes child abuse."
and we do not have open borders. if we did, there would be not be officials at border crossings. the EU has open borders. we have driven from switzerland to france and germany and barely realized we crossed the border. "No other nation has open borders, nor should the US."
1
Trump's concentration camps are designed to terrorize these immigrants. America's policy is now to inflict psychological torture and physical deprivation on the parents of immigrant children and on the children themselves as a deterrent to immigration and as punishment for immigration. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans cheer on this cruelty, taking a sick sort of pleasure in our nation's brutish crime against humanity.
America's soul is rotting.
226
I care. I’ve written letters to my Congresspeople expressing my views, and they all (two senators, one Representative) agree this is cruel, inhuman policy. They seem as helpless to stop it as I am. I’ve protested in my neighborhood, at the airport, and downtown. Still no change in Trump’s illegal, loophole-exploiting endangering of children’s lives and America’s reputation. I’ve just written an article about a musically compelling record featuring The Last Poets’ fierce denunciations of the current administration and the social ills of Our nation, called Transcending Toxic Times. Perhaps more people will hear the album due to my work, and be persuaded to protest as I have. But I still think the separations will continue at least through the end of Trump’s term unless the evil, enabling GOP Senate decides to care about kids as I do, as late night comics do, as NyT and WP columnists and virtually all other pundits do (ai’ve heard and read no one defending this policy). And what about the courts stopping this? No, they also are helpless in ending the practice as the government flouts their rulings. Stop separating children from those responsibly or getting them into the US!
15
Let's call the detention centers what they are. Concentration camps. The media is downplaying this and needs to step up and show what is really going on with nothing held back.
104
@bobby true> here the dictionary definition and it fits: "a place where large numbers of people (such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, refugees, or the members of an ethnic or religious minority) are detained or confined under armed guard"
26
@bobby
Strictly speaking, yes, they are concentration camps. But any honest person knows the connotation of that word, and I think it's despicable and disrespectful to make the comparison. I'm sure if my relatives could rise from the ashes of their concentration camp and we could ask if they'd rather be housed in a facility with a concrete floor or stacked in barracks with starved, skeletal bodies before they're gassed and burned, they'd choose the former. And please don't with the "This is how it starts." This isn't a calculated effort to exterminate an entire people. I've heard the word "horror" used a dozen times in these comments. Maybe we should give people a jolt of reality by posting pictures from Auschwitz to show what real horror looks like.
4
Exactly, bobby. Detention happens in school. Concentration camps happen in tyranny.
The loser loves the Poorly Educated, so the former's right out.
4
I think about these children every day and am outraged that they neglected and I’ll while locked in a surreal system that has no way of reuniting them with their parents. If I spoke Spanish, lived in the US and knew anything about immigration law, I’d be helping them any way I could. In the meantime, what can I do? It’s vital that this crime stay on the front page of every newspaper and be spoken of in news shows every day. The fact that Trump and his cronies don’t care about the damage they’re doing is sickening and Congress must hold them accountable.
25
You are exactly correct that In this pre-election year there is so much noise that the plight of children separated from family at the border will be ignored.Trump and his callous cohorts are counting on that.Hopefully the TV and print media sill stay on this important story so people cannot forget.This is being done by the U.S. that is us.If we are quiet, we are complicit!
22
I am ashamed to be an American today. I am embarrassed to hand my passport to a border official or even hotel clerk because of the cruelty conducted in my name. To be associated, quite unwillingly, with the callous separation of children from parents always gives me a moment of shame. Then, I feel the outrage well within me.
Outrage that a walking, talking joke became our president. Outrage that Republicans in Congress kowtow to his whims. Outrage that he has the instant power to start a war before Congress has a chance to even assemble—not that the GOP members would push back.
Outrage that we overlook the seeds of chaos and violence that push people from their Central American homes to seek safety within our borders—only to see their children literally torn from their arms. Outrage at the devastation we have wreaked upon two-year-olds who cannot understand why their parents have abandoned them. Speechless outrage that six have died in our care.
No, Ms Goldberg, the well of our outrage will never run dry. It is replenished by the tears of all hurt in our name. But it is focused on those who commit these atrocities in our name.
173
@David Potenziani thank you. so compassionate and articulate. when i travel outside the US i wear a canadian maple leaf pin. i'm 73 and feel the same way you do.
my business used to take me all over the world and, with some exceptions, i was so proud to be an american and discuss the greatest country in the world with my business associates and their families - especially their children no more.
