As Americans, we’re undergoing so many hardships right now: A pandemic out of control and one that claims lives day-to-day, pushing our healthcare workers and hospitals beyond their limits. The rise of neo-fascist groups and hate crimes, police brutality and the targeting of people of color, bounties placed on American soldiers in Afghanistan, PPP loans for the oligarchs, the attack on the free-press, the spread of conspiracy theories, historic unemployment, continued incendiary and divisive POTUS tweets. But with all the troubles we are struggling with today, I can’t but worry about the plight of immigrants, crammed into overcrowded detention centers all over the US. How can they be safe from COVID-19, from documented abuse and neglect when they have no access to running water, medical care, basic hygiene, and forced to sleep on concrete floors?
I’m a white woman, but I’m also a descendant of immigrants. My great-grandparents on both sides immigrated from Norway in the 1800’s, seeking the hope of a better life, a new beginning in the New World. An Irish ancestor of mine took up arms for the North during the Civil War, and joined the ranks of thousands of immigrants who enlisted in the Union army. My ancestors came to this country with practically nothing, leaving their native countries, poverty and famine for something better. We all are immigrants, our origins all come from other places around the world, and that’s what so fantastic about the history of our country. So why do we treat immigrants like something the cat dragged in? Why do hate groups target people of color, Mexicans, Asians and anyone else not like them? It’s ironic that a nation of immigrants is afraid of immigrants.
Is the answer that we don’t like change? I don’t buy that, after all, the success of the human race over time is due to our resilience and ability to adapt so well to different climates. Humans are found on each and every continent, and we can’t say that about the majority of biological species on our planet. Is the answer that we like to preserve the “status quo,” and that the influx of people “different” from us is somehow a threat to our lives and our belief systems? That might be it, you hear from conspiracy theorists that Muslims want to turn the US into a Muslim state, that China created COVID-19 in a lab to attack America, etc. And we still haven’t gotten over the subject of race in this country, our history of slavery and the oppression of people of color is so ingrained in the American persona, that I wonder if we can ever truly move on from it. But with the BLM movement, I am hopeful that this will change.
The current tragedy of immigrants detained for months in overcrowded buildings in the midst of a pandemic, children and infants separated from their parents with no plans to unite them is unconscionable. Stephen Miller, a strong supporter (perhaps architect) of the administration’s family separation policy, has suggested that this policy was a decision to impart a zero-tolerance rule for illegal entry. In an interview with a White House official, Miller reportedly stated that “They (immigrants) are breaking the law, and the only way we’ll change that is if there’s a consequence.” The official also added, “Miller made clear to us that, if you start to treat children badly enough, you’ll be able to convince other parents to stop trying to come with theirs (1).” That is a telling statement, the revelation of a world-view of immigrants that is sadly shared by some Americans. Even though a federal judge declared the policy unlawful, and ordered the Trump administration to halt the practice and reunite families, Miller continues to defend family separation. Miller still pushes for the detainment of unaccompanied immigrant children at the border, and for incarcerating them in ICE facilities indefinitely.
Donald Trump campaigned on a “build a wall” platform in 2016, promising that Mexico would pay for it, and that it would bring back jobs to the US. This was popular among his supporters who were inclined to believe that jobs were being stolen by illegal immigrants, and that illegal aliens were getting Social Security benefits, Medicare and Medicaid. Likewise, in Britain, Nigel Farage ran a similar campaign of immigrant phobia, claiming that the UK had reached a “breaking point” with immigrants, and the only way to fix it was to leave the EU. False and negative stereotypes persist in America and in Europe, views that immigrants are criminals, lazy, insulated, impoverished, insolent and a drain on social programs. Perhaps it’s the fear of those different from us that’s behind our distrust and attack on immigrants, but the darker side to this story is that it’s used as a justification for the inhumane incarceration of immigrants in the US.
