Public Comment

No one can watch the video of a dead asylum seeker lying face down with his 23-month-old daughter on the bank of the Rio Grande and not be outraged. President Trump is the architect of this grotesque crisis. He has demonized and created fear of those seeking asylum as “caravans of rapist and criminals” hardening attitudes and using Gestapo tactics to discourage new migrants. 

Many have walked thousands of miles to escape violence desperately seeking asylum to the “promised land”. Many have failed to reach the border and have perished in the unrelenting desert heat. Forgotten is America’s tradition as a welcoming nation. Children regardless of age are brutally separated from their parents and tossed into Trump’s concentration camps without basic necessities like soap, tooth brushes and diapers. They are given “noisy” metal blankets and concrete floors as bedding. 

The young children are inconsolable begging to be reunited with their parents. Their parents are devastated by the forcible separation. It is hard to imagine a more bizarre scheme to torture young children and their parents. Older children are expected to comfort babies and younger children. The stench of urine and feces is overwhelming. This heartless attitude is a deliberate scheme to torment migrants in the callous belief that this will deter others from trying to reach America. 

This a crisis of American values that cannot go unchallenged. I urge readers to contact their representatives and demand action. Children MUST be reunited with their parents and provided basic hygiene.