Wednesday 22 August 2018

The Plight Of Missing Immigrant Children

By Carolyn Martin


When it comes to news, most people think of it being good or bad. While this is the case, with the current political climate and the inception of fake news, it is up to individuals to fact check information. One area in which doing so is especially important is with regards to news about missing immigrant children.

For, there are those such as sitting Attorney General Jeff Sessions who believe that any one entering or residing the country illegally need to returned to the point of origin. In past situations, it appears there have been children held in wait of parents being processed. In those cases, it also appears that there was a process in which families and children whom were denied asylum were reunited before deportation.

More recently, a photo of a child being housed in a dog cage and others being held in yards surrounded by chain link fences has made the news. In addition, after several reports of abuse, physical and sexual, people have now started paying closer attention to the issue. Still, that has not, nor will it aid in reuniting the lost with parents or guardians.

One of the most resounding calls for help was heard when it was noted that babies were being cared for by volunteers with basically no experience in child care. Whereas, there were other notations that many of the older children had been farmed out to human traffickers and labor farms. While there has been a great deal of denial with regards to these allegations, neither has there been any proof showing otherwise.

If the country thought it had immigration problems in the past, the news regarding the present and future aspects of immigration does not look good. For, the United States is a country founded on immigration. In fact, most people in the United States, other than Native Americans are descendants of immigrants. In fact, the President of the United States is married to an immigrant and is the son of a mother, whom only recently gained U. S. Citizenship.

There have been some children reunited with families and guardians. At the same time, there are many other babies, children and teenagers crying out everyday for a Mother, a Father, a Sister, a Brother an Aunt, an Uncle. It is these children whom are facing the hardest journey.

The Health and Human Services division of the government have now chosen to house those still absent from parents in tents at multiple military bases. In many cases, these are located near border check points and are located in some of the hottest areas of the South. While the government continues to process the parents or relatives, many of these children remain at risk of never being relocated.

If anything can be learned from this experience, it is that if the government is going to continue to separate family members at the border, there needs to be some type of logging system. While this is the case, it would be even better if families were never separated in the first place. For, even those whom have been reunited still face a major battle when it comes to finding asylum and a safe place to stay while awaiting decisions with regards to a path to citizenship.




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