24
Every person with a functioning brain understands that immigration isn't a simple problem. Only the GOP and Trump would resort to "stopping" immigration via child separation tactics.
The irony of course being that these refugees are trying to escape poverty and violence. The threat of child separation doesn't address that immediate threat. Investing smartly in the economic situation of those refugee countries would, but of course these budgets have already been cut by the GOP.
So on one hand the GOP and Trump create larger refugee streams, and ont he other hand they violate human conventions and punish these refugees by taking away their children.
It's criminal, but then again what isn't criminal coming from this abhorrent president and his right wing sycophants.
21
Trump bets we will all become worn down by his continued awful behavior. And he is probably correct. It i demoralizing. Sadly.
7
@esp Stay strong! We're living in awful times, ruled by a cruel dictator, but if we don't keep standing up for compassion, we're sunk. Don't give up! Far more people see donald the way you do than not. Let's stick together and keep our energy going.
7
TRUMP IS COMMITTING CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY At the Mexico border! Separating children from families results, predictably in profound trauma. The younger the child, the more severe the trauma, in all likelihood. To the youngest children, a parent out of sight is a parent who has disappeared forever. Trump is disrupting the process of children forming strong positive attachments to their parents, siblings, extended families and communities. Trumps crimes against humanity involving children are accompanied by his crimes against humanity involving adults. Parents separated from their children predictably experience profound emotional trauma. In fact, Trump's tearing apart of families is, by definition the most extreme form of anti family government policy possible. All perpetrated by TRUMP. He proudly brags about his power to inflict so much torture on innocent children and their caregivers. Yet he blocks an attempts to get evidence on his own alleged crimes. Hypocrisy is his mainstay. When will charges of Crimes Against Humanity be brought against Trump. The AFLCIO must seek remedy in the World Court for Trump's mass torture of chlidren and their families.
25
Trump, his enablers and lackeys, have succeeded in deflating hope and normalizing cruelty. We ought to be using the descriptive adjective “cruel” more often and with vigor when reporting about this administration. This means in newspapers, in commentary and in Congress. Just to cite a few instances, they have been cruel toward immigrant children with their separation policies; cruel to women with the gag rule; cruel to the sick and healthy with their assault on healthcare; cruel to the LBGT community with legislative decree; cruel to elders with their threats to Social Security, cruel to families in their assault on the food stamp program. It goes on and on. There is no end to their cruelty. Trump’s flashy showmanship hides his brutality. His brand of behavior may be appealing to some, but is not just entertaining, it is cruel. If cruel sounds too harsh, try: merciless, vicious, heartless, callous, malicious, and pitiless. No matter which of these words we use, we really need to start calling him on it.
17
@L Kuster
I live in rural MN; my small town voted 62 percent for Trump. I have a sign in my front window that’s been up since February 2017:
Totalitarian
Racist
Unethical
Misogynist
Pernicious GOP.
My neighbors aren’t happy. Guess the truth hurts.
6
We must never ever let the child separation and imprisonment at our borders become just background noise in the continued onslaught of cruelty, lies and corruption of the Trump administration. The fact that there are government lawyers arguing that these children don’t even deserve soap and toothbrushes simply defies belief.
How dare Trump supporters hold up placards that say “Keep America Great” while this brutalization continues unabated.
14
@Susan, Trump supporters are a beer short of a six-pack and missing the empathy gene. Good news is we outnumber them 3 to 1. Vote!
4
The vast majority of Americans are horrified and heartbroken over the sadistic policies of the GOP. There's a pervasive perpetual angst in the zeitgeist. I am personally not sure how to help, beyond donating to the many tireless legal and social organizations fighting to right these terrible wrongs. I would love to see the Democratic party offering us more leadership on what to do right now -- we cannot wait til 2020 to stop the madness. Let's start with a massive March for Migrants to let people know that we have not forgotten the children.
10
If anything ever fits the definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors” it is this ruthless treatment of children. Congress should start impeachment hearings around this issue now.
11
This story needs to make its way to some front pages and on the local news because that is the only way that the public will know. But, this is not on the front page. Iran is getting coverage today. Some other horrific situation will get coverage tomorrow. In order to cope, some people stop reading and listening to the news. Trump's loyal followers love harsh immigration policies, so he loses nothing when his administration separates families. Fox doesn't report this problem, because it doesn't view it as a problem. A bigger problem for the right-wingers revolves around "unfair" attacks on their demi-god Trump. He is the most tortured human in history according to the Fox crowd.
