Meet Liam, Juan Nicolás, and Diana – three of the “human scum,” as the House Republicans call them, who have been imprisoned along with hundreds of other kids in the nation’s largest concentration camp for children in Dilley, Texas.
While the drumbeat from the Trump administration has been constant for over a year – “The worst of the worst. Killers. Rapists. Gang members. Terrorists. Pedophiles.” – Americans know that it’s always been a lie.
It’s never been about public safety.
ICE’s own data shows the truth: as of February, nearly 74 percent of people in detention had no criminal convictions whatsoever. Just 5 percent had any type of violent conviction. 92% of the growth in ICE detention from September through January came from people with no criminal convictions at all.
It isn’t about “safer streets,” it’s about quotas. Stephen Miller has demanded 3,000 arrests per day – “a floor, not a ceiling” – and reportedly threatened to fire field office leaders who don’t keep up.
When ICE officials pushed back, citing claims that deportation efforts would target criminals, Miller was confused. “What do you mean you’re going after criminals?” he demanded. “Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?”
A retired Homeland Security Investigations special agent explained the predictable result: ICE avoids pursuing genuinely dangerous criminals because “to go after violent criminals, that’s a lot of work. That’s a lot of effort. That’s a lot of time, and candidly, from the people I’ve talked to, the department and the agency doesn’t want to expend that time.”
So ICE agents fill their quotas with easy pickings. Families taking their children to the hospital. Parents dropping kids off at school. People dragged out of their cars on the way to work.
The accessible, the law-abiding, the vulnerable – sweeping up families, workers, asylum seekers, taxpayers… and kids like Liam, Juan Nicolás, and Diana.
Look at their faces. Liam is five. Juan Nicolás is two months old. Diana is six.
The Republican Party calls them “human scum.”
The only “human scum” are those who have lost their humanity.
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If you’ve had enough of the Trump administration’s cruelty and the lies, here’s how to take action.
–> Call your representatives at (202) 224-3121 and demand the immediate release of all children from the Dilley and Karnes detention centers and an end to child detention.
–> To read ProPublica’s powerful expose “The Children of Dilley,” visit https://www.propublica.org/article/life-inside-ice-dilley-children
–> To learn more about DHS’ current efforts to vastly expand their detention facilities, including ones for children, you can learn about their efforts to buy massive warehouses around the country at https://wapo.st/3OfarSk – and about community opposition to their plans at https://wapo.st/3OIfSJn
–> To learn about sites around the country, there is an ICE Warehouses of Interest tracking tool showing prospective locations at https://lookerstudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/b0228ccb-6fcf-4ab6-9d9b-41dd53292ec6/page/p_uy4yssvm0d
–> The first step to oppose such expansion is to learn about any plans for your state, and then connect with others to oppose warehouse detention centers in your state. Connect with local immigrant rights groups and/or local Indivisible chapter to see if there are current efforts already underway to support. To find an Indivisible group in your area, visit https://indivisible.org/groups
–> For the data on who ICE is actually detaining, visit the Cato Institute’s analysis at https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convictions-73-no-convictions
–> For the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on the growth in detention of people with no criminal record, the underlying data analysis is available at https://austinkocher.substack.com/p/show-your-work-the-math-behind-my
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For children’s books that encourage empathy and understanding of Mighty Girl immigrants of the past and present, visit our blog post, “A New Land, A New Life: 25 Mighty Girl Books About the Immigrant Experience” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12855
For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, “Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change,” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364
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For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post “The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426
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