Read that again. The Trump administration ordered CBP to split up families who cross into the United States from the south. CBP went right along with it, without hesitation. And many of his followers rationalized what the administration was doing. Some even cheered.
"What the fuck happened," indeed.
This policy (it is absolutely NOT a law, and don't believe otherwise) is intentionally cruel and appalling; and if you're not shocked by it, you need to recalibrate your moral compass. But the truth is, it didn't just come out of nowhere - in more ways than one. First, the United States government has been party to other inhumane practices, both large and small throughout its history. You probably know of some of the bigger ones: slavery, the Tuskeegee Experiments, interning Japanese-American citizens in WWII, and the Trail of Tears, to name a few. As for the smaller ones, the ones that immediately come to mind tend to be more recent. Camp X-Ray, rendition, and "enhanced interrogation" (AKA torture) desensitized us to the government treating non-Americans cruelly. The TSA enacted increasingly invasive and unnecessary security measures while providing no mechanisms for recourse or accountability for abuses of authority, and many people shrugged their shoulders and accepted its infringements on all of our rights. Ditto with the NSA and its bulk data collection. We largely ignored the Pentagon's 1033 Program, which supplied surplus military hardware to police forces across the nation; and just as the old saying about "when all you have is a hammer..." goes, those police units began adopting more aggressive attitudes and tactics.
The CBP's separation of families is a convergence of all the things I just described: the TSA's lack of accountability, police forces' aggressive posture, and Camp X-Ray's barbaric treatment of non-Americans. And we - American citizens - kind of let it happen by abandoning our civic responsibilities. The more often we turned a blind eye, or halfheartedly protested, the more these practices became entrenched. Acceptable. Widespread.
But that's only part of it. Another huge factor, as I'm sure you can guess, is President Trump. The Trump administration's policy of separating families should not be a surprise, if you paid attention to what Trump said and who he surrounded himself with on the campaign trail. Remember when Trump referred to Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists? That was almost three years ago to the day. Trump has never bothered to hide his hatred for Latino immigrants or his racism, and now he's pushing policy in line with his attitudes.
As much as Trump is at the center of this, it's not just about him, though. The family separation policy may have been in the planning for a while, but it was only rolled out recently. Did you notice how quickly CBP fell in line, though? I don't see many people talking about that, except tangentially. I've seen a few articles about how indifferent, even cruel, the CBP officers have acted toward the detained children, but AFAIK nobody has asked how they got that way. Institutional cultures don't shift so radically in such a short time, which means that the CBP behavior we're seeing has been there for a while, just below the surface. Trump's policies may have drawn that cruelty out, but it didn't create it from scratch. Regardless, curbing the CBP excesses will be one of many problems this country faces after Trump leaves office.
I often claim that Trump unleashed this country's ugly side. All the racism, the misogyny, the anti-intellectualism, the corruption and the lying, the obnoxious boasting, and the "burn it all down" style of governing - it didn't originate with Trump. Like the CBP agents, there were a lot of shitbags who Trump has emboldened. They will still be here after Trump is gone, and they won't go quietly. The fallout from the Trump administration will shape politics for decades.
Because this is about a lot more than the family separation policy. It's about Trump's entire worldview, something that informs everything he thinks, says, and does. Think back to Trump's comments about immigrants being criminals and rapists, and how those comments relate to this current family separation policy. Now think about other things Trump said during his campaign. Remember all of his racist and misogynist dog whistles? Remember when he said he'd only acknowledge the election results if he won? Or how he popularized a slogan calling for a political rival to be jailed - and still uses it at rallies and speeches?
Does this mean I think we're on the march toward genocide or a dictatorship? That Trump's going to seize control of the government and declare himself emperor or something, or that we'll be herding immigrants, Muslims, and who knows who else into camps? I honestly don't know, but I'm giving both non-zero possibilities at this point. I may very well be overreacting, and there's certainly a significant chance I'm wrong. However, there have been a lot of indicators that Trump wants to do so. He's installed family members in key posts, centralized the decision-making process, made targeting minorities and other protected classes a common theme of his policies, and fawned over more than one totalitarian despot. At the same time, the institutional checks meant to keep a president from seizing power are weakened. The GOP-controlled congress won't stand up to him, because of either cowardice or opportunism - I can't figure out which; and the Democrats suck as an opposition party, because they won't come up with a coherent platform.
They need to, quickly; and they need to fight to win with everything they've got. (Everything legal, of course.) Because if the Trump administration is separating immigrant families today, what will it be doing tomorrow? Will it move on to some other group next after it's done with immigrants, Muslims, or transgender people? As I already said, I don't know. Nobody can predict the future. But that's why it's important to smack down any authoritarian policies early, because by the time people are getting marched to the gas chambers, it's too late.
This isn't a debate about policy any more, it's about morality. Right and wrong. Trump, the members of his administration, his Republican enablers in Congress, and his supporters - they're all embracing a very immoral and un-American set of values. History will someday judge them as villains - IF the rest of us do something about it. Vote, protest, call your elected reps. Do what you can to render the Party of Trump ineffective as a political movement. There should be no place for their ideas and policies in American society.
Because history will judge you too.
They need to, quickly; and they need to fight to win with everything they've got. (Everything legal, of course.) Because if the Trump administration is separating immigrant families today, what will it be doing tomorrow? Will it move on to some other group next after it's done with immigrants, Muslims, or transgender people? As I already said, I don't know. Nobody can predict the future. But that's why it's important to smack down any authoritarian policies early, because by the time people are getting marched to the gas chambers, it's too late.
This isn't a debate about policy any more, it's about morality. Right and wrong. Trump, the members of his administration, his Republican enablers in Congress, and his supporters - they're all embracing a very immoral and un-American set of values. History will someday judge them as villains - IF the rest of us do something about it. Vote, protest, call your elected reps. Do what you can to render the Party of Trump ineffective as a political movement. There should be no place for their ideas and policies in American society.
Because history will judge you too.
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