Crusader Staff Report
President Donald Trump may have retreated from his “zero tolerance” policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border, but that hasn’t stopped the criticism from human rights leaders who are calling on voters to make a statement during the general election in November.
On Monday, June 25, at Loretto Hospital on the West Side, Congressman Danny K. Davis brought together a large group of leaders, including Black aldermen who expressed outrage over a crisis they say should never have happened in a country that has historically welcomed immigrants from all nations.
Since President Trump’s implementation of his zero tolerance policies in May, leaders from across the country have heard stories about children being taken from their parents, toddlers wailing without their parents and teenagers being held in cage-like detention facilities. The crisis has led both Democrats and Republicans to call Trump’s policy “inhumane,” “cruel” and “evil.”
Facing intense pressure, on June 20 Trump signed an executive order meant to end the separation of families at the border by detaining parents and children together for an indefinite period.
“They must stop this right now. We need to tell the president and tell my associates in the House of Representatives that this is detrimental to our cause,” Davis said.
Alderman Pat Dowell said “How can we as a country be so cold and callous? How would I feel as a mother, to have my 7-month-old son ripped from my arms and moved to some place he doesn’t even know or know what’s going on?”
Reverend Janette Wilson, National Director of PUSH Excel, said “We realized these actions that are implemented and initiated by the White House represent inhumane treatment of those who come to our borders for sanctuary and security. President Trump says bring us your elite, your white, everybody else stay away. What is happening within our borders and at the border is a moral disgrace.”
Reports say the U.S. government has since reunited 522 migrant children who were separated from adults. The latest information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says there are still 2,053 separated children being held in federal facilities. Children are able to talk by telephone or video to a parent or guardian twice a week.
