By Scottsdale Pinetop
Since the announcement of President Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, dozens of activists, elected officials and migrants-rights supporter have gathered in downtown Phoenix to fight to against the policy that has removed nearly 2,000 children from their families at the border. And supporters seem to be gaining by the day.
President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy directs Border Patrol officials to pursue criminal prosecution against all people entering the country illegally, even against immigrants seeking asylum. And while President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that ended the policy that separated migrant children from their parents who were detained at the border, the policy sparked a national outcry that shows how far Americans are willing to go in order to secure the border. To no one’s surprise, a majority of Arizona’s leaders have avoided any form of public comments on the policy.
Speaking out against the policy, Republicans McCain and Flake have cast themselves as the conscience of their party. Senator John McCain condemned the Trump administration’s policy to separate families saying it goes against the foundational values that our country was founded on. President Trump and Senator McCain have been publicly clashing since the beginning of Trump’s presidential campaign in June 2015. Immigration only appears to be their newest topic.
Supporters of the immigration policy have claimed that the administration is only following the law and blame Democrats for not backing reform. Democrats are actively speaking out against the practice calling it cruel and inhumane – creating yet another tug-of-war between the political aisle.
The U.S. has benefited from the arrival of new people. For years, migrants have brought fresh energy, ideas and ambition to the country. But immigration also brings difficult questions and political differences: Who stays and who goes? Who qualifies to be a citizens and who gets to decide? And while past administrations have struggled to define America’s immigration policy, this administration’s current family separation policy is an insult to the decency of America’s past and future reputation.