Saturday, August 25, 2018

The Current Status Of Missing Immigrant Children

By Carolyn Martin


When it comes to news, most people think of it being good or bad. While this is the case, with the current political climate and the inception of fake news, it is up to individuals to fact check information. One area in which doing so is especially important is with regards to news about missing immigrant children.

The Attorney General Jeff Sessions zero tolerance policy is largely responsible for the current ongoing issue. As such, it has become clear that the Health and Human Services Department had no record keeping policies in place at the time of separation. Nor, had there been any discussion or plans on how to reunite families at a later date.

While considered missing, many of these younger individuals from newborns to teenagers are now being housed in tents on a number of U. S. Military bases around the country. In most cases, the tents are an upgrade for those whom having been being held in dog cages or chain link fencing. Still, there is a great deal to be done before any of these children can be reunited with guardians or family members.

When kids are taking care of babies, there is a problem. For, many of those in charge of taking care of the youngest of these children often have no experience whatsoever in child care. Whereas, there have also been reports of many being physically or sexually abused, or both at multiple locations while awaiting a reunion. While there has been no proof of such allegations, neither has there been denial on the part of the government or staff at many of these temporary housing facilities.

If the country thought it had immigration problems in the past, the news regarding the present and future aspects of immigration does not look good. For, the United States is a country founded on immigration. In fact, most people in the United States, other than Native Americans are descendants of immigrants. In fact, the President of the United States is married to an immigrant and is the son of a mother, whom only recently gained U. S. Citizenship.

A number of children have been reunited with guardians, parents or family members with the help of attorneys or public agencies. While this is great for those whom have found assistance, there are many others still waiting in the wings. As such, it is feared that many of these individuals may forever be lost in a system without ever knowing what happened to guardians, parents or family members.

The Health and Human Services division of the government have now chosen to house those still absent from parents in tents at multiple military bases. In many cases, these are located near border check points and are located in some of the hottest areas of the South. While the government continues to process the parents or relatives, many of these children remain at risk of never being relocated.

If anything can be learned from this experience, it is that if the government is going to continue to separate family members at the border, there needs to be some type of logging system. While this is the case, it would be even better if families were never separated in the first place. For, even those whom have been reunited still face a major battle when it comes to finding asylum and a safe place to stay while awaiting decisions with regards to a path to citizenship.




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