Children In Cages

Children In Cages

by C.A. Matthews

A picture paints a thousand words, but what can a photographic image do? The pen is mightier than the sword, but is video of asylum-seekers being herded into fenced-in areas like so many heads of cattle into a feedlot powerful enough to detonate the entire world? Can the shocked anger Americans voice over this cruelty propel them into action? 

Perhaps it can--until the next outrage comes along to distract us.

There's no need to repeat the horrors witnessed by a recent visit by politicians to one of these border concentration camps here. We've all heard and seen them online. At least some of us have. The mainstream media spinners have been working overtime to convince good-natured Fox News viewers that Latin American children are being treated to  "X-box and teddy bears" upon their arrival at our southern border. And who cares about being separated from your family when you've got lots of fun video games and toys to occupy your time, right?

But still the image remains of children in cages and rumors of women sexually assaulted by Border Control agents and babies ripped from their parents' arms. Told to drink out of the toilet if they're thirsty, seldom fed, children never held when they're crying…the images grow into nightmares that follow us into the daylight and beyond. 

Fleeing the violence of your homeland, searching for safety in the United States--it isn't exactly like going on a trip to Disneyworld, now is it?

Those who debate whether our border facilities qualify as concentration camps or not miss the point. While we argue whether a concentration camp must have an operational gas chamber and accompanying crematorium or not, children's lives are being forever scarred and damaged. It's not a time to argue semantics--it's a time for action. It's time to storm the Bastille of the Borderland and release the prisoners whose only crime is being born in the wrong place at the wrong time and placing their faith in the wrong people to take care of them.

I cry to think this is what we've become--the world our great-grandparents and grandparents fought so bravely against. We are not trustworthy. We have become the very thing so many millions died for, the fascist state of the 1930s and 40s. A world where locking children in cages is as every bit as natural as placing our cat or dog in a kennel when we go on an out-of-town trip, a world where locking up our morals and compassion is as simple as breathing.

Do the thoughts and images of how we treat our neighbors keep you awake at night? I'd like to think I'm not the only one who feels distressed, but I could be. Let me know if you're disturbed by this strange new world we live in as much as I am. Maybe together we can summon the courage to confront the corrupt, immoral system and set the captives free.

"Until we are all free, we are none of us free."  --Emma Lazarus

How true a statement! We enslave ourselves when we deny our humanity and our capacity for suffering.  We become robots, enslaved to the flesh and divorced from the divine truth that we are all brothers and sisters. We can't allow this to happen. We have to will ourselves to stare at the image of children in cages and children dying in the desert and become a part of their struggle--or else we will become a part of our own destruction.

Emma Lazarus knew what she was talking about when she also penned, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." It's on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, standing at an entrance into America for many immigrants from Europe. And the ultimate irony is that the ancestors of these same European immigrants fleeing poverty, war and bloodshed one-hundred-plus years ago are among those who yell the loudest, "Fake news! Trump Camps don't exist!"

Until we are all free, we are none of us free… We must free those who cannot free themselves from their own bigotry by taking them on a trip inside the new Disneyworld springing up along our borders and in rural areas across the nation. It's an attraction that will hopefully wake up their senses and inspire them to take constructive action with us.

People are dying. There is no time to waste. Let's do it today.

Related Articles: 

The U.S. Migrant Crisis is a Test for Christians
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthefringe/

The Border Patrol is the American SS
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/57474-focus-the-border-patrol-is-the-american-ss 

Border Agency Knew About Secret Facebook Group For Years
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/57471-border-agency-knew-about-secret-facebook-group-for-years 

Second CBP-Linked Facebook Group Shows Derisive Images of Migrants
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/57478-report-second-cbp-linked-facebook-group-shows-derisive-images-of-migrants

Another Asylum Seeker Dies in Border Patrol Custody
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/57480-another-asylum-seeker-dies-in-border-patrol-custody

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Preventable deaths are happening at immigration detention centers in the United States. This is a human rights abuse and must end now!

