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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2018)
June 13, 2018 Page 13 O PINION MCS Still in Business Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area and Hallway Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $30.00 Heavily Soiled Area: $10.00 each area (Requiring Pre-Spray) Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning Stop Piling Children into Immigration Detention Trump harms children to scare parents p eter C erto Most morn- ings lately, I’ve woken up to two things. First I hear my toddler, sounding off that it’s time to get up. Then I see the news stories about other toddlers our immigra- tion authorities ripped away from their parents. For weeks, I’ve felt the gnaw- ing need to write something, any- thing, about it. But God, where even to begin? First, there are the stories. The Congolese asylum seeker who heard her six-year-old scream “Don’t take me away from my mommy!” and couldn’t reach her. The woman forced to put her 18-month-old in a car seat in an ICE van, the door slamming shut before she could even say good- bye. The man who hasn’t seen his son in six months. by Then there are the photos. The rows of children sleeping on thin mats behind chain-linked fences. The kids being led by guards to make phone calls, hands tied behind their backs. The prison van full of infant car seats. These are just the earliest fruits of the Trump adminis- tration’s ghastly new pledge to prosecute every last undocu- mented immigrant who cross- es our border. If they have their children with them, the kids are seized and warehoused in some overflowing detention facility. The New York Times counted over 700 kids who’d been sepa- rated from their parents this way from October to April. But in the first two weeks of May alone, authorities disclosed that they’d taken nearly 700 more — an as- tonishingly rapid increase. The ACLU puts the second wave at 1,000 over five weeks. Already the warehouses are filling up, leaving authorities to prepare holding pens on military bases for the inevitable overflow. In theory, the children should be released to other family mem- bers within 72 hours. But with the administration essentially threat- ening to deport any undocument- ed caretakers who come forth to claim them, more and more chil- dren are languishing in cells for months. NBC reported recently that over half the kids currently detained had been held past the limit, and that half of those were under 12. “It appears we’re setting up a long-term incarceration system for children,” a former immigra- tion official told VICE. Children whose only crime was having parents who tried to take them to safety. The jackboots orchestrating this plot openly admit they’re willing to harm children to scare off parents. “If you don’t want your child separated, then don’t bring them across the border illegally,” men- aced Attorney General Jeff Ses- sions. “A big name of the game is deterrence,” chimed in Trump chief of staff John Kelly, who promised the captured children “will be put into foster care — or whatever.” The administration isn’t just arresting ordinary migrants. It’s also arresting asylum seekers who legally present themselves at ports of entry — people fleeing war, crime, and trauma few Americans could understand — and taking their kids, too. These detention facilities are no place for kids. Even going back to the Obama era, immigration agents have been reported raping, beating, and threatening kids in their care. When U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley tried to inspect a holding site this month, operators locked him out and called the police. What were they hiding? The United Nations has warned these detentions constitute “a child rights violation” and should be “halted immediately.” Sen. Di- anne Feinstein has introduced a bill to end family separations for asylum seekers, while Senator Kamala Harris and Rep. Pramila Jayapal want to halt the expansion of new detention facilities. Those would be welcome steps. But if you ask the dad in me, they should shut down the whole agency. Peter Certo is the editorial manager of the Institute for Policy Studies and the editor of Other- Words.org. Regular Area Rugs $25.00 Minimum Wool Oriental Rugs $40.00 Minimum UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $70.00 Loveseat: $50.00 Sectional: $110 - $140 Chair or Recliner: $25.00 - $50.00 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949