An Open Letter to Borders (part 2)

Dear Borders,

You may remember me, because I wrote to you back in February when President Trump attacked DACA, the legislation that protects the children of illegal immigrants. Since then, you've remained prominent in the news cycle, this week especially.

Recently, the Trump Administration has instituted a Zero Tolerance Immigration Policy at the United States' borders. Essentially, this means that immigrant families can be separated. Parents are arrested, while children are placed into federally run processing centers under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Human Services. These centers, as you may have seen in the news, are terrible and ill-equipped to handle the large numbers of displaced children.

One of the most notable processing centers that these children are sent to is a former Walmart in Texas. Nearly 1,500 young boys, ages 10-17, who were caught illegally trying to cross the border are being held there. According to Jacob Soboroff, a correspondent for MSNBC who was part of the first group of journalists to be allowed to enter the shelter, published his thoughts on Twitter. The most shocking thing he wrote was: "Moments after we walked in, a shelter employee asked us to smile at hundreds of detained migrant kids in line for a meal because 'they feel like animals in a cage being looked at.'"

Soboroff also reported that the children are only permitted two hours per day to be outside, with one hour of structured time, and one hour of free time. They spend the rest of the time trapped inside of the Walmart, without access to their parents, an education, healthy food, or any privacy. From a historical perspective, this facility rivals those of Japanese-American internment camps - except even they were allowed to stay with their families.

A Japanese Internment Camp

An ICE Detention Facility

Many of the families that have been separated were trying to seek asylum or refuge in the United States. Unfortunately, thanks to the Zero Tolerance Policy, these families are not provided with the care and safety that they desperately need. Children are ripped away from their parents, and it's impossible to know if these families will ever be reunited.

All of this mess and heartbreak comes back to our borders. As you may recall, I concluded that the animosity surrounding our borders was due to their value as symbols during the Cold War (1947-1991). The Cold War marked a period in world history when our world became much more complicated, and in order to simplify it, our leaders emphasized the 'us vs. them' mentality. Trump has often capitalized on this attitude, claiming that if immigrants come into the United States, it will somehow make the lives of Americans worse. These false claims have fostered fear, which has resulted in many Americans turning their backs on other human beings.

I'm not going to say that borders aren't necessary. They are. We need them to shape our identity, to provide boundaries, and to unify a common people.

But, here's the thing, there is no 'common people' in the United States. Now, I will repeat this for the trolls out there: we still need borders. I'm not saying we should dissolve every one to create some idealistic utopia, because I know that will never exist nor will it result in the peace one might anticipate.

What I'm saying is this: there is no such thing as an 'average' American, or a 'common people.' People like Trump believe that America is the greatest country in the world because we have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

If that is the truth, then shouldn't ANYONE who wants the same for themselves and their families be allowed to come to the country that promises just that?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not rights that should be exclusive to only the people born in this country. The whole reason that the United States came into existence was so that those three ideals could be available to anyone, no matter who they are or where they come from. We're supposed to value family - and yet we're spitting on that by not caring about the fates of immigrant families.

The idea of the United States as a country is a beautiful, great thing. Look at our history, look at who built us, and who influenced our culture with their art, music, literature, and wit. To quote the brilliant Lin Manuel Miranda, "Immigrants get the job done."

I don't have a solution to the immigration crisis. It's a complicated and convoluted problem that requires patience, creativity, and empathy to resolve. I do know that we need positive change to keep these families together and to give them what our country has promised to provide for centuries. We cannot claim to be great when we turn our backs on people who want the same things as us.

Borders shouldn't be so antagonistic. A line shouldn't wield so much control over the lives of thousands of people. We need to re-evaluate what we're doing. We have to take responsibility to help these people who have become victims of the unadulterated evil that has told them they are not welcome.

What is America without immigrants? It's certainly not great.

Yours truly,

P.S. Yesterday, on Trump's birthday, Chrissy Teigan and John Legend donated to the ACLU to help the immigrant crisis. If you can't volunteer your time, please consider donating to the ACLU or other organizations like it to do your part.