When we separate children from their parents, we are rejecting the very ideals we hold dear
By JCJ Summer Intern Sam Wolf.
Over the past month, the Trump Administration has been deliberately separating parents from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border. Government agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have begun to criminally prosecute all illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. As a dire consequence, children of parents who are being criminally prosecuted are being taken away from them.
Previously, illegal immigrants would be taken to an immigration judge and await deportation or asylum. However, immigrants could now face criminal charges, which could land them in federal prison and in the process, separate them from their children. While the Trump Administration says the policy is law that it’s just enforcing, neither the President nor anyone in his cabinet has taken action to reverse it, instead calling on Democrats in Congress to rectify the situation.
The entire Jewish community should be appalled by this heartbreaking policy and must demand action from the Trump Administration. We at the Jewish Center for Justice call on the White House to abandon this cruel and immoral policy. Judaism is a faith that recognizes the importance of family through various prayers and traditions. When I had my Bar Mitzvah, my parents and grandparents joined me on the bema to pass the Torah from generation to generation. The passing of Judaism onto the next generation – which in Hebrew is l’dor vador — depends on the very existence of family in the first place. This is why we are standing up and making this call to action.