ZERO TOLERANCE—A SEARCH FOR AMERICA’S HEART

President Trump’s Zero Tolerance for immigrants has temporarily aborted a search for America’s soul and has sent us in search for America’s heart. Can we feel compassion and love for strangers and humans in pain?

When I heard that an immigrant committed suicide, I realized that he had lost hope. As long as we have breath there is hope for change. We cannot give up and we must change. We must care about each other and feel compassion for others. MLK used to say, “we must accept finite disappointment but never lose finite hope.” We must continue to stand up to injustice. We must continue to stand up against injustice and wrong, hurtful policies.

When I first heard that there were fifteen hundred children missing, I was immobilized. I could not believe that we were putting people in cages in America and were losing children. Conway said that she is a mother, Catholic, a person with a conscience.  I am Catholic, a mother,  and my Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Love one another as I have loved you.”

President Trump has instituted a policy like his food stamp plan without any planning or thought of how it would be implemented. For example, Jim Patella designed a Single Entry and Single Exit system in mental health in Michigan in 1979 or 80. I modified that system slightly when I took his old position. That system was adopted by the State of Michigan. Social Workers exist all over this land. We could have helped with a plan to keep up with the children and their parents. However, no social worker I know of would have ever supported this plan for children. It was personally offensive to me that the President stated to the public that he was punishing these parents and children as bargaining chips to get what he wants from the Democrats. He alleges that Democrats are obstructionists. He is separating parents and children as a deterent to immigration. This is shameful. Through Executive Order he eliminated the exceptions for asylum of gang violence and family violence or abuse. His administration appears to have minimums in the amount of persons being allowed to claim asylum. They are not being allowed hearings to determine if they qualify for asylum. They are being prosecuted as criminals for seeking asylum. They are being separated from their children. These are status offenses and are unconstitutional on their face. They are not citizens and the constitution is not being applied to them. Thus, the children are being put in cages. They are not being treated as humans. We need to go in search of the American heart for allowing children to be treated in this manner.

I remembered when my son had open heart surgery. I got sick and they would not allow me in his room with a cold. I was alone because my family worked and his surgery was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I would not go home to Detroit, Michigan because I did not want him to wake up alone and be frightened. Even though I could not go into his room, I did not want to be far away. I wanted him to be able to see my face and hear my voice. I was in agony when I was not able to be with him. He was only four. Imagine these parents who have been separated from their children for a month or more. Imagine their pain and that of their children. Their agony and pain must be unbearable. The toxic stress on the children must be unbearable. These children are infants and toddlers. These separations are cruel and inhumane. This treatment of immigrants is absolutely man’s inhumanity to man. Trump is using the pain of the children to try to extort action for a wall or something. He does not know what he wants. He is the problem and is the reason for no immigration law at this time. He is the reason there is no immigration law. He is not clear about what he wants or what he wants is too imhumane for reasonable men to accept.

I remember other children. When I was a student, I worked with children who were born addicted to drugs. This was the crack cocaine and freebasing era of drug use. One had to wrap or bundle heroin babies. These other babies would not allow you to touch them. They would not allow you to cuddle them. They would scream and cry. They were sensitive to touch. As they grew older, they would strike and hurt others, kill animals, etc. There was something missing in those children. They would not allow the normal nurturing. I have often wondered what happened to these children. What kind of adults did they become?  My own son was not in the hospital for longer than two weeks. He regressed in that time due to the trauma of surgery. He regressed to bedwetting. I wonder how these children will fare because of the damage we are inflicting on them with this immigration policy. This policy must be stopped now.

This Zero Tolerance policy of President Trump makes it clear that each American must take the lead. It is time to have the courage to do what is right. We must deal with the world and people as they are. We must show compassion for human suffering in others. MLK used to say, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” American citizens cannot sit back and allow other human beings to be treated like animals. Immigrants may not be citizens but they are human beings.  Even animals protect the young.

I remember the first time I went to a zoo in Dallas. I ran from the zoo crying. I could not stand to see animals in cages. Now we are putting people, human beings, in cages in America. I do not care what reason we use for doing this to human beings; it is inhumane to treat families and people in this manner. We have done nothing to address the reason for the people fleeing—the conditions in their country. When I was a teenager, I did not go to South America as planned because Nuns and Priests were being raped and killed in those countries. Things are worse now in those countries. We have done nothing to address the problems in those countries.

People are going in search of the American soul and conscience. I think it is time that we go in search of the American heart. We have the capacity to love and care for others. We must come up with a solution to care children. How we treat these children and families may leave a stain on the American canvas. Americans are better than this. It is time to search our hearts and find compassion for others. We must love thy neighbor as thyself. God loves these immigrants. They are too precious to lose! We must find the American heart and govern with a heart. We must rise up and let our voices be heard on this Zero Tolerance Policy. We cannot tolerate human beings being treated in this manner and put in cages like animals in America!!