the u.s. immigration border crisis

In advance of the nationwide Lights for Liberty vigil planned for July 12th, I thought I would share some information about the current state of immigration in the U.S. As always when protesting, it is important to be well-informed about the situation you are standing up for. Even if you are not protesting, it is important to be aware of what’s happening in our country. Lawyers and activists across the U.S. have called the situation at the border a case of human rights abuses. (Disclaimer: the issue of immigration is extremely comprehensive, and I have surely not covered all the bases on such short notice, although I have tried my best. Also, in case you didn't know, the hyperlinks take you to more articles.)

Wait, so how does undocumented immigration at the Southern border even work?

There are two major U.S. government agencies that deal with the enforcement of immigration: Customs and Border Protection (CPB), which handles immigration at the borders, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which primarily handles enforcement in the rest of the country. There are around 200 detention facilities across America, with the highest number of detainees in Texas, California, and Arizona respectively. This number includes prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers, and family residential centers. CPB and ICE detain immigrants who have either entered illegally or overstayed their visas in these facilities while they wait for their removal proceedings. Immigrants crossing the southern border are not just from Mexico; many include families fleeing the dangerous and impoverished conditions in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. At the border, migrants are placed in shelters while they wait to make their case for asylum.

What’s changed recently?

It is true that most of these detention facilities did not spring up over the past couple of years under Trump’s administration. In early 2018, however, Trump announced a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that began the practice of family separation. After major backlash, Trump signed an executive order in June 2018 supposedly ending this practice, but since then, hundreds more families have been separated through the loophole of separating children from parents who are sick or have been accused of minor crimes or gang affiliation.

To accommodate the overflow of migrants crossing the border, thousands of children, many who cross the border unaccompanied, have been placed in temporary shelters across Texas and Florida, whose overpopulated, unsanitary, under-resourced conditions have rightfully caught the attention of the media. Children, particularly vulnerable to disease and trauma, are facing a lack of basic necessities including toothbrushes, soap, clean water, and beds. Since the start of Trump’s administration, 7 migrant children have died under U.S. custody.

There are also ICE raids expected to begin this weekend, which means that ICE agents will be sweeping the country for undocumented immigrants.

Speaking More Than Facts

It is deeply important to note that the so-called “crimes” immigrants commit by entering illegally or overstaying their visas are civil violations of the law. Basic humanity aside, these people— many who are just children— deserve to be treated with civility. There is neither civility nor humanity in these cramped, unsanitary spaces without proper access to medical care, food, or water.

Many people look at immigrants coming through the border with such antagonism, as if they are criminals who are taking American resources that belong to Americans.

We do not choose the country, the family, or the conditions we are born into. Empathy calls on us to realize that if we were forced into those positions, we would also be trying to do what was best for our families. Empathy calls on us to realize that these “illegal aliens” are human, and they are as equally human as we are. And let us not forget that America is a country made of immigrants; America is a country rooted not in hate or bitterness, but in the ideals of liberty and justice for all. (“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free [...] Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”)

Taking Action

We are living through a time in U.S. history that demands not to be ignored. I am a natural-born citizen of the United States; I did not have to make the choice to be an American, and I feel lucky every day for it. My citizenship is a privilege I get to carry with me for the rest of my life, and I know I will not be at risk for consequences when I exercise my right to protest tonight. With this privilege comes the responsibility to call on our government to take action and correct these human rights abuses. To be silent is to be complicit.