Editor’s note: This commentary is by Erica A. Marthage, who is Bennington County state’s attorney.
[B]eginning on April 6, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration announced a “zero-tolerance” policy towards undocumented immigrants on our southern border. What has resulted since is a national disgrace, reminiscent of the dark ages in American history.
According to reports from the Department of Homeland Security, federal law enforcement forcibly separated 2,000 children from their families between Sessions’ announcement and May 31. We do not yet know how many more have been taken since the media and public attention began to increase in early June. These children are, in turn, being held in empty big box stores, and the federal government has begun building a “tent city” in which to detain more children. The federal government has refused to allow journalists to take photos or video inside these facilities, and what photos they have released have shown children living in cages, sleeping on floors. Audio secretly recorded captured the wailing and crying of innocent children, calling out for their parents.
Following his visit, Congressman Peter Welch described these facilities as “makeshift prisons.” Upon her visit, the president of the American Academy of Pediatricians remarked that this government policy was “a form of child abuse.”
What is happening now on our southern border is a national embarrassment. As Americans, we ought to be ashamed to see innocent children effectively imprisoned in our name, seemingly in an effort by the president to gain political leverage. This moment in our history is sadly reminiscent of those in previous generations, when we have betrayed our American values, as inscribed upon the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” In this testing of our moral fabric as a nation, I am proud to stand on the side of activists, civil rights and faith leaders, and more in calling for an end to this senseless policy.
Beyond the inhumanity of this child separation policy, I am concerned as a prosecutor about what the impacts could be on some of the most vulnerable members of society. Countless research has shown that fear of deportation often prevents victims and witnesses of crime from coming forward. The immigration policies of this administration will compound this problem. As a nation we should be striving to bring migrants out of the shadows, providing justice and a path to citizenship for those who come to our nation seeking opportunity, so often doing the work that others won’t.
As Bennington County state’s attorney, I am proud to work with law enforcement officials who express compassion and professionalism in everything they do. While we often benefit from our partnerships with federal law enforcement, my office has and will continue to be clear that immigration enforcement of otherwise law-abiding people is not a priority of our office. We will continue to be focused on protecting and advocating for the most vulnerable members of our community, regardless of immigration status. And, on June 30, I hope you will join me and hundreds of thousands of activists participating in a National Day of Action, declaring the #FamiliesBelongTogether.
