Mariella Gattini

The book Separated by Jacob Soboroff is a fact-driven, non-fiction, heartbreaking story of how the U.S. government led by Trump systematically separated asylum seeking families from their kids, even kids of tender age. That is to say, kids under five years old, including babies.

According to the book, the “zero tolerance” policy was directly implemented by Jeff Sessions, U.S. Attorney General at the time, and approved by Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security at that moment. The first person responsible for operationally putting any separation policy in place was General John Kelly, first Secretary of Homeland Security appointed by Trump, before becoming Trump’s Chief of Staff. General Kelly confirmed this separation policy to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, on March 2017.

Jacob makes a point when he says that by Valentine’s Day of 2017 the policy had already been floating around.

In 2015, Jeff Sessions and Steve Bannon, the latter recently charged with fraud, praised a racist 1924 law intended to end “indiscriminate acceptance of all races” as “good for America.” Under Trump, Sessions had the power of the U.S. Department of Justice to fix what he saw as “a big problem.”

The book focuses mostly on the thousands of family separations and reunifications that occurred between June and October of 2018. “Trump [finally] signed the executive order that stopped the policy [of family separations] he had claimed days earlier did not exist.” (After seeing Soboroff reporting on TV about the kids in cages.)

Jacob took the expression “kids in cages” from someone working at the border, who told journalists not to look at them because “they feel like animals in a cage being looked at.”

Between May and June 2018 more than 2,300 children had been taken from their parents and there was not enough bed space for all the children coming to ORR (The Office of Refugee Resettlement.) Nielsen’s response: “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.” (The memo signed May 5th, 2018 by Nielsen accepting the separation of families was still a secret.) According to Jacob, “It was only the start of the deflection, deceit, and dishonesty to come.”

Later, the number of separated children was officially 2,551. The Trump administration admitted that it had reunited more than 1,400 children with their parents. 711 kids had not been reunited, and of those, 431 had parents who had already been deported.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, mentioned in the book, stated: “You will find that in many cases, the parents were coerced into signing documents they simply did not understand, which resulted in the parents ostensibly relinquishing their right to be reunited with their children. We maintain that the government’s actions are in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, federal statute, and regulations.”

400,000 migrants were taken into custody during Trump’s first year in office, including asylum seekers coming mainly from a Central America ravaged by drought and drug cartels. This drought is driven by a climate change that Trump calls “a China hoax.” To make matters worse, he stopped sending foreign aid to countries like Guatemala.

In all this debacle, kids trapped in the system could be prescribed psychotropic medicines without their parents consent by a mental health clinician or psychiatrist.

Dr. Colleen Kraft stated that when robbed of a caregiver buffer, children are susceptible to learning deficits and chronic conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, and even heart disease. On CNN, Dr. Kraft called the zero tolerance policy “government-sanctioned child abuse.” For those who know English as their second language “sanctioned”, in this case, means “ordered or allowed by those in authority.” (Merriam-Webster).

Trump finally fired Nielsen because he wanted to re-introduce the policy of separating families from their children after all we have learned. Nielsen knew from the get-go that this was a policy established on shaky grounds “and may well be unconstitutional.” We saw on the news, how Nielsen was scolded by a woman working in the restaurant Nielsen was having dinner at.

One of the fathers coming from Central America, who crossed the border in Arizona, and was separated from his teenage son for months, wrote a letter in which he states, among other things, “This doesn’t have a name.” This is a poor translation from “Esto no tiene nombre.” In English it is properly translated into “this is unconscionable” in the sense of being unscrupulous and excessive. He used those words to describe the mistreatment he and his son were subjected to by the DHS zero tolerance policy dictated by the Trump Administration.

It’s worth noting that Kamala Harris voted against Kirstjen Nielsen’s confirmation as Secretary of Homeland Security.

As the government separated families, it lost track of them. Still, there were people within the Trump Administration who wanted that list to disappear. Scott Lloyd, who according to Rolling Stone was an anti-abortion crusader, in his time as director of the ORR prevented migrant teens in his custody from receiving abortions. That Scott Lloyd wanted to get rid of a list containing the information of 700 separated kids from their parents described in an exposé written by journalist Caitlin Dickerson from the New York Times, in April 2018.

Yesterday, on 60 minutes I listened to a woman who voted for Trump in 2016, and now intends to do the same. Her main concerns were to keep her 401K, her house, and the blessing of her pastor. Her public message was clearly not directed at us listeners. Her message was directed at her employer and at her community. She knows that losing her job in this country means to lose her 401K, her health insurance, and her house. She knows whom her employer is going to vote for, because many companies, like Hewlett-Packard during the leadership of Meg Whitman, fundraise for the Republican Party. She knows whom her pastor is voting for. Therefore, in her mind, she’s terrified of being fired by her employer and shunned by her pastor and the community she lives in. That’s the extend to which seemingly reasonable people can think of. Especially of themselves. She can not really envision herself in a different reality other than the one others are instilling in her day after day.

This woman is far away from the border. She’s far away from poor asylum seekers who desperately need a refuge. To quote one of the famous Argentine cartoonist Quino’s characters, Susanita: “It’s a good thing that the world is so far away.” Right?

Also mentioned in the book, The American Academy of Pediatrics says that “this practice [that of separating children from their parents] will leave thousands of kids traumatized for life.” Unfortunately, many people are tone-deaf to the tragedy at the border. And Republicans are banking on that.

You know, neglect is a kind of violence. Looking the other way has its own consequences. Kids thrown into neglect and oblivion do not forget. Especially, they never forget who put them in that position. So, don’t be surprised if one day payback comes knocking at your door. This is not a threat, I’m simply describing the cause and effect of your own actions. People get tired of being the scapegoats of a bad situation and the punching bags of their oppressors. And the outcome of their reaction won’t be violent or neglectful because they know first hand what effect that mistreatment has in people’s psyche. Their response will be that of becoming the best they can be, which will take them to success, a success that you will never be part of.

I’m sure those kids are going to take that approach. Despite their depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, and trauma. We can, as a country, be there for them, and turn things around not only for them but for everybody’s sake, because our humanity is at risk. This is a country of great failures but also of great comebacks. I’m especially hopeful for the new generation of thinkers that comes with enough stamina to steer the course for a new era. One that respects and protects humanity and our planet as a whole.

Thank you to musician Federico Albanese for helping me finish this piece. I would not have been able to put an end to it without the support of his music.