Sign Now

In the past three months alone, there have been three deaths at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in the United States. In April, a 54-year-old from Mexico died after flu-like symptoms in a solitary cell. In May, a 21-year-old from India hanged himself in an Arizona jail. And just one month ago, a 25-year-old died in a Texas hospital after nearly six weeks in custody. These deaths are not just flukes: they are symptoms of systematic mistreatment and even abuse. NBC News analysis of federal data revealed dismal conditions at ICE detention centers. In particular, accounts of poor sanitation and limited medical care in these immigration detention centers have surfaced recently. Children's cells include open toilets in the middle of rooms, no hand soap, moldy showers, infrequent bathings, and lice infestations. In some cases, imprisoned individuals have no access to water, and are told to drink out of toilets. Many inmates are left without heating in near-freezing conditions and must endure bright lights being left on 24-hours of the day. Others have been outright denied medical care until it's too late. Even worse, twenty-four immigrants have died in ICE custody during the Trump administration. Add your name to this petition to call on the incoming Acting-Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kevin McAleenan, to take the necessary steps to fix this humanitarian crisis. He must audit immigration detention facilities over their hygiene practices and ensure all detainees have access to medical care! Thank you for caring, Steff D. The Care2 Petitions Team P.S. By signing this petition you are sending a strong message to Incoming DHS Acting-Director Kevin McAleenan that people deserve to be treated like human beings, and he must ensure that no more deaths occur at ICE detention centers

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Imagine one-third of your neighbors disappearing overnight. That nightmare could be a reality for my community if the Trump Administration is allowed to move forward with their plan to evict all “mixed immigration status” families from HUD-subsidized housing. That’s why I need you to join me and over 10,000 other Americans in submitting a public comment opposing this policy before the comment period closes on July 9.

You can learn all about the proposed HUD “mixed-status” families rule and submit your public comment here.

On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule that would prohibit “mixed-status" families from living in public and other subsidized housing. (Mixed-status families are households that include both members who are eligible and ineligible for housing assistance based on their immigration status.) The proposed rule would have devastating impacts, putting over 100,000 people at immediate risk of homelessness and eviction, including 55,000 children. That’s why it’s so important that you add your voice by making a public comment right now!

I live in a public housing community in the heart of Pacoima, a diverse, working-class, immigrant community in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. San Fernando Gardens is home to 448 families, and over 130 of them could face eviction if HUD’s rule went into effect. I have worked with my neighbors for over 30 years to make our neighborhood better: getting a community center built, holding toy drives at the holidays, and improving our schools. So many of the people I’ve worked with over the years were from “mixed-status” families, and it has never mattered one bit to us.

You can read profiles of some of my neighbors who could be evicted by this rule here.

We work together, shop together, go to church together, raise our children together, volunteer at the schools together. We are a community, and we wouldn’t be the same if Trump’s racist, xenophobic policy was allowed to move forward. Please go to https://www.keep-families-together.org/ and comment against this proposal right now.

There’s some important things about this proposal to understand. First of all, it’s already the law (and has been for decades) that no ineligible person receives any rental assistance from HUD. That means mixed-status families actually pay more rent than their neighbors for the same public housing.

Secondly, this isn’t just an attack on immigrants, but on all low-income renters. This proposal would cost HUD an additional $227 million per year. That would mean that after evicting mixed-status families, HUD would have to cut Section 8 vouchers and reduce public housing maintenance. This proposal won’t help any low-income renters, no matter their immigration status.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson and Donald Trump want us to believe that this proposal is about helping U.S. citizens who are on housing waitlists, and that immigrants are taking away resources from “legitimate” citizens (Dr. Carson’s words). That’s simply not true. Mixed-status families help subsidize HUD housing for everyone by paying higher rents, and every family currently housed has at least one person who is eligible for HUD assistance and entitled under the law to rental assistance.

We know the solution to our housing crisis isn’t to blame immigrants. We need a #HomesGuarantee that dramatically expands truly affordable housing for everyone, including mixed-status families. That’s why I joined People’s Action – to fight for true progressive policies that make life better for all of us. This HUD policy is a step in the wrong direction, and that’s why I need you to join me and comment now opposing the rule!

This proposed rule is an attack on everything I’ve worked for in my life. My heart breaks when I think of 25,000 more families facing homelessness, especially the 55,000 children who would be evicted simply because of who their family members are. The ripple effects this would have on my state, my city, and my neighborhood are devastating. My state of California would be the hardest-hit in the nation, with over 9,000 families who could be made homeless because of this rule. Los Angeles saw a 16% increase in homelessness this year, and we don’t need another 11,000 people out on the streets. My neighborhood would be torn apart by this proposal. Please comment now!

Sandra Obando
People’s Action Member
Board Member, People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER)
Member of People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER) and Ground Game LA

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From Faithful America:

We've got good news and bad news.

The good news: Last month, after 18,000 Faithful America members signed a petition demanding charges be dropped, church volunteer Scott Warren's trial ended in a hung jury. His alleged crime? Helping immigrants near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The bad news: Federal prosecutors announced this week that they have decided to retry Scott on two out of three felony charges.

Sign the petition today: No second trial for Scott Warren -- drop all charges at once!

