Recently, a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died from dehydration and an overwhelming amount of feelings after being taken into the custody of Border Patrol. Like many other migrant families that try to settle in the United States, the girl, her father, and ~160 other people were taken into custody. Congressman Joaquin Castro, who identifies as a Democrat in the state of Texas, argues that Trump's immigration policies are the reasons why getting caught crossing the border can be unforgiving. On the other hand, many people believe that the structure of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is lacking.
Looking at the series of events leading up to the outcome of the situation, one can say that Trump's immigration policies are the cause of poor structure within CBP. Ever since Trump stepped into residency, there has been an increasing trend of migrant arrest at the border and it's because of the strict immigration policy that allowed the situation of illegal migrants to evolve. CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan argues that Border Patrol stations were made for single persons but are now outdated and don't support holding families. Not to mention, overcrowding can lead to the lack of distribution of provisions among families and unsanitary conditions.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claim that the lack of structure of the CBP shows transparency within the organization. The girl's death also brings light to the lack of funding the Customs and Border Protection receives. To prevent these types of problems from happening in the future, the president wants to ban people that ask for asylum if they enter the country illegally. However, while the federal appeals court blocked the ban, Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme court to reverse this order.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claim that the lack of structure of the CBP shows transparency within the organization. The girl's death also brings light to the lack of funding the Customs and Border Protection receives. To prevent these types of problems from happening in the future, the president wants to ban people that ask for asylum if they enter the country illegally. However, while the federal appeals court blocked the ban, Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme court to reverse this order.
- In the wake of the incident, what do you think the government should do to prevent deaths at the border from happening?
- Are Trump's immigration policies too harsh towards immigrants? Why?
SOURCES:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/7-year-old-migrant-girl-taken-into-border-patrol-custody-dies-of-dehydration-exhaustion/2018/12/13/8909e356-ff03-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.13cf9940fd8f
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/14/676686305/rep-joaquin-castro-on-death-of-7-year-old-migrant-girl
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/autopsy-set-for-7-year-old-migrant-girl-who-died-in-border-custody
The descent into something horrible happening isn't one decisive action, but rather things getting slightly worse and worse, so it doesn't seem as bad. This is being reflected with Trump's immigration policy and conditions. When you go back and compare to how much better the policy could be, how it is now is unforgivable. The death of this girl and the many others who have suffered the same fate is an eye opening event that will hopefully bring serious light to the poor conditions at the border.
ReplyDeleteThe death of the little girl is evidence of an overlying problem border protection has in that there is not enough oversight with what happens to refugees when they are detained. With all the things that have been leaked about the treatment of refugees at the border there needs to be stricter regulation on how people crossing the border are treated.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trump's immigration policies result in the poor treatment of immigrants at the border, seeing as his rhetoric and mobilization of troops to the border shows his hard line stance on immigrants coming through Mexico, going so far as to separate families from their children.
There definitely needs to be more provisions set up at the border to regulate the Border Patrol. Although the people entering the United States are illegal immigrants, they are still human beings and standing by to let them die is negligence. The death of the little girl is a testament to the lack of control the Trump administration has exercised over the officials and protection at the border.
ReplyDelete1. Thinking that the government would do anything to prevent deaths at the border from happening is, at best, wishful thinking. The Trump Administration has made it perfectly clear that the lives and well-being of illegal immigrants is not a priority in any sense. In an ideal world, the government should do a better job of training border patrol agents and providing illegal immigrants with medical attention.
ReplyDelete2. Trump’s immigration policies are too harsh towards immigrants. However, to pretend that these policies were only Trump’s is stupid. The United States has been exploiting illegal immigrants for decades. Anyway, our treatment of illegal immigrants has resulted in the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people. Separating parents from children was particularly cruel, especially considering the psychological issues that resulted from it.
1. While unlikely to happen, the federal government needs to take a more active role in border control. To do this, detainment of immigrants needs to be more heavily monitored, or immigrants must be turned away for their own safety. It’s unreasonable for the US to let immigrants into the country in an uncontrolled way. There needs to be greater bureaucratic oversight when it comes to letting people into the country.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, America has been harsh with immigrants for a long period of time. Trump’s administration has been even stricter, with an exit poll reporting nearly 50% believing that Trump’s policies are too tough. Although it’s important to make sure the country is secure by controlling immigration, Trump has taken it too far, which has led to polarization of the topic.
1) The government should take action to make sure an incident like this doesn't happen again. If they are going to keep people out of the country and have more boarder security, the government should ensure that the practices are safe, even if the people are not citizens they are humans and don't deserve to be treated badly.
ReplyDelete2) I think that Trumps immigration policies are too harsh and it is a completely biased opinion. As the child of an immigrant i think the entire system is flawed and needs changing as a whole. Trump's policies are not helping that.
1) I don't think that the United States government should take action to prevent deaths at the border of non-citizens. Those people made their choice to enter the country illegally, so they must be prepared for the harsh realities of the potential consequences for their actions.
ReplyDelete2) Trump's policies aren't too harsh towards illegal immigrants because a country cannot have a social safety network, and an influx of illegal immigration. Illegal immigration cannot be tolerated if a country wants to ensure its longevity and success.
1. CBP airlifted the girl to a hospital to get medical treatment. The idea that they are negligent towards illegal imigrants is absurd. Often, CBP agents are first responders when migrants are injured or ill. We can end these tragedies by discouraging people from making the journey. The child's father is the one at fault for bringing his young child across a desert without water.
ReplyDelete2.No, his policies are not harsh towards immigrants, legal or illegal. By protecting the border we can discourage people from making the dangerous journey across the border. Additionally, it is the Presidents job to enfore our laws and defend our borders.
1. From the very beginning, America has never truly solved immigration, and there are many things that need to be fixed. The fact that this immigrant girl, being the age of seven, most likely not meaning any harm, and not being given the resources to survive demonstrate that things need to change.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that Trump's immigration policies are not harsh, but are not the correct way to go about immigration. How to go about it? It is tricky. Trying to balance this sense of equality while sustaining a reasonable defense is hard, which is why immigration has never been right.
1) Government and border patrol should reconsider how to respectfully handle all human beings, illegal or legal.
ReplyDelete2) Trump's immigration's policies are not too harsh. If immigrants cannot tolerate, there's also the land up north.
1. I believe that the government should be focused on preserving humanity over deportation through clean resources and shelter. After any illegal immigrants are detained safely, then they can work on the deportation.
ReplyDelete2. I don't believe that his policies are necessarily harsh, but should fine the balance between illegal immigrant treatment and human treatment.