Separating Families - Immigration Policy or Law?

The big political storm this summer, so far, has been the policy of separating illegal children immigrants from their parents at the Mexican border, and holding the children in massive detention facilities Immigration Impact.  There was a large public outcry, and even some Republican lawmakers came out against this practice. 

I was incensed, but did not call my US Representative and Senators because I was so angry.  After thinking, praying, and talking to others, and hearing what others had to say, I wrote a script that just expressed my concerns, and why, including that this was a human rights abuse, our nation was better than this, and we deserve any censure we receive from Human Rights organizations because of this practice.  I then called my government representatives, read the script and sent a follow up email.  

At first, President Trump said he could do nothing, but he eventually signed an executive order to stop the separation, but allowing for the entire family to be detained.  So now there is problem re-uniting the children with their families. 

Most recently,  a US District Court Judge declared this separation was illegal, and ordered the separated children to be returned to their families within 30 days.  Let us hope that happens. 

The problem needs to be resolved.  It needs to be resolved by a law that addresses illegal immigration, a path to citizenship for children immigrants who grew up in this country (DREAMERS) and want to make it their home, and for asylum seekers, including those seeking to escape domestic abuse as well as gang activity, cartel activity and political threats. 

By ignoring the problem, we just create more chaos and havoc.  US is better than this. We are better than this. 

Election Results

I was so distressed by the results of the Presidential election on 11/8/16, I went to bed early.  I could see that my preferred candidate, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was not going to win.  I was not as flabbergasted as I thought I might be.  I was very distressed.

So, today, when I thought about it, I decided I had to put my best foot forward, and do what was right.  Both Secretary of State and President Obama acknowledged that our heritage and hallmark as a nation is orderly transition of power.  And that will occur with the results of this election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan described it well when he said that Donald Trump heard something in the voices of our citizens and resonated with those voices.  And it is true, if there are voices that are disaffected in this country, by the rights granted in the Constitution of the United States of America, they should be heard.

My role, as a citizen, is to be ever vigilant.  If there is any erosion of civil rights, if there is any deviation from the rule of law, if there is any abandonment of due process, if there is decreases of freedom, if there is any persecution of any group or individuals my job is to protest to the full extent of the law, and perhaps, beyond the full extent of the law.

This means I will need to make the necessary sacrifices if these thing occur.

A colleague told me that his thought to put a silver lining on this election result is that the House of Representatives and Senate are controlled by the Republicans, and a Democratic President would not be able to be very effective.  He is right. What remains to be seen, is how effective President-elect Trump will be, and what direction he will take our country.