Scott volunteers with No More Deaths, a Unitarian Universalist ministry that offers water, food, blankets, and first aid along the border. His trial was a clear attempt by the Trump administration to crack down on immigrants -- and on all Americans who welcome the stranger and show love to our southern neighbors.

Eight out of 12 jurors said Scott was not guilty. Yet in a move cruel even for this administration, the Trump Justice Department is proceeding with another trial. Scott could face years in prison, just for giving shelter to those in need.
Let's show the Trump administration that these scare tactics won't work: Christians and other people of faith are still paying attention to this story, we are still committed to human rights for immigrants, and we will not stand for this crackdown on Good Samaritans!

Add your name now to tell federal prosecutors: Drop all charges against Scott Warren.

Thanks!
- Rev. Nathan and the Faithful America team

P.S. Faithful America depends on the support of members like you to continue mobilizing Christians to challenge the religious right and its dangerous alliance with Donald Trump. Can you chip in to support this urgent work today?

The New Declaration

The New Declaration of Independence
(Rewritten slightly by C.A. Matthews)

IN THE STREETS, JULY 4, 2019

The unanimous Declaration of We The People

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with an oppressive class, the oligarchy, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all human beings are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, democratic rule should be instituted among humanity, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new democratic system of government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  This system of government is commonly known as democratic socialism, a system that puts the rights and happiness of the working classes above those who would enslave them economically in a system that takes away from the workers and gives more rights and economic power to a small elitist class. 

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that such perverse governments that support only a small proportion of the populace at the expense of the majority long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that people are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. This happens because apathy has been bred into our society by the ruling elites, and the weakening of the power to vote for all citizens has been ongoing since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and recently evident in legislation to force photo identification at the polls and the use of Crosscheck to illegally void voters from the registry. 

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism--such is witnessed in our society today-- it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of the working classes; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former corrupt system of government. The history of the present corrupt cabal of the one-percent is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these workers. 

To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The oligarchs have refused their Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

The oligarchs have forbidden their Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, such as Medicare For All and free provision of education, preschool through college. The ruling elite has utterly neglected to attend to these important measures and many innocents have died due to little to no adequate healthcare, and many have suffered working long hours for  slave-wages because they have found themselves in immense debt from attending college.

The oligarchs have refused to pass other Laws condemning the gerrymandering of large districts of people, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

The oligarchs have blocked Net Neutrality and misused digital technology for the sole purpose of spying on the citizens for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with their measures.

The oligarchs have dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly through worthless legislation,  keeping them enthralled to the lobbyist class to do their bidding to spread the disease of capitalism and oppressing the rights of the people, especially women and their right to bodily autonomy.

The oligarchs have refused for a long time, after the passage of Citizens United, to cause others of a higher moral character to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of representing the ninety-nine percent, have returned to the People at large meaningless and deadly laws; the workers remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of polluted and unsafe work spaces and unhealthy air, food and water for them and their families.

The oligarchs have endeavoured to prevent immigration and asylum-seeking; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising concentration camps where children are separated from their families and all are housed in filthy, unsafe and horrendous conditions. 

The oligarchs have obstructed the Administration of Justice by stacking the courts with corrupt cronies of the capitalists who treat people of color, the poor, the foreigner and women in particular harshly in the extreme.

The oligarchs have made Judges dependent on their Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries, thereby encouraging them to decide cases not on their merits but on how cases may be used to further enrich the elite classes.

The oligarchs have erected a multitude of New Offices in the Department of Homeland Security, and sent hither swarms of capitalists to harass our people and make their lives even harsher, by encouraging small businesses to close their doors by offering tax breaks to large corporations that undersell them, thus creating food deserts and further defunding public schools in the inner cities.

The oligarchs have kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. They continue to wage Wars for Oil that profit the elites at the expense of the lives and health of the workers.

The oligarchs have affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. We live with militarized policing agencies who are often at the beck and call of Big Oil and other capitalists.

The oligarchs have combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving their Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us in the disguise of our local police:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants--especially cold-blooded murders of persons of color and other protected statuses:

For cutting off our Trade with certain parts of the world and instituting unfair trade and labor practices that profit global capitalists at the expense of  workers worldwide:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent by giving the elites tax breaks and other loopholes wherein they profit from the corrupt system, i.e. through government bailouts and corporate welfare:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury and keeping those who cannot make bail imprisoned for long lengths of time without charge:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences, such as in the case of  the journalist Julian Assange and others wrongfully imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay:

For taking away our City Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments, such as denying the right to citizens' initiative to protect our Great Lake Erie for further contamination from corporate polluters:

For blocking our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever, no matter what the people declare are their wishes, such as in the case of a woman's right of choice.

The oligarchs have plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people by the foolish denial of the climate crisis that is harshly affecting the whole of the planet.

