Border Patrol Agents Detain Migrants Near US-Mexico Border

U.S. Border Patrol agents take Central American asylum seekers into custody on June 12, 2018 near McAllen, Texas. The immigrant families were then sent to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing center for possible separation. U.S. border authorities are executing the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy towards undocumented immigrants. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said that domestic and gang violence in immigrants' country of origin would no longer qualify them for political-asylum status. 

We struggle to find words that adequately convey our revulsion at Donald Trump’s policy of separating children from parents who brought them to the U.S. seeking asylum from violence in Central America.

But Trump is not alone in this. Most of Wisconsin’s GOP leaders have helped to enable his “zero tolerance” policy. They do that in one of three ways: 

Fortunately, some Republicans in other states have joined with Democrats and global leaders in forcefully denouncing the policy created by Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his boss. Trump felt the pressure. On June 20 — after arguing for weeks that he had no power to change the policy he’d imposed — Trump claimed to reverse it.

But under Trump’s newest policy, children fleeing persecution with their parents still will be imprisoned — only now they’ll be joined with their parents. And the damage of two months’ worth of zero tolerance already has been done. 

Between May 5 and June 9, according to the Department of Homeland Security, there had been 2,342 children sent to facilities or into foster care, with no system in place to match child to parent. Parents may never be reunited with their children.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., visited a youth detention center in Texas. He told CNN the wire enclosures holding the youngsters — from 10 to 17 years old — resembled “dog kennels.”

As of June 15, there were 11,517 detained minors who crossed the border with or without guardians. The federal government has a network of 100 shelters, including so-called “tent cities,” in 14 states, and those shelters already are 93 percent full. Juveniles can remain in them for more than two months.

In response to the crowding, Trump has ordered the construction of sprawling new detention centers. Clearly, he’s in this for the long haul.

There is no defense and there should be no forgiveness for Trump’s heartless, un-American immigration policy. His henchman Sessions deserves special ignominy, not only for his starring role in the policy’s creation and implementation, but also for actually citing the Bible to try to justify it.

But there’s plenty of blame to go around.

We must hold accountable Wisconsin Republicans who support Trump’s cruelty — not just Ryan, Grothman, Vukmir and Nicholson, but especially Walker, who has continued kissing up to Trump and using him to raise funds for his third gubernatorial bid. 

Walker is an ideological twin to Trump when it comes to racism and xenophobia. Enflaming prejudice is part and parcel of his “divide and conquer” electoral strategy, as famously explained to his billionaire backer Diane Hendricks.

Walker — who very briefly ran against Trump — is now firmly ensconced in the very heart of Trumpism.

Fortunately, some Republicans have seen the light and are speaking truth to power.

Steve Schmidt, a longtime GOP strategist, recently left the Republican Party, saying, “It has become a danger to our democracy and our values.”

He went on to describe Republicans who stand by and do nothing as our democratic ideals suffer attack. He called them “feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party’s greatest leaders.”

Wisconsin, unfortunately, has its share of them.

Schmidt added: “The first step to a season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities.”

On all counts, we couldn’t agree more.

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