7
Sure, American can at times be a shining star on a hill, but somewhere within the DNA make up of America is a gene that surfaces from time to time proving we can be an absolutely horrible nation.
Certainly the treatment of migrant kids can be used as a current example. But we can also trace examples to slavery; how we treated native Americans and shipped them off to desolate places; Japanese internment camps during WWII; treatment of minorities and folks 'not like us'; and many other less obvious but equally atrocious acts.
As a septuagenarian and veteran. I have seen and learned how the gene taints US, and we seem to learn nothing from life lessons. That only a handful of readers have reacted to this op-ed as I write this is depressing. Could we have moved on so soon?
10
In another, more civilized time in American history, had such a policy been implemented in a foreign country, the US would have been leading the charge to end it, perhaps getting the UN involved along with it. Bit by bit under Trump we began to cede any moral authority we had in the world. The policy of stealing people’s children is the funeral pyre upon which we cremated the last vestiges of our collective decency.
Now we are starting to see stories of children taken from their parents at the border and being adopted by Americans. This is nothing less than stealing someone’s child.
Everyone involved with this policy, from the architects —Trump, Jeff Sessions, Stephen Miller et al — to those who execute it, from Kirstjen Nielson on down to the agents involved, should be hauled before the UN High Commission on Human Rights and tried for crimes against humanity.
23
Have I missed the maps showing the centers where these children are being held? Maps would help.
2
People like Ms. Goldberg (who is constantly writing articles like this) should donate money to aid the cause of these migrants.
A good place to start would be Catholic charities.
Their immigration and refugee services arm provides “ essential services and advocates for immigration and refugee policies that protect family unity “ as it says on their website.
However I’d be willing to bet she’s never contributed a cent to Catholic charities or any organization like it.
9
Does Donald Trump think that MS13 gang members grow up in stable homes where there is an abundance of love, opportunity and support?
I predict the Miller/Trump immigration policies will created a whole new, more sinister generation of gang members that will make MS13 look like the “little rascals”. The ramifications of what is happening now will be felt for years and years to come.
Education, soccer, toothbrushes are a small price to pay. Compassion, respect, understanding are free. If this Administration was afraid of gang violence now... I suggest they think about what they are incubating now and how little it would cost to mitigate it.
10
I would like to see asylum claims adjudicated swiftly at the border so people can either come in as valid refugees or not be allowed to enter because their bogus claim was rejected. No more long detentions at the border and no more catch and release. Overly liberal judges should stop banning all attempts by the Administration to clean up the mess at the border.
Btw voting Trump out will not solve this problem. The Central Americans will keep coming and now migrants from outside the Americas are coming. Will the Democrats install an open borders policy and let everyone in? Or will they utilize the same methods that Trump (and Obama) used?
13
@Lynn in DC
People from countries “outside the Americas” have been immigrating to the USA since, well, before the USA became the USA.
My grandparents immigrated from Eastern Europe around 1906.
I am now retired. Over the decades, I have personally met, taught, or worked with people who were fresh immigrants from many countries ... England, Poland, Italy, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Hmong/Laos, Australia, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, China, India, Nepal, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, Russia...... and more.
Immigration is who we are.
7
@Donna Nieckula
What is new is that people from outside the Americas are now coming through our southern border.
1
The Left bets we'll continue to ignore the Democratic Congress' unwillingness to reform asylum laws that create the magnet to "bring-your-kid-get-into-America."
11
@JOHN, the passed bipartisan immigration reform over a year ago. Trump vetoed the bill and McConnell refused to override his veto. This is Trump's fault. He also got plenty of funding again this year to fix the crisis at the border and add on more judges, etc, but he hasn't done it. Stop defending the indefensible.
12
Every abortion column gets several hundred comments. This one, about real live children who need help and protection, has so far gotten 16.
The only positive I can draw from this story is that Catholic Charities are doing their part.
6
What can we do? All many of us need is a direction to go in. Letters don't work, petitions don't work. marches don't work. Tell us what we can do and I'll do it.
4
You do know that thirty percent of those “families” crossing illegally aren’t actually related, right? Why won’t the Dems support legislation allocating more resources?
8
@Jackson
Your source for that?
6
This national sin
should be on page one everyday until it is fixed.
7
Complaints, including its all Trumps fault, but never suggests a solution. Ever.
These people are crossing the border illegally, Michelle. They arent applying for asylum at a border crossing, then are rounded up - they were caught crossing the border - then asked for asylum. So what are the options?
