Border children: Trying to make sense of
it
Literally thousands of persons
crossing the United States border without benefit of some legal right have been
captured and imprisoned. There is a
widespread complaint that the children of these border violators have been
separated from their parents during the subsequent legal proceedings.
What is difficult to understand is why is
everyone in such an uproar? Nowhere in
the U.S. does the judicial system allow children to be housed with accused or
convicted parents. Common sense tells us the child's safety and mental welfare
is the reason for this policy.
Because the court system was
over-burdened, the Obama administration utilized the so-called
"catch-and-release" technique to avoid this very issue. According to a (Sep26, 2014) Associated Press
article by Alicia A. Caldwell "An
official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed that about
70 percent of immigrant families the Obama administration had released into the
U.S. never showed up weeks later for follow up appointments." Incredibly, an exact figure is not known, but
it is suggested "the government
released roughly 41,000 members of immigrant families who subsequently failed
to appear at federal immigration offices.
Clearly the catch-and-release procedure does not work because it requires
compliance from the accused border violators which, when considering they had
already crossed our border in defiance of Federal Immigration Laws, leads us to
ask: "why would they suddenly decide to honor the ensuing legal procedures?"
One can argue that children of
imprisoned American citizens can be taken in by relatives or other
alternatives, but these border violators are from a foreign country which
eliminates those alternatives. Why on
earth would a responsible parent, who intends to violate the laws of a
sovereign nation, involve their child in this illegal act? The answer, of course, is that these border
violators have little regard for U.S. laws and cannot be bothered with the red
tape necessary for legal entry.
Even so, many border violators want
to claim sanctuary because the violent criminal activity in their town
justifies crossing the U.S. border without the legal right of entry and in
violation of American immigration laws.
It is doubtful that your neighbor would allow a stranger and children to
set up shop in their home with an excuse that violence in their neighborhood
justifies their right of entry.
Incredibly, many
legislators in the U.S. Congress have joined in the chorus of complaints and
whining about how cruel and unfeeling the Trump administration is in regard to
the imprisonment of these illegal children.
Out of all this political turmoil, not a single congressman has offered
a reasonable alternative.
There are more than eleven million
illegal aliens residing in the U.S. with thousands more lined up or sneaking
across our borders. The real question
here is whether or not our Congressional Leaders want to enforce the law - or
just wring their hands and complain a lot with no solution in sight?