Rushing Deportations of Migrant Children is Reprehensible
The Intersection: Immigration
SONIA PAZ CANTON: Despicable is the only word that comes to mind after discovering the reality migrant children are currently experiencing at the U.S. border. How can a country nicknamed “the land of the free” be the same place where young children are in squalid detention centers facing deportation from the only home they have likely ever known?
The coronavirus pandemic may have turned the world upside down, but its effects on all populations have not been equal. The crisis has highlighted long-standing inequalities in America, as it has severely and disproportionately impacted communities of color. Undocumented communities have been hit especially hard, their status making them ineligible to receive essential federal financial support in the coronavirus stimulus package. Coronavirus has significantly compounded their economic hardship, as both local and national plans do not address the crisis they are enduring.
Despite the already grim situation for marginalized communities, ICE has not delayed its deportation of undocumented immigrants. Nor have they taken into consideration how their actions will drastically traumatize younger generations permanently. The Trump administration is taking advantage of these desperate times by holding children in detention centers for extended periods. This way, when they become adults, they can be quickly deported. Instead of following former procedures established to deal with minors who are undocumented, ICE is abandoning all precedent, and morality, by choosing a more convenient path. However, this means that ICE is willing to risk the physical and mental well-being of innocent individuals by sending them to their country of origin. Forget the fact that for many of them, America is their home — the places they are heading to only strange, foreign lands.
There has also been an alarming rise in cases that breach the natural rights of all people. Both undocumented minors in the U.S. and those seeking asylum are in grave danger. According to ProPublica, “At least two children deported in recent weeks have been tracked down by international refugee agencies after U.S. counterparts asked them for help because the minors face such danger, including a 16-year-old Honduran girl who had been raped back home.” “These cases are probably the tip of the iceberg,” said Stephen Kang, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. This incident highlights the shortcoming of so-called American freedom, as it lacks humane and basic protections for these children. Not only are these immigrants facing sudden deportation, but they are also unfairly treated by the government meant to protect them. The rushed deportations are a clear violation of federal and international law because many of these children qualify for asylum in cases of immediate danger. While international protection standards outlined by UNHCR are often broader than U.S. laws, many that face an impending threat in their country of origin are still being turned away. Beyond the legal implications, the psychological impact is cause for concern and attention. Deporting minors who have lived in America since early childhood can negatively affect a child’s mental health for the rest of his or her life. Research has shown that among minors, the trauma of aggressive immigration enforcement can lead to higher rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and behavioral issues.
We must ask ourselves what kind of society we live in, where we knowingly neglect youth who are contributing members of our country. These children are part of our American identity — we are better because of them. Tearing up families at the border during a health crisis should be making the headlines of major news outlets, but instead, the media is largely ignoring the issue. With the upcoming election, Americans across the nation must critically analyze how our present leaders have reacted to the pandemic and what measures they have brushed off as unimportant. Until November, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves on the injustice happening on our own turf and spread awareness, however possible. Together, America must motivate legislators and activists to advocate for stricter guidelines and policies that deal with migrant children — during this pandemic and always.
Sonia Paz Canton is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service from Southern California majoring in Culture and Politics. She is a passionate advocate for communities of color who hopes to pursue a future working towards eliminating injustice.