It may be hard to believe that this is happening in the United States in 2018, that hundreds of children are being snatched from their parents, frequently under false pretenses, often screaming, and placed in vast warehouselike centers like the former Walmart in Brownsville, Tex., where nearly 1,500 boys now spend their days. The parents often don't know where their children are, or when they will see them again.

In 2014 the Obama administration detained hundreds of families and unaccompanied minors crossing the border, a practice that the federal courts quickly curtailed. But separating families as a matter of unofficial policy is something new and malicious, a function of President Trump's obsession with undocumented immigrants. This spring, the administration ordered that everyone caught crossing illegally into the United States be prosecuted. And since children cannot accompany grown-ups to jail, people who had crossed illegally with children had their children taken away. Hundreds upon hundreds of children, of all ages, creating a new industry in mass shelters.

The United Nations human rights office called this new practice a serious violation of the rights of children and demanded an immediate halt. Catholic bishops denounced it as immoral. The American Psychological Association warned that the separations threatened the mental and physical health of the children. All to no avail.

The administration has come back with a mix of just-following-orders and falsehoods. The Department of Homeland Security said it had no policy for separating families; it was just catching criminals. President Trump feigned sympathy for the separations but claimed he was the victim of"bad legislation passed by the Democrats," which nobody could find. Only John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, offered what appeared to be a plausible, if shocking, explanation: that separating parents from their children could be a "tough deterrent."The heartlessness of that is mind-boggling. It seems to elude the administration and its cheerleaders that this is not about crime or security, but about the most elemental human values; that ordering armed border guards to cruelly and needlessly rip children from mothers — in one case, while she was breast-feeding the child — goes against fundamental American values and undercuts its standing in the world.

The Trump administration has the opportunity to do the right thing here. If you want to help sway it to do so, here are some concrete steps to take.

Call Congress. Find out who represents you in Washington, and let them know you want the practice of family separation to end. Ask them to support bills that will help reunited children already taken from their parents and also prohibit future removals. Those include the Senate's HELP Separated Children Act and Keep Families Together Act. The American Civil Liberties Union offers a script for calling the Senate, though we suspect most callers will be able to find the right words themselves.

Join protests. People are taking to the streets in communities across the country Thursday to register their outrage at this border policy. Join these or future actions.

Donate to legal and humanitarian efforts. Immigrants, even children, have no guarantee of legal representation as they pursue asylum or face deportation. Most do not know their rights or speak English well enough to represent themselves. In 75 percent of cases where children had counsel, an immigration judge determined they had a strong enough claim for asylum or humanitarian protection and allowed them to stay in the United States.

The proposed Fair Day in Court for Kids Act would require the government to appoint counsel to unaccompanied children, and it's important to ask Congress to support its passage. Until then, there are several nonprofits providing vital free legal aid that need financial support: The Texas Civil Rights Project; the Florence Project in Arizona; and Kids in Need of Defense and The Young Center, which work nationwide. Lawyers might also consider lending their expertise. The Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas is helping families with supplies and humanitarian relief.

Vote. Your 2018 primary election may be coming up soon. Please be sure to register and vote. Elections are ultimately the most important tool Americans have to seek change in how their government operates — and the values it espouses.

Editorial, New York Times, June 14, 2018

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June 16, 2018