The 4th of July was not a cause for celebration. Our government’s treatment of children on our southern border is an abomination.
Warren Binford is a children’s rights scholar and serves as the director of the Clinical Law Program at Willamette University. She and a team of lawyers, doctors and interpreters interviewed migrant children at Clint, Texas, before the July holiday. The purpose was to determine if conditions in the camp were lawful for migrant families.
They found hundreds of children living in unsanitary conditions, their bodies infested with lice, many sick with the flu, sleeping on cement under a Mylar sheet with lights on all night. Children as young as 8 and 9 years olds are caring for undiapered babies. They are given no soap or clean clothes to wear and access to clean drinking water is restricted.
These crowded, unsafe, harsh conditions seem meant to deter families from coming here. One can only imagine the conditions that would cause a young mother to cross thousands of miles with her infant. About a dozen members of the House made their own visit to verify the reports and keep media attention on this un-American activity.
Call your U.S. representatives at 202-225-3121, and your senators by calling 202-224-3121. Demand the closure of the camps. Demand redirection of money to hire skilled border agents to reunite children with families and assess asylum claims. Prosecute those responsible for inhumane acts starting at the top.
Cathy Ferbrache
Bothell
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