Because the problem at the southern border is complicated, simple fixes don’t exist. Only a charlatan makes a promise that he “alone” can fix it and only his unquestioning followers believe him.
When our former president was in charge, he had four years to fix the problem and he failed, just like other presidents before him. What made him different was his monumental cruelty to thousands of terrified children, including babies, who were forcibly separated from their families and imprisoned in giant cages. He had no system in place to meticulously record the children’s identities and the location of where in the U.S. they would be sent. No plan for returning the children to their families. No network of carefully vetted foster parents adequate for the number of children he took.
His malevolence, apathy, carelessness, and incompetence resulted in immeasurable suffering and made these children vulnerable to human traffickers.
Many of them are still missing.
If reelected, he promises to do it again, even though this policy did nothing to secure the border.
He traumatized thousands of powerless children and no matter how much harm he causes or who gets hurt, his devotees mindlessly cheer him on.
So, if you’re interested in the evidence and care enough about children to protect them, immigrant or not, then please read “The Secret History of the U.S. Government’s Family Separation Policy,” by Caitlin Dickerson, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.
— JoAnn Miller
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.