Not Your Typical Father's Day--Mr. Trump

photo by Maeka Alexis / flickr

This Father’s Day once again we go through the ritual of remembering Dad. Our Dad. And if not him because of many reasons—some surrogate Dad that helped enormously along the way.

But this Father’s Day my thoughts turn toward all those kids who have been snatched from their families and sent all over the country. In our country’s desperation to “secure our borders” we are punishing families from places like Honduras, San Salvador and Guatemala. What we are doing is separating the children that come with their parents, a relative or on their own—and placing them in detention centers all over the country. Records show that at least 11,000 children are in these places far from their parents. We have learned recently that many of the hundreds—maybe thousands—of these children that have been separated from their parents may never see them again. The government does not keep records on their whereabouts. 

One Salvadorian woman filled an ACLU lawsuit against the government, when her 4-year-old and 10- year old sons were taken from her. She said, “My babies started crying when they found out we were going to be separated. I asked the boys to be brave, and I promised we would be together soon. I begged the woman who took met children to keep them together so they could at least have each other.”

The New York Times reports that a little 5-year old landed in Michigan carrying only a trash bag of dirty clothes from his days-long trek across Mexico. In the bag were two pictures he had drawn of his family. One was a picture of stick figures—a father, mother and his sisters and brothers. The other picture was a drawing of his Dad. His foster mother said not a day goes by that he doesn’t ask in Spanish, “When will I see my Papa again?”

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly states that family separation is a a “tough deterrant” and added, “The children will be taken care of—put in foster care or whatever.” Attorney General Sessions said on May 10, three days after he had announced a zero-tolerance policy the government issued a call for shelter care providers and traditional foster care. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen reported that “we have no policy to separate children from their parents. Our policy is that if these undocumented immigrants break the law we will prosecute you.” In  the first two week’s of President Trump’s new policy 638 parents who arrived with 658 children have been prosecuted. The President points fingers at the Democrats saying they are behind this effort. He also stated if we would build a wall that this policy would cease. 

The Department of Homeland Security has received letters from the American Academy of

(This is one of the drawings the little boy took with him when he was
 separated from his parents. He never let it out of his sight. Illustration
from New York Times.) 

Pediatrics urging President Trump to end this parent-child separation. Researchers has said this separation can cause lifelong trauma in children. We are taking two, four—eight year olds away from their parents and they may never see them again. I wonder in tearing children from their parents if we are cultivating our own homegrown terrorists in the years to come. 

On this Father’s Day I will open my presents from my two adult children. I will whisper a prayer for the joys and wonder they have brought to my life. But my thoughts also turn toward our southern border and also to Washington. We are in deep trouble when we care more about laws than children. Remember Nazi Germany we heard over and over, “We were just following the law.”

Where is the outrage over this cruelty? Since the Civil War this country has not separated children from their parents. Even during that dark time when we incarcerated all the Japanese in California we never separated children from their parents.

 It is not enough to enjoy our children on this day. It is time to band together and stop this monstrous injustice. Funny a President that talks about the flag, the National Anthem and patriotism cares not one whit for the heartbreak and the tears his policies are causing to these immigrant children. I hope I live long enough to see this country come back to the cardinal bedrock principles that make us America.

Evangelicals and all of us need to read those somber words of Jesus: “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depths of the sea.”

When Jesus spoke these words children had no rights at all.  I would have thought that after all these years we would have learned to value even the little ones. Surely this makes any country and any people great. 

(This article appeared today in The Greenville News (SC) and the Anderson Independent, June 17, 2018)

There are two pieces that I have recently read about separating immigrant children from their parents. I recommend both highly.  

The first article is by Miriam Jordan of the New York Times. She writes of a 5-year old Migrant who was taken away from his father. Sad. 

This second article is by Nicholas Kristof of The Times. He writes about children being separated from their parents in an article called "My Babies Started Crying." I recommend both hess pieces that deal with the human and painful side of the government's policy about immigration and children.

This photo is called: "First Father's Day"photo by jjprojects / flickr

--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com