Zero tolerance
As I listen to the newscasts about the crises on the border, it is making my blood pressure sky rocket.
Anyone else feel like that? In the United States, crimes vary from very minor crimes that are ordinance violations (like excess noise from your car), to misdemeanors (like smoking too close to the entrance to a public building), and serious felonies, (like rape, murder, kidnapping).
The Trump Administration has announced a Zero Tolerance on illegally entering the U.S., and it has ordered that every person caught will be charged with committing a crime - a misdemeanor. This is not new. Operation Streamline has been doing this in a few places along the border for years, but now they are expanding it all who enter illegally, fleeing violence and seeking asylum. By charging the adult family members with a crime, the Administration has the excuse to take the children away from the adult. The Department of Homeland Security believes that this will discourage parents from trying to come to the U.S.
The reality is that the people are fleeing violence and persecution, bringing their children to a “safer” place. Now that the Administration has backed off on family separation, the alternative will be keeping the families together in jail. We, the tax payers, will be paying for these detentions.
A better option would be to process the asylum seekers, hear their claims, and if they pass a credible fear threshold, then, allow them into the U.S. to pursue their case in Court. The government can track them with GPS or ensure that they appear for Court by requiring a bond. This would be the humane method of handling these asylum seekers. In fact, it would be the legal way to handle these human beings seeking safety.
If you care, make a call to the White House at 202-456-1414, and leave your comments for President Trump.