The oligarchs have at this time transported Armies to foreign lands to accomplish works of death, desolation, and tyranny, i.e. by attempting to overthrow a duly elected government in Venezuela, and have already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

The oligarchs have constrained our fellow Citizens by making it so difficult to earn a living that some have felt to bear Arms for obscene police actions, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

The oligarchs have excited domestic insurrections amongst us, to divide and conquer us by pitting group against group in an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A President, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people and should be impeached.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our brethren throughout the world. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by our on legislatures to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the harsh and sometimes lethal circumstances of immigration and settlement here. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the Working Class, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of the ninety-nine percent, solemnly publish and declare, That We the People are, and of Right, ought to be Free and Independent of capitalist tyranny, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the elitist class. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, what remains of our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

SIGNED: WE THE PEOPLE, THE WORKERS (the 99%) OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

If you'd like to read the actual Declaration of Independence: http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/

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Happy Belated Juneteenth!
 
Related articles

https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/57234-on-reparations-the-question-isnt-if-but-when-and-how

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Can you give a blogger a lift? How about helping them pay for a ride to the upcoming Green Party National Meeting in Salem, Mass. so The Revolution Continues can report on the action? Please donate a buck or two to our travel fund via the Paypal link below. Thanks!

http://paypal.me/camatthews

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The Trump administration just sent kids BACK to the overcrowded and unsanitary detention camp in Clint, Texas.  This is the same camp where kids were urgently removed following horrific revelations: Toddlers denied diapers. Children not being able to shower. No toothbrushes, toothpaste, or even soap. This is cruel and sadistic. There is no reason children should continue to be held in these inhumane, overcrowded and unsanitary camps. They should be closed, period. Congress MUST close the camps. Add your name to our URGENT DEMAND that Congress Close the Camps This week's revelations about the Clint, Texas detention camp are SHOCKING even for this administration. Attorneys shared first-hand accounts of what it's like to be in those camps: Children coughing everywhere. Sobbing toddlers. Children trying to take care of toddlers. It's unfathomable. These are human rights abuses plain and simple -- and every day that Congress allows them to stay open is a dereliction of duty. That's why we MUST keep saying it until Congress does it:  Add your name to our URGENT DEMAND that Congress Close the Camps We've mobilized our coalition and are working with local partners to close the camps and will be sure to keep you updated on next steps. Thanks for all you do, Sandra Cordero, Director Families Belong Together

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From Friends of the Earth:

Recently a United Nations report warned that one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction -- including bees, butterflies and other pollinators. A key driver is the widespread use of toxic pesticides on the food we eat.  

Kroger -- the largest traditional supermarket in the U.S. -- is part of the problem. The retail giant still sells food grown with toxic pesticides.

Today is Kroger’s annual shareholder meeting. It’s the perfect time to pressure the highest decision-makers at the company to stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides. And they need to feel that pressure from you, C.A.. 

Swarm Kroger’s phone lines: Demand it stop the “bee apocalypse” and stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides. 

Bee-killing neonicotinoids, monarch-harming glyphosate, and brain-damaging chlorpyrifos are still widely used in agriculture. This threatens the pollinators that help us to produce two-thirds of the food crops we eat everyday.

Imagine a world without almonds, cucumbers, apples, blueberries and peaches. That could be the reality if we don’t quickly shift away from toxic pesticides and toward organic food for all.

These pesticides are also putting our health at risk. We tested Kroger apples, spinach, cereal, and beans and found residues of these toxic pesticides. This means that the food our families buy could be laced with brain-damaging and cancer-causing pesticides.

Kroger claims to be a leader in food safety. Its website states that keeping food safe is “part of everything we do and a condition of working with Kroger for our suppliers and partners.” If Kroger is truly committed to selling safe and healthy foods, it needs to take into account the toxic pesticides present in common grocery items, especially its very own Kroger-brand foods. 

Call Kroger NOW: Demand it uphold its commitment to food safety by not selling food grown with toxic pesticides!

We know it’s possible for Kroger to eliminate harmful pesticides in its supply chain. Costco, one of the largest food retailers in the U.S., has already asked its suppliers to phase out neonicotinoids and chlorpyrifos from its fruit, vegetables, and garden plants globally. 

Across the country, concerned people like you are swarming Kroger’s phone lines demanding the company take immediate action and remove pesticide-laced food from its shelves. We can’t do this without you, C.A.. Can we count on your support in this fight?  

Make a quick call NOW: Tell Kroger that you want it to stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides immediately.

Standing with you,
Tiffany Finck-Haynes,
Pesticides and pollinators program manager,
Friends of the Earth