By Andrew Christie, Chapter Director
Every time this administration gets caught doing something terrible, a mass of contradictory lies from spokespersons and apologists hits the airwaves like a flurry of bats from a bell tower, which then flutter around until the smaller, weaker ones perish and drop, and one overarching lie takes wing as the master narrative.
As the forcible separation of children from their parents on our southern border last month qualifies as the worst thing the Trump administration has ever done, the flurry was more intense, and the lies more ludicrous (no, we’re not doing that; yes, there is a policy but we’re not implementing it; yes, we’re doing it but we have no policy; our hands are tied because of the policy; those crying kids are crisis actors; we’re not doing it any more so now it’s okay except for the 2,500+ children we’re holding in undisclosed locations.)
First, let’s take down the lie that emerged as the master narrative: No, this is not business as usual at the border. No, Trump did not do what Obama did. Per Factcheck.org: “‘There were some separations under previous administrations, but no blanket policy to prosecute parents and, therefore, separate them from their children. Bush and Obama did not have policies that resulted in the mass separation of parents and children like we’re seeing under the current administration,’ Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute told us.”
And yes, it’s okay to be “uncivil” to the creators and wardens of the baby jails, who have brought about the single worst civil rights crisis in this country in the last 75 years. Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune recently blogged: “Our nation's immigration policies have been broken for decades. But instead of working on solutions that would treat human beings with respect, this administration has chosen a policy of intimidation and brutality. And though some of Trump's congressional enablers profess they don't have the stomach for what's happening to these children, their spinelessness makes them just as culpable.”
As I write this on Friday, the administration may or may not meet its first court-ordered deadline to return to their parents all children under age five. If you are reading this on Tuesday, you should know if they did. [UPDATE: They didn't.]
If they manage that, they are then supposed to work on putting back together the thousands of other families they’ve torn asunder by reuniting all children ages five and up with their parents. Then the only problem will be their new policy of detaining parents and children together indefinitely.
In September 2017, the board of the Sierra Club added the voice of the oldest and largest environmental organization in the United States to the rising chorus calling for immigration reform. We support the Dream Act, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) as ways to protect undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation and offer a pathway to citizenship.
We noted that:
- DACA allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children to avoid deportation for a renewable two-year period and to apply for work permits.
- DAPA was a policy proposed by the Obama administration to grant renewable work permits and exemption from deportation to certain undocumented parents of American citizens or lawful permanent residents.
- The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would grant “conditional” citizenship status to DACA beneficiaries and other qualifying undocumented immigrants, allowing them to avoid deportation while qualifying for permanent resident status and citizenship.
- The Trump administration has rescinded DAPA, is threatening to do the same to DACA, and has indicated its intention to veto the Dream Act, if passed.
The place where those policy positions were headed is now visible to all.
Reggie James, director of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter in Texas, laid it out in a June 21 blog post:
The Sierra Club stands with borderlands communities and immigrant families in advocating for the following: Congress should allocate no money -- zero dollars -- to build barriers or militarize our borderlands. The human and environmental costs of the border wall and increased militarization are immense, causing unnecessary deaths, dividing border communities, and damaging critical wildlife habitat.
Congress must pass a clean Dream Act that protects the status of DACA recipients without funding increased border militarization or Trump’s racist and damaging wall. Any immigration reform must be free from this administration’s attacks on immigration policies that support family unity and immigration from diverse countries. Congress must also preserve temporary protected status for those seeking refuge in the United States. There must be a viable pathway to citizenship for American immigrants.
The Sierra Club will oppose every attempt by Congress and this administration to militarize our border, tear apart communities and families, and end protections for immigrants.
Last month, after Trump was forced to back-pedal on the separation of families, an internet meme circulated depicting him holding up his Executive Order, replacing the text with a message in “kidnap font” saying essentially give me $25 billion to build my wall or you’ll never see those kids again. That message was on point. And that point should be remembered, from here to November.
Join us and our partners in the immigrant rights movement in calling on Congress to pass a clean Dream Act without border wall funding or increased border militarization.