Editorial: Mass deportation and the right to disagree

Since taking office Trump has enacted a volley of immigration-related executive orders, paving the way for a widespread crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The administration’s claims that undocumented immigrants are criminals is directly contradicted by an overwhelming body of research. Studies from Stanford University and other reliable sources overwhelmingly find evidence that undocumented people commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.

It has been said that the current administration’s mass deportation scheme, aimed almost entirely at Hispanic people, does not affect those who are legal citizens. That is not true. American citizens who are children born in the U.S. would be faced with the untenable choice of forced deportation along with their undocumented parents, or staying behind as orphans in the only country they have ever known.

The inhumane treatment of children is not new to the Trump administration. In March, 2017, just two months after he first took office, he considered a proposal to separate children from their mothers at the border as a way to deter future migrants. This included people seeking legal asylum from violence or persecution. In June 2018, it was publicly acknowledged that nearly 2,000 children were separated from their parents or legal guardians between April 19 and May 31.

That same month, ProPublica published a now-viral audio clip, where Central American children are heard sobbing in jail-like cages, crying “Mami” and “Papa” over and over. Beyond these kinds of abuses there were also reported cases of sexual exploitation and harassment by guards.

Experts say separation from a parent removes a vital connection needed by children and subjects them to elevated stress, leading to both short- and long-term physical and mental health problems. The younger the child, the more trauma he or she experiences. Separation from parents is a form of violence toward children.

It is believed at least 5,500 children, including hundreds under five, were separated from their parents without due process, although exact numbers are hard to come by. Many were shipped off to shelters miles away. The government failed to create a system to facilitate reunification and parents had no way to track their children. It was an exercise in trauma, chaos and incompetence. 

The second time around, the Trump administration wants to repeat this cruel exercise on a larger scale, with plans to increase the number of separated children by 800-fold according to his own rhetoric. This deliberate plan to punish children and parents is cruel, inhumane, wrong, and offensive to people of any faith.

Likewise for the 1.1 million people who have legal work or study permits, Trump has stated he wants to revoke the permits. Those who were permitted would then be required to register with the government. There have been reports of people being deported for flimsy reasons such as traffic violations. This would be a cause for concern. If they fail to register, it will be deemed a criminal offense resulting in deportation.

As he did in his first term, Trump is again trying to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. He is even trying to end the citizenship of children born in the U.S. although this right is clearly a part of the constitution and not easily changed.

Civil disobedience in the face of unjust laws is a long-standing American tradition that has been used in many movements, including the underground railroad that helped slaves escape from southern states, the civil rights movement, and the movement to give women the right to vote, to name a few. Many local faith leaders and lay-people are considering such action in the face of the current administration’s extreme tactics targeting immigrants.

Punishing and torturing Hispanic children and parents by separation is quite simply morally and ethically wrong. Deliberate cruelty does NOT achieve greatness in America and any laws that result in it should be resisted.