Kidnapped
The Government of the United States, acting in the name of the American people (our name) implemented a policy of removing children from their parents at the Southern border. This “child separation” policy was prosecuted mostly on families crossing the border illegally (a misdemeanor offense) though some legal crossers were separated as well. The children were removed from the parents, sometimes forcibly, and transported across the country, often thousands of miles to far-away locations. At the time of the implementation, there was no procedure established to eventually return the children to their parents.
This policy was implemented to “make a statement” to potential migrants from Central America: come to the border and you might lose your children. When the policy was actually enforced there was a national outcry, and a Federal Court in San Diego intervened, instructing the US government to return the children to their parents.
Whatever your view of the policy, or the legality of the government’s actions, or the entire immigration issue; most reasonable people would agree that the children belong with their parents. This is not just an emotional response; it’s the best for the mental and physical health of the children. It also is the least expensive outcome, with the United States currently paying as much as $700/day/child for food, housing and care. It is literally costing US (that’s you and me, us) billions of dollars to prosecute, and now try to undo, this policy.
While the numbers still are vague, approximately 2600 kids were separated, ranging in age from eight months to seventeen years. The Federal Judge in San Diego has given the government until Thursday, July 26th to return the children to their parents. The US Government has established two “classes” of children: those eligible to be returned, and those not. The first class, about 1500 kids, are on track to be returned.
This leaves about one thousand kids who are still in government custody.
There are several reasons why the Government says these children are not eligible to be returned at this time. One is that the parents are in some way not qualified. This includes parents who have committed felony offenses, and adults who are not readily identifiable as the parents. This seems shaky, it fits in too well with the political view of the current Administration, that the migrants are somehow MS-13 members and rapists, rather than families fleeing violence. But in all fairness, the US Government should NOT return kids to folks that can’t by determined to be their parents.
But the second class of ineligible kids is the one that raises the most concern. The Immigration Agency (ICE) was desperate to move adults out of the country, often disregarding their legal right to request asylum and have that request adjudicated. This wasn’t just a policy determination, getting the migrants out, but also a practical one. As ICE was holding all illegal crossers, they were placing a whole lot of adults in jail, as well as taking the children. The sooner they could get those adults out of the country, the less they were spending in custodial fees.
So there is a group of children, probably in the hundreds, whose parents have already been deported from the US. The US government has shown no willingness to develop a process of returning children to parents out of the country (in fact, they are charging huge fees to return children to parents still in the country.) As things stand right now, WE are keeping these kids.
Spread throughout the country, subject to the foster and adoption codes of various states; these kids are slowly being absorbed into “the system.” In many states, kids are fostered out to families within six months, and as soon as twelve months they may be considered “abandoned” and eligible for adoption. Our government is on the road to taking those children from their parents, forever.
The legal definition of kidnapping includes two elements: the unlawful taking of a victim, and, a “nefarious” motive (such as for ransom.) When the Trump Administration is finally done, will they be accountable for their actions? If Courts find that the “child separation policy” was unlawful, and that the motive of setting “an example” so other migrants wouldn’t come as nefarious: who in the Administration will be going to jail?
And meanwhile, what happens to the stolen kids?
Parents will go to extreme lengths, and undergo great sacrifice, to protect their children. It is sad but possible that some parents who live in lethal environments bring their kids to our country, knowing that they (the parents) will not be able to stay, with the goal of enabling their kids to grow up with strangers in a land of safety and freedom and opportunity.
It is then our duty to overcome the present storm, and make sure our country lives up to those parents’ expectations.
Where I live, the immigrants outnumber the natives. The parents all tell me it would have been easier for them to stay where they were but they’re sacrificing to give a better future to their children. They’re doing menial work and sometimes were professionals. They’re insecure and confused because of laws, language and customs. They work so hard and they’re good people. I am embarrassed by my country’s response.