The humanitarian crisis created by Trump’s new border policy is not only heartbreakingly immoral, but contrary to U.S. laws requiring that asylum-seekers be accorded due process. The claim that children must be separated and parents prosecuted to keep the nation safe ignores abundant evidence that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than those born here.
Desperate immigrants seeking asylum are not criminals. They have made their perilous journey believing they have no choice. Many have lost family members to violence and know through horrifying experience that their home governments do not protect them.
Some wonder why these immigrants do not “get in line” to come to the U.S. legally, but there is no line available under current U.S. immigration policy. Blaming Democrats, and claiming they want “open borders” is untrue and simply an attempt to shift the blame and try to justify what most Americans see as indefensible, inhumane strategies.
Importantly, the Trump policy does not address the root problem. If we want to stem the tide of Central American immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S., we need to work with these countries to improve conditions there. Instead, Trump has threatened to withhold funding, claiming that “when countries abuse us by sending people up – not their best – we’re not going to give any more aid to those countries.”
While Congress, not President Trump, will have the final say on this, the idea to withdraw foreign aid is self-defeating. Mark Green, the Trump-appointed head of USAID, recently told Congress that providing such funding increases national security by helping secure our border and mitigate conditions driving these immigrants to leave. In addition, he testified, “It’s the right thing to do.”
Carol Cure
Durango
