The United States of America stands as one of the most high profile countries in the world, as one of the most economically successful countries in the world, and as one of the most rich in diversity. Nonetheless, its administration fails to live up to the expectations and morals that our country stands on by enacting policies that enable inhumane treatment of children, asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants who aspire to live out the American dream. We’ve seen this highlighted through previous presidencies and administrations, but never to the degree which Donald Trump has affected immigrant communities. The Zero Tolerance Policy enacted under the Trump administration has proven itself to be at a complete disregard of immigrant lives and at a complete disregard for what this country stands for. The policy and its impact has been and continues to be incredibly negative for the immigrants seeking to continue their life in the US. Allowing children to be unwillingly separated from their parents, placing immigrants in detention centers of deteriorating conditions, dismissing the apparent misplacement of children without government intervention, and offering no aid during a global pandemic are all results of this policy, and their impact is grave. Author: METZTLI CARBAJAL First, separating children from their caretakers is an action that can affect that child’s psychological state, and that can cause further implications down the line, which is why it is one point that has arisen amongst many child psychologists when discussing the child separation occurring as a result of Donald Trump’s Zero Tolerance policy. Of the few children that have been able to reunite with their parents post-detention, many were reported not being able to remember their guardian, showing signs of trauma, or were left with stress that can affect their growth later in life. For this same reason, the Flores Agreement stated that children could only be held in detention centers for a maximum of twenty days, to avoid the negative effects. However, we now know that the Trump administration disregarded this and has now posed dangers for migrant children, without a sign of pity. The same agreement stated that there should be certain regulations to these detention centers, which included how sanitary and safe they were. Regardless of the depicted regulations, the detention centers that many children were held at were said to reflect the opposite of safety and sanitation. Migrants previously detained at these detention centers have reported having to drink from toilet bowls, not having proper mumps vaccines administered, lack of beds to sleep on, and infrequent showers. When the country in which these camps are held has one of the strongest economies worldwide, this inhumane treatment is unacceptable. Moreover, these deteriorating conditions, in the era of COVID-19, could mean life or death for these innocent detainees. Roughly three thousand folks who have been detained in these facilities have tested positive for the virus, meanwhile ICE and Donald Trump have not put in an order to protect these people from contracting the virus, apart from their minuscule camp changes, which no one has been able to confirm, given not even lawyers are allowed to meet face to face with their migrant clients. A child’s innocence is jeopardized on the daily when they stay at the detention camps, as communicated through the countless amounts of sexual assault allegations made against ICE officials and those who work at the centers. Four thousand five hundred child sexual abuse complaints. Four thousand five hundred in four years. Four thousand five hundred children were removed from their innocence. To label these children as criminals, to refer to them as illegal, and detain them as though they have committed a crime is heinous. The criminals are the ICE officers who molested these children. Illegal is the act of laying any part of your body on a child. The ones in prison and detainment should be those who disregarded the pain of these traumatized youth and did what they wanted with their pleasure. To withstand that for four thousand five hundred children and counting is immoral, unconstitutional, and degrading. These are only some of the impacts and consequences that come with the Zero Tolerance Policy. It is with policies like this one that raise the question about our ethics and morals, given that what was initially (arguably) an act of security, has now turned into a system of child murder. But, “I really don’t care, do u”?
You should. You should because policies like the Zero Tolerance Policy don’t just impact the lives of innocent migrant children and their families; these policies impact us as people, as a reputable country, and as a voting body, which is why our team specifically chose this policy to address our movement. Our range of backgrounds exposed us to immigration law and led us to immigration advocacy. Whether it was because we reside in a border city, or are immigrants ourselves, we understood that immigration should not be taken lightly in this country. The Zero Tolerance Policy enacted under the Trump administration, and its excruciating aftermath, is an example of not treating immigration matters seriously and ethically. We could not imagine youth our same age dying at the hands of an able government. We could not envision the abuse that thousands of those youth went through, taken advantage of their status. We were so angered by our government’s careless reaction. Be that as it may, we are also sanguine about prospects for the immigration system and emboldened to be part of that group to bring about reform through our advocacy work. We are seven adolescents and we get it. We are seven adolescents and we will ameliorate it. We call zero tolerance for immigration condemnation.
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