Two Wrongs Don't Make it Right

This has been one of the toughest weeks I have had when it comes to staying current with the news. I literally hurt inside.

Last Tuesday, I read that children were being separated, forcefully at times, from parents who had come into the country without documentation. As I researched the situation, I learned that children were being put into facilities with minimum comforts, their parents were not allowed to contact them or even know where their children were. At that time, I said I would not be silent. 

As I have researched, I have had to wade through misinformation on both sides to the issues. Honestly, it is difficult to know who to believe. 
One thing I know, because the administration has admitted doing it, is that children ARE being separated from their parents as a "deterrent" to continuing into the US. 

I am disturbed that some people feel that because this or that happened in the past or the fact that the parents are without documents, this somehow justifies the ICE policy of removing children from parents at the border. 

First of all, two (or more) wrongs do not make it right. Yes, Native children were taken from their families and we are still suffering from that pain. Yes, children of slaves were removed from their parents and we are still suffering from that pain. These things do not justify not speaking out about the continuation of a practice that is abhorant, immoral and against human rights!

Secondly, to quote an ACLU brief, "Mere undocumented presence in the United States alone, however, in the absence of a previous removal order and unauthorized reentry, is not a crime under federal law." Therefore, the thought that, "well, they commited a crime and children aren't allowed in prison," is egregously wrong! 

So, from where I stand, it looks like we, as a nation and as individuals, have a choice. We can ignore the fact that this goverment of ours is violating the human rights of immigrants by separating them from their children and placing children who travel alone to escape the hazards of their homelands into warehouses, or, we can do what should have been done a long time ago and say, "No More...Stop...This is wrong and we will not do this." 

If we go to the Bible, something the administration is fond of doing, we find, 

• "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. Psalms 31:8-9 and
• Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Isaiah 1:17

These are but two of the many quotes on injustice found in the Bible.

So, don't wait for someone else to fix this situation. Your voice needs to be heard. Silence will not solve the problem. 

For further information about what to do, read "Seizing Children From Parents at the Border Is Immoral. Here’s What We Can Do About It," in the New York Times.