The Missing Immigrant Children Of 2018

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.

More recently, a photo of a child being housed in a dog cage and others being held in yards surrounded by chain link fences has made the news. In addition, after several reports of abuse, physical and sexual, people have now started paying closer attention to the issue. Still, that has not, nor will it aid in reuniting the lost with parents or guardians.

In many cases, newborns and toddlers were being cared for by young people whom lack any sense of experience whatsoever, while many babies were going without milk, food and medication for days. When it comes to the toddlers, it was reported that many were wearing diapers which had been filthy and full of pee and feces for hours before being changed. As such, there is no doubt that a number of human rights violations have also taken place throughout the process.

It is no doubt that this event will go down as one of the worse decisions regarding immigration in history. For, the United States is a country that was largely built by immigrants. In fact, many of the original citizens immigrated from other countries through Ellis Island.

There have been some children reunited with families and guardians. At the same time, there are many other babies, children and teenagers crying out everyday for a Mother, a Father, a Sister, a Brother an Aunt, an Uncle. It is these children whom are facing the hardest journey.

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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