Federal Govt Failure

[Dave Roberts]

Over the weekend, I saw the article that said that our federal government had done such a poor job of obtaining information about minors separated at our southern border from their families that it may now take as much as two years to reunite families. This is wrong on so many levels. First, if those who were in charge of separating these children did not get enough information to reunite families, they should be fired for failure to fulfill their duties. Second, this treatment of children to warehouse them in camps and centers does not facilitate the growth of these children physically, mentally, or emotionally. Third, separating children from their families except in extreme circumstances has always been considered a last resort of social welfare agencies, not a first punishment of families. Fourth, our national government has made a mockery of the treaties governing asylum to which we are signatories by saying that asylum seekers do not have a right to seek asylum here. Fifth, the American taxpayers have been saddled with the costs of caring for these children, most of which is being done under the auspices of private prison companies who stand to make huge profits at all our expense. Finally, we have thrown away every shred of saying that we hold "Judeo-Christian values as a nation by how we have treated "the least of these." Sorry, but that's my Monday morning rant. Two years is putting innocent children through hell for our own political wishes. Any defenders, or does this also get a chirp?

[Sandy]

There is no question that the Trump administration's immigration policy is anti-American and completely counter to Judeo-Christian values and ethics. No surprise there. The problem is that there are too many Americans who have no understanding of this country's history, its philosophical foundations or its values and no ability to think critically or act independently, so he has a "base" of supporters who actually believe this is a problem at the border and who think that building a wall will stop it. Actually, what they think is that somehow there is a real threat to keeping a white majority in the population because only whites can be truly loyal Americans. The base problem with that theory is selfishness and that manifests itself in things like racial superiority theories which are behind this current anti-immigration posture that is both illegal and unconstitutional.

While this is a "rally point" for Trump, it has also been the cause of a major surge of support for the Democrats. From the campaign rhetoric, it appears that the Democrats also see it as a rally point. Keeping this in front of the voters will make Trump pay for this policy at the ballot box.

I'm wondering what kind of relief effort is being made by the churches? What are the odds of spotting one of Southern Baptists' shower trailers or kitchen units somewhere along the border? I'm going to spend a week in Arizona doing relief work around Nogales this summer, and so far my options are the Quakers and Catholic Relief. Touting a law about illegally crossing the border is not going to deter desperate Central Americans with starving children who see getting into the US as their only hope of survival.

[Haruo]

As I asked on Facebook a couple days ago:

If the country is so "full" that it can no longer afford to be helpful and humane in its treatment of folks who flee here to escape murderous chaos and starvation, ...

...have the implications of these facts been explained to the full-quiver folks in his base?

And more directly pertinent to the immediate thread, I'll go on record here as saying that it is in the interests of the capitalistic success of the private prison industry, even moreso than that of the old-school socialized prison system, to have as many folks incarcerated as possible, for as long as possible. And kids are easier to warehouse than adults. And if they can be non-US citizens, so much the better.

[Rvaughn]

[Sandy]

[Haruo]

Miller?