Forced deportations and children ~ deplorable policy

In my opinion, cruel actions being taken by the Donald Trump administration to separate immigrant children from their families is just as heinous as anything the Nazi terrorists did with innocent people that were unjustly targeted and thrown into concentration camps.

Echo letter to the editor published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch "StLouisToday" by Susan Stolze who wrote from Bridgeton, MO

(Echo letters are randomly selected opinions published in various American newspapers and re-blogged by me.)

It is hard to believe that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is separating minor children from parents who have entered the U.S. without proper documents.

Various reports have surfaced that Homeland Security, in order to deter others from seeking asylum, is quietly detaining parents and sending their children thousands of miles away into care for long periods of time. Reports have also surfaced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months is separating other immigrant families that are apprehended.

I commend the ACLU for bringing suit against immigration officials for one such action in one case, but advocates are claiming that hundreds of such cases are occurring as part of a greater effort to dissuade immigrants from coming here.

Forcibly separating families in crisis to scare other families in crisis is unconscionable. Such additional trauma can permanently damage emotional development in children already suffering within their families because of turmoil in their countries of origin. Is this a reasonable or humane way to curtail illegal immigration? Let elected and appointed leaders know that they should oppose the separation of families for non-criminal reasons.

Susan Stolze • Bridgeton