Although Senator Merkley was not allowed to see the inside of the converted WalMart, he did see another facility and what he saw totally horrified him. He observed toddlers being kept in cages that he described as similar to dog kennels. He observed children from ages 0 to 17 being incarcerated in this facility.
Insidious Conditions
The conditions that Merkley described were insidious, inhumane and horrific beyond belief! The conditions described were worse than those of the Japanese Internment Camps of the 1940's. Seemingly, the conditions described by Merkely were akin to those of the German Concentration Camps during World War II.
Conversation with Feinstein's office
I had a long conversation with Senator Dianne Feinstein's office yesterday on this issue. I was assured that Senator Feinstein is looking into this issue and that the Senator is vehemently opposed to taking children from their refugee parents and locking them in kennels. I also was told that Feinstein is working on legislation to prevent this from ever happening again; however, it is uncertain what can or will be done about these children who are being held in cages in Brownsville now.
What remains unknown
What also remains unknown is whether or not the government is keeping records on who the children's parents are, or whether or not the government ever intends to return the children to their parents! What right does the government have to grab these children from their parents and lock them in cages and treat them like animals?
Refugees, not illegal immigrants
Jeff Sessions keeps saying that the parents are "breaking the law" and this is why they are grabbing children from the parents. But these are not illegal immigrants (not that it would be right to take children away from illegal immigrants either). They are refugee parents who are tying to escape horrific conditions in Central America and to attain asylum in the United States. America always has welcomed those seeking asylum in the United States and the country was founded upon the principle of being a nation of immigrants.
Trump Administration's racism
Donald Trump, whose administration is directing this horror on immigrant children, has asked why we can't have more immigrants from Norway and other Northern European countries. Therein lies the answer to why Trump is doing this: Trump's abduction and incarceration of refugee children from Central America is racially motivated because these children are not white, blond and blue-eyed as are children from Norway. And if this is racially motivated, there is no telling what horrors may be taking place at the converted WalMart in Brownsville. And there is no telling how this thing will turn out. Most likely, it will turn out ugly if citizens like you and I don't step in and take action now.
What you can do
What can you do? You can do a lot, believe me! You can call your Member of Congress and/or your United States Senator and ask that these children be released to their parents immediately. You can demand that these detention centers be closed immediately and that subpoenas be issued so the the facilities can be inspected immediately. You can contact missionary organizations and churches and relief agencies to see if they are mobilizing an effort to assist these children and ask to be involved if they are doing so. And if they are not getting involved in this, encourage them to do so!
Finally, you can write articles like this one, or share this article with as many people and in as many places as possible. The point is to keep up people's awareness of this issue and to keep after our elected officials to do address this issue and do something about it now! These children need to be saved and you have the power to do it through your efforts. It's time to get busy!
