OPINION: Stop the inhumane treatment at our border

ABOVE: From Vince Reinhart on Pixabay (license)

A letter to the editor by Laura Beverage of Medford, NJ

Like so many others, I am heartbroken and sickened by the inhumane treatment of immigrant children at many of our country’s immigration detention centers. It is unfathomable that this is happening in the United States of America, land of not only opportunity for all but also one that, until the current administration, was known as a haven of safety, not cruelty.

It is barbaric to house children in concentration camps in cages, and as I write those words, I am practically at a loss for others. It is well known that it costs the Federal government more at least $750 per night, per child, to warehouse them in these so-called “detention centers.” That’s enough money to put them up in the Ritz Carlton, or even one of Trump’s own hotels!

Every day brings both fresh horror, and outrage. Today, we learned of the tragic drowning deaths of a father and his 23 month old daughter trying to swim to safety from conditions most of us can not even fathom through the Rio Grande. And a Fox News anchor actually says on the air, “Like it or not, these are not our kids. It’s not like he (Trump) is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country”, as though humanity is only reserved for citizens of the U.S.

If this administration spent a fraction of the time, and money, it is devoting to sending a message to immigrants that they are not welcome here to reuniting these children with their families, we might be able to stomach continuing to call ourselves Americans.

Editor’s note: The opinions in this letter are the author’s only.

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