Most of us are appalled by the recent hate-filled rhetoric and actions taken against members of the administration. Some have felt this vitriolic behavior since the election from friends and even families. Disagreement of issues has long been a banner of our republic. Calling for inflicting possible harm on those whose opinions differ from ours should not be tolerated, particularly from those representing our government.
It recently came to my attention that a church in MD (maybe more) has taken upon itself to condemn the immigration policies of our President. (So much for rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.) I ask those who share this view, why the outrage now? Immigration laws began in this country as early as the 1700s. Without these laws we would not have a country to which everyone wants to come.
Separation from families for reasons other than immigration is not new. In 2001 a paper was written on the effects of children separated from their parents upon their incarceration or abuse. Today 400,000 American children live in foster homes. These parents broke the law, as do the parents bringing their children here illegally from another country or worse sending them off in the car of strangers (coyotes) to a foreign country. I am not supporting the separation of families and President signed an executive order ending this.
Zero tolerance has been in place for nearly 50 years when safe neighborhoods were protected by the Safe and Clean Neighborhoods Act. A “broken window” analogy was used – one broken window, unless fixes, leads to more broken windows encouraging vandalism, fires and eventually squatters. There is a reason for laws and Congress writes them. Need we mention the victims of murders from illegal aliens? Are they not reason enough for zero tolerance? Would someone please explain this righteous indignation against law breakers?
Nor are border walls a new concept devised by Mr. Trump – perhaps the longest wall is the Great Wall in China and the most recent one in Hungary in 2015 to stem the tide of the migration crisis into Europe. In 2006 a wall between Mexico and the U.S. was begun and would not have been necessary then or now had Mexico not facilitated illegal migration as well as bringing drugs from Mexico into our country.
Presiden Trump did not invent our immigration problem. In a Washington Post article in 2011, then President Obama declared a wave of unaccompanied children crossing from Mexico in the U.S. calling it “an urgent humanitarian situation.” According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 24668 unaccompanied minors were apprehended at the Mexican/U.S. border in 2013 with a possible projection of this number reaching 60000 by the end of 2014. Was the problem fixed?
The immigration “situation” has been alive and well during previous administrations, both Democrat and Republican. Why are not these former leaders sharing in the blame game instead of chastising the sitting president for trying to find solutions? They weren’t successful and maybe he won’t be, in which case we have lost our country.
Carol Wood
Carefree