But it’s not just “immigrant phobia,” that refugees from Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador are going to steal our cars and bring drugs into our communities, or that Asians are bringing deadly diseases and viruses to our shores. Detaining immigrants is also big business, and corporate profits are very much at work here too. In the US, five companies (LaSalle Corrections, GEO Group, CoreCivic, Immigration Centers of America, and Management & Training Co.) own and operate the largest ICE detention centers in the country. Under the Trump administration, detention centers have grown by leaps and bounds, more than 17,000 beds and 24 facilities have been added in the last three years, all managed by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). USA Today published an article that those private companies listed above have generated big profits, while making generous donations to the Trump campaign and various GOP and DNC members (3). And the kicker is that these ICE detention centers make $3 billion a year, and most of those individuals imprisoned have no criminal record. Let that sink in a minute: No criminal record (1). Private prisons are nothing new, and it’s no secret that corporations operating private prisons and detainment centers have contributed to politicians over the years (including Barack Obama, Nikki Haley, Rick Perry, and VP Mike Pence). Since taking office, the Trump campaign has received $969,000 from those companies, 25 times more than Obama received while he was running for re-election. Private prison companies have spent millions in federal lobbying efforts and they’ve succeeded in placing Trump aides in top government positions, including former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Brian Ballard, Trump’s former Florida campaign finance chief.
Immigration activists, and law-makers argue that immigrants and those seeking asylum who have no criminal records should not be held indefinitely, and to their credit, some banks have announced they will no longer give loans to private prison companies (3). And another light of hope, last March a federal judge in California ordered that some 350 parents and their children in three family detention centers be released in a timely manner (6), but the Trump administration and ICE have been slow to respond, instead offering parents to either give up their children, or keep them in custody with them (7). Not much of a choice.
The fact that the US is detaining immigrants indefinitely in over-crowded, squalid conditions, is a disgrace and must be addressed. We can fix this. Many of these people are seeking asylum from oppressive regimes in their native lands, and like my great-grandparents, these people are seeking a better life for themselves and their children. The current administration wants you to think that the “immigration problem” needs to be fixed, that the asylum system is broken, and that immigrants will do anything to take advantage of the system. It is true that immigration reform is desperately needed, but the current administration’s latest policies are only making things worse. Last year, 50,000 asylum-seekers were force ably returned to Mexico before their applications were even processed, and others fell victim to another policy that bans all immigrants who arrived at the US border after passing through a “third-country.” So that means that asylum-seekers from countries such as Guatemala or Nicaragua who travel north through Mexico are turned away (8). And more recently, we’ve seen stories of military veterans, who have served our country in combat, being deported because their citizenship applications fell through the cracks (9). This is not how we thank our veterans.
In addition to the many hardships Americans are facing right now, we also need to change our views of immigrants, to realize that we all were new to this continent at one time or another, and more importantly, that we have more in common than not. As Americans, diversity and unity are our strongest assets, not division, segregation or discrimination. It’s my sincerest hope that our representatives in Washington will offer immigrants and others seeking asylum a clear, and efficient path towards US citizenship. We shouldn’t be keeping kids in cages, separating them from their families, and we shouldn’t be enabling private prisons to profit from human incarceration and suffering.
Addendum: When I first wrote this blog entry, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders hadn’t yet released their joint policy proposal (it was released just two days ago on July 9). As a long-time Bernie supporter, I am very encouraged and hopeful about supporting Joe Biden for president, especially now that he has deepened his cooperation with Bernie. As far as immigration, Joe has revealed plans to undo many of Trump’s ill-conceived immigration rules, and has vowed to provide a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. Included in the document released by Bernie and Biden, Joe’s first 100 days in office would include a stop to all ICE deportations, and cancellation of ICE’s contracts with for-profit detention centers (10). This is very encouraging to me, and another reason to support Joe Biden.
Sources:
1. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-suspension.html
4. https://theglobepost.com/2019/08/19/profit-migrant-detention/
7. https://whyy.org/articles/judge-demands-ice-better-explain-why-it-wont-release-kids/
10. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/biden-immigration-plan-would-eviscerate-trump-policies