1. Since they have kids with them, and we dont want to see kids in "cages", just let them all cross.
That would be fully opening the border, and would incentivise the entire populations of every country south of the border to cross. Perhaps youd love to see that Michelle, but its not a real option.
2. Since they were caught crossing illegally, put the entire family in a detention facility together. Perhaps Trump could build hotels on the border to accommodate all of them.
3. Since we dont want kids in cages, the adults with them broke the law, so they go in a cell. Then what do we do with the kids? These family units with children are making the trip and crossing because they can. They arent vaulting over existing barriers, but are simply walking to the remote places where there are no barriers. If they know they cant physically cross, they wont make the trip. That means finishing barriers along the border where its crossable. They could all apply for asylum in Mexico or their home country - like every other foreigner on the planet must do. And who's preventing barriers being built? Your party - Democrats. While we all care for the children, we dont want an open border either.
16
@Sports Medicine. there is no excuse for this abuse against children and their families. Give them a court date and stop detaining them. That's what we did before and it worked. Stop trying to justify the evil, inhumane behavior of the Trump administration.
13
Good luck getting the suburban consumer / swing voter to care.
We live in Huxley's dystopia: Alphas make and break the rules; keep the Betas supplied with Feelies and Soma and they'll never march in the streets. They might lose their jobs.
Yet someone has to keep this before the harried public more concerned about what to watch now that Game of Thrones has ended than our awful President. We are sliding into a dictatorship.
Actually, the GOP wants us to stop caring, period. They are almost there. We can only hold a certain amount of misery and injustice in our minds. When buffers are full...
1
“But if there’s one thing this administration rarely backs down on, it’s cruelty.”
You got that right.
The playbook of this administration seems to be: find the most defenseless, the least significant, the hardest to “see”, and attack them first, here and around the globe.
It is the way of the bully, who’s only ethic is the power of the strong over the weak.
That is why Trump despises—despises—the free press. Because you make us see.
8
Congress needs to address immigration reform. Open borders aren't the answer.
8
@DJ Congress passed immigration reform over a year ago on a bipartisan basis and Trump vetoed. it. Look it up.
7
That's a good bet when you consider who his voters are. And you're making the assumption they cared for them in the first place. They wear their mean spiritedness on their chest over their heart like a medal of honor.
13
We must never stop caring about those children. News sources, keep this in the forefront daily.
The inhumane treatment of those families is an atrocity that we must pay attention to every day and do everything in our power to stop.
I pledge to never stop caring about those children.
35
Separation, however justified, is one thing. But separation with no process of tracking is the height of cruelty. We don't see this happening in EU countries where migration may be overwhelming at times, why can't our government commit to a working system of tracking these families so that the separation, if necessary, is not permanent? Not to make light of this, but even my dentures have my name stamped in them, and my dog is microchipped.
78
This is cruel and unusual punishment of these poor children, who are separated from their family, and could as a result, be suffering from a variety of psychological traumas, that some may never recover from. I recently read a 4 month old child, was separated from their parent. Such separation will cause a lifetime of attachment and anxiety issues. Trump and his gang are sentencing children to a lifetime of trauma issues.
I am not numb to it; I want to do my best to get someone else elected who has a kind and human approach to immigrants, all who are already suffering when they come here. Truly, when Trump is out of office, he should be sued for the damage done to all these children by a group of their parents and advocates. We also need to dedicate money to the healing of these children, so they will be able to live somewhat of a normal life. The courts need to intervene now, with lawsuits brought by the parents and advocacy groups.
88
The column we're still waiting for.
Michelle Goldberg's outline of what US authorities should do about migrants crossing the southern border wishing to settle in the US.
Michelle's silence on this issue is echoed by the great planner, Elizabeth Warren's lack of a plan on immigration reform.
We're not cold hearted but we do want solutions.
27
@Mike Edwards
I share your frustration- we need bipartisan support for a rational plan that reflects both the needs and the values of this country. In these polarized times, we are far from a solution. But in the meantime, when it comes children why can't we adopt the imperative- do no harm?
27
@Mike Edwards: I do believe that figuring out a rational, humane plan to handle mass migrations is what we established a government to do. Ms Goldberg is pointing out that they're not doing very well. So she, by contrast, is doing her job effectively.
16
@Mike Edwards Check out Julian Castro’s plan. I am not particularly a Castro fan, but his proposals have been receiving a lot of praise. Here’s one story on them https://www.texastribune.org/2019/04/02/julian-castro-texas-unveils-immigration-platform-presidential-bid/
3
I wish the media would continually report on this tragedy rather than print all of the Joe Biden non-stories. This problem is on all of us, not just Trump. Congress, yes, Republicans and Democrats need to work together to address complex immigration issues. With constant pressure, maybe they’ll finally do so. Maybe bipartisanship is the answer?
