Whatever you may think politically, I hope that everyone can agree that taking children away from their parents/families without any consideration for whom they may belong to or even telling the parents where they will be and for how long is an unacceptable treatment of immigrant seeking asylum in the U.S.A.
I was separated from my mother at age four for several months with no explanation (if there had been one I may not have understood it at that age), which has resulted in some very serious issues I’ve had to deal with all my life. There was no effort made for me to have contact with her. Something like that stays with you all your life, even if you come to understand it. You have no control over how it affects you.
Luckily, I am intelligent enough that I have adapted fairly well to function in society, but the real issues are still there. I have just learned to recognize them, deal with them, and live with them partly due to being married to a physician who could afford to provide me with appropriate treatment. I believe, in a small way, I understand what these children will have to deal with but the repercussions I fear will be much more severe than anything I have endured.
It has been shown that the President planned this and even consulted with his Health and Human Services Committee to no avail. The committee has been on the news being questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Top officials admitted that they met with Trump and warned him about what negative effects could occur by such a separation. Trump was not concerned about the human aspect of such actions but just in a deterrent to immigrants.
His justification is that this is keeping hardened criminals out of our country. It has been shown, rather, that most of these immigrants are fleeing places where their very lives were in jeopardy due to such criminals. I’ve been astounded to hear of what they have gone through to get here only to be treated like animals. Our country has a longstanding tradition and policy of accepting such refugees. After all, we are all descended from immigrants.
There are still several hundred of these children who are obviously being closeted since there have been no pictures, no knowledge of where they are or how that are being treated  — only unbelievable and horrific stories occasionally. One that I’ve heard often is that caretakers are not permitted to touch the children. Is this what we believe as Americans as to how to treat children who have committed no crimes except to be with their parents who are trying to find a safer place to live? The effects on the families, in turn, must be devastating. It has been speculated that many may never be reunited with their families since there is no means to find them.
Of all the affronts this president has committed (and there have been Many is his less than two-year term), this, I believe, has been the worst one against humanity. Psychiatrists will attest that such separations could result in feelings of inadequacy and abandonment that can be perpetuated in many behaviors, not the least of which is antisocial behavior. So Trump and the United States under his direction may be responsible for creating criminals who have no definite purpose in society but to harm others, physically or otherwise. They, no doubt, will not have the advantages that I have.
It’s disgusting how our majority Republican leaders are reluctant to disagree with Trump’s actions, which under any other direction would be quickly dissuaded. The only reasons I can imagine why this behavior exists is that they have delusions of grandeur or their lives are in jeopardy. This is truly sick and the leaders who are allowing this are truly sick. I am not proud of what this country’s government has become. The only recourse we have is to stay vigilant and to let our congressmen/women and leaders know of our concerns. I fear for our children and grandchildren who will grow up knowing such a government. Exposed from a young age, regardless of parental guidance, they may come to believe in such a government. As grave as this may sound, I hope I do not leave this world without the restitution of the government we were all proud of — I’ve come to have a greater appreciation of it.
Cynthia Gillen, Shoreham