I updated my post from yesterday with a metric crap ton of new articles and videos: Call to Action: Keep Families Together.
Two articles to start the day off:
- NBC News: Trump admin’s ‘tent cities’ cost more than keeping migrant kids with parents
- CNN: AP: Toddlers, babies held in ‘tender age’ facilities after separated from families
Reuters reports that Rep. Paul Ryan plans to hold a vote tomorrow (6/21/18) on legislation that “would end the practice of separating families who cross the U.S. border illegally.”
Meanwhile, the AP is reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has drafted an executive order “that would direct her department to keep families together after they are detained crossing the border illegally.”
Trump has said, in the last 24 hours, via Twitter and through the media, that he’d be “signing something” soon to do something about the child concentration camps and family separation policy.
We’ll see how those stories shake out in the next few days. It may be that Trump and/or Congress will take action, but not, y’know, good action.
There are protests planned for June 30, in ten days. In the meantime, continue to light up your senators’ and representatives’ phone lines about this issue. Use CallYourRep.co or 5Calls.org (which also has scripts you can use) to contact your congresscritters, particularly if you have Republican representation.
Stay tuned for updates.
Update, 1 p.m.
Trump signed an executive order “ending” family separations. As expected, it really doesn’t solve anything. Read it here: Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation.
Worth noting:
- The executive order says nothing about reuniting families that have already been separated.
- The executive order requires that children be kept with families, and that families be incarcerated in detainment camps basically indefinitely, which is illegal.
So, apparently we don’t have children’s concentration camps. We just have concentration camps. Awesome. Keep calling, people. Keep protesting.
Notes & Thoughts 