109
@KateF, the congress passed Immigration Reform in the fall of 2017, Trump vetoed it and McConnell refused to override his veto.
10
@KateF Bipartisanship? Civility? We are way way past bipartisanship when Republican representatives empower and support the Executive's grotesque immorality. Even silence now is a betrayal of the idea of this country.
I don't have all the answers; but, I do feel deeply that getting along to get along is the road to genocide.
5
"The question is whether, over the course of this numbing year, we’ve learned to tolerate what just last June seemed intolerable."
The seething anger over children being separated from their families hasn't subsided, its just that the it doesn't get the media attention it should. If news outlets started running more headline stories, believe me, there would be outrage again.
We have to vote these monsters out in 2020.
507
@cherrylog754
I've asked this before on these same pages: How is this not a Human Rights issue worthy of censure by the UN and other international rights organizations?
721
@Mon Ray: That's a canard. The issue here isn't legal versus illegal immigration, or whether illegal immigrants should be deported. The issue is whether the U. S. should separate children from their parents once they are here. Are you in favor of it? You're willing to speak out on a lot of issues but you don't speak out on that.
33
@asdfj
A Justice Department attorney this week argued in court that the federal government should not be required to provide soap, toothbrushes or even beds to detained children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Government lawyer Sarah Fabian argued Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that forcing children to sleep on cold concrete floors in cells is both “safe and sanitary.”
27
Trump bets we will stop caring about a lot of things he does.
We must stay awake and be vigilant. We must defeat him in 2020 and bring back our values, integrity and openness to people wanting/needing to come here.
204
Two things seem to be overlooked by pundits regarding this issue. One predicts what DT will do if he is ever held accountable by a court. A judge ordered the children to be reunited with their families and the court has been ignored. If SCOTUS rules something unconstitutional and DT ignores them, what then? Second, the vicious sadism of DT has no bounds. There is a steady progression of more cruelty toward these children. Deaths are going to increase more likely due to some what we'll hear to be virus or disease their parents carried. Hundreds of these kids will die. Can't happen here? That's what the Germans thought.
275
Calling it 'family separation' plays into the administration's narrative. It sounds much more benign than 'children in cages.' Maybe there is a description that is fairer than 'children in cages' that conveys that it is minor children who are being ripped from caring parents with no system to reunite them. But 'family separation' does not convey that this is a crime that should be taken up at the Hague.
292
@John, I agree, and I'd add that in addition to being kept in cages, there is rampant abuse of all kinds being reported, including emotional, physical and sexual. This situation should be in the headlines daily.
29
@John
"Caring parents" don't force their children into a state of criminality because they're migrating to make more money.
9
@John
Kidnapping is the word.
“Cruel and unusual punishment “ are the words in the Constitution.
Secret prisons are not supposed to exist in the US.
Where the “tender age “ and younger children are kept is a secret from the public. We never, ever see their pictures!
We only see pictures of those 12 and up.
Where are the little ones? Where is our free press?
19
Caring about migrant kids should include caring about whether or not the adults with them are actually their parents not other adults using them to gain favorable entry at the border.
Caring about migrant kids should not be encouraging and enabling human traffickers who profit when adults recklessly choose to endanger these kids dragging them a thousand miles through the desert across several countries for economic gain.
We have good laws in this country about child endangerment. Leaving a child alone in a car to run into a store will get you arrested. Why should foreign migrants not be accountable to the same laws citizens would be investigated and prosecuted for?
46
@CNNNNC
You say it's endangerment to cross the border with children. In many places it's also endangerment to stay put. Either way, these parents/guardians can't win. By criminalizing acts of kindness such as leaving water or clothes and food in the desert, we are making the journey more treacherous than it needs to.
As for your trafficking claim, 5% of all American children are not the biological child of the father listed on their birth certificate. In countries gripped by gang warfare and violence, one can assume that number is far higher. There are many legitimate reasons for people to be moving with children who are biologically related to them, including bringing them to join parents already in the US. By means of example, my own grand-father escaped World War 2 bombings because his parents didn't care enough to move him. Should he have been left to fend for himself with no adults?
116
@BB and....not our problem
5
@CNNNNC
You completely divert from the issues raised in the column, a tactic Trump and his ilk employ constantly.
28