On Father’s Day in America, The Guardian (London) newspaper ran a story called, “Separation at the border: children wait in cages at South Texas warehouse.” Former First Lady Laura Bush wrote an op-ed piece the day after Father’s Day, decrying the “mass detention” of children who have been separated from their parents.
Mr. Orwell, what do you think of using the term mass detention to describe children locked up in cages?
Two days prior to Father’s Day, the Wall Street Journal reported on the “zero tolerance” policy imposed on families crossing into the U.S. illegally.
The WSJ article contained several alarming statistics. The south Texas warehouse, located just north of Brownsville, Texas (I kid you not on the town’s name), is called Casa Padre Center. Again, Mr. Orwell, what do you think of the name that means Father House when there are no fathers present? There are approximately 1,500 young boys incarcerated at this facility. The WSJ also mentioned that there are over 11,000 brown-skinned children currently located in detention centers located throughout America (including one in Portland).
The public outcry has been immense. Church groups, human rights advocates, celebrities, US citizens, politicians, editorial writers, and many others have sharply criticized the president and his Attorney General for their utter immoral depravity. I note that this zero tolerance policy comes from the political party that has laid claim as the “family values” party. The public denunciation is clear. A Quinnipiac University poll revealed that only 7% and 55% of Democrats and Republicans, respectively, approved of the separation policy.
In response, the president signed an executive order yesterday, representing a 180 degree reversal, that instructed children would no longer be separated from their parents. Instead, the families would be incarcerated together. The EO does not address what will happen to the 11,000 kids who are currently separated from their parents.
I recently watched a video of a Holocaust survivor explaining that during this current mess that Hitler separated families.
That is all.
