What is still hanging in the air concerning reuniting children with their parents?
It was one week ago today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) missed the court-mandated deadline to reunite all immigrant children under the age of five with their parents. It was, apart from Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the most important news story of the day one short week ago. The government had only managed to reunited some 50% of the children. In 20% of the cases, HHS lost track of the parents after they were either deported or released into the U.S. In other cases, the excuse was they were doing DNA testing to verify parentage, but the bottom line was that far too many toddlers were still left sleeping behind wire and crying for their mommies every night.
Then Trump went abroad where he ruined relations with our NATO allies, trashed our kinship with the UK, and sold the U.S. to Putin…
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Musings on Life & Experience 
Wish people had been so concerned (as we were locally) when this all started – during Bush. Locally we protested when President Obama’s administration settled 15 “children’s resettlement centers in this area (supported by local/state taxpayers and school districts – with many church groups and charities raising money for things the kids need to be comfortable. While dorms and rooms with normal beds and toys, not cages, these places are not good for kids past 24 hours – they should be with parents if they are here and unaccompanied minors should be supervised by HHS or Immigration/Customs who are more careful and caring with the children. In private hands, these people watch kids walk out doors, climb over fences and “escape” – these are kids and they are supposed to be watching over them – not saying “we are not jails…We cannot stop them if they want to leave” Disgusting – These private companies with custody company contracts are only after money and profit. Nobody in the rest of the country cared then. Finally concern…but people more about politics than actual concern for the kids.
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I agree with all your points, except that the outrage is more about politics now. I think a lot of people just didn’t know what was going on (unless you lived near it). I blame our lawmakers’ complete inability to come up with a comprehensive immigration plan. Why don’t they do it? Becuase the broken system is an effective wedge issue. Because the for-profit prison system has deep pockets. Because fear of brown people is a handy tool to win votes. The whole thing is horrifying. 😦
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It is horrible. It’s the politicians more concerned about getting reelected (and gathering up specific groups of voters) than finding a comprehensive solution – that’s what I meant about political.
No one here is in fear of brown people – maybe where you are. We’ve had a long history with Mexico and Latin America.
(My own ancestors became Catholic (as required), all learned Spanish (as the MX gov. required), and swore allegiance to Mexico when they immigrated.)
For years school buses pulled up to the border crossing bridges and collected the students who were born in the US hospitals but lived with their families in MX. Nobody complained at all about the arrangement. Everyone had friends and family on both sides of the border. The gangs, gun trade, smugglers paid to cross people,and human trafficking have made the crossing areas so dangerous that even US citizens of Hispanic heritage are afraid and do not make border crossings much anymore to see family – Facebook and social media help, but hard to watch the kids growing up without face to face contact – because it’s too dangerous along the border. Whew are tired of tiny limp bodies of toddlers being handed to medics from the backs of 18 wheeler trailers who are packed with people who paid every cent they had to smugglers – who stuffed them in, drove in 100F temps, then abandoned the truck and it’s human cargo in the heat.
We’d do better spending money to encourage and support all the countries south of us than sponsoring foster families of children and social programs for resettlement. Make their homes safer and profitable to live there – a good majority I know would rather be back home if they could be. Educate the kids here, then assist them in taking back their countries and making those places great.
It’s not a race thing here – it’s wishing to prevent tragedy
We are on the same side – just for different reasons
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Hear hear! I totally agree. That’s what I meant about a comprehensive immigration policy. It needs to look at US foreign policy as a component, as well as the root problems that make so many people feel that they have no choice but to flee. I’m married to a brown person (25 years!), so nothin’ but love up here. 🙂
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Yes, sigh. Don’t know why it is so difficult to get through to people. Treat the cause, not the symptoms. Another 5yr old boy died in his father’s arms yesterday – crammed in a hot truck’s cargo trailer – and only midway through summer. I guess if it’s not on one’s doorstep, it’s easy to pretend it’s all fine.
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It seems to me about the way it was done this time. People know now and are raising hell about it. It isn’t just politics. People are increasingly informed these days because of the internet and “do” care about the children. You’d have to be really hard-hearted not to. No one can get away with that sh** these days without everybody and his brother knowing. Yesterday was yesterday but today is today. We live in the “now”. 😦 — Suzanne
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