We Must End Trump's War on Migrant Women
We Must End Trump’s War on Migrant Women
These past few months have brought some of the most challenging moments of my life.
Since late May, our team at the Texas Civil Rights Project has been working around the clock, sometimes 18-hour days, fighting the Trump administration’s inhumane approach to immigration and pushing to reunify families torn apart by those policies. We have no plans to stop.
Protestors nationwide took to the streets after Donald Trump’s administration implemented a cruel and dangerous policy that separated migrant families at the U.S. / Mexico border. (Alicia Kay)
Like many working mothers, I’ve felt guilty about not spending more time with my daughter. I worry about what I’m missing in this dynamic toddler period, or if she misses me, even though I always know where she is and who is keeping her safe. But when I hear the stories of our 382 clients—each of whom were ripped from their children and endured sleepless nights not knowing where their children were or whether they were safe—I’m reminded of my privilege and of the importance of our work. It haunts me to know that many of our clients remain separated months after the court-ordered reunification deadline.
The vast majority of our clients who were separated from their children under Trump’s so-called “zero tolerance” immigration policy are mothers who fled unimaginable violence in hopes of keeping their children out of harm’s way. Too many are themselves victims of rape—and in at least one case, our client’s daughter was, too. One of our clients ran to save herself and her 11-year-old son after her husband’s brutal murder by gangs earlier this year; instead of helping her at the Texas border, agents took her son away and told her would she would soon be deported. Thankfully, with the help of volunteer lawyers, we were able to get her released and get her son back so they can pursue their asylum claim, but many women in similar situations will not have such support. Most people go through the immigration process without an attorney, making their chance of success very slim.
Amidst widespread public outcry, Trump formally ended the policy of family separation in late June—but he made no efforts to walk back the larger and more sinister agenda which drove this policy in the first place: the mass prosecutions of immigrants and asylum seekers. Unless and until they are stopped, the Trump administration will continue to target and attack those who pose the greatest threat to their warped vision of America: Black and Brown women, especially mothers.
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Indeed, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was set to expire at the end of September and its status remains unclear, meaning women could lose vital protections. VAWA’s resources and policies have been a godsend for all women suffering domestic violence in the U.S., but especially for immigrant women whose ability to escape an abusive relationship is often more limited. This legislation was reauthorized with bipartisan support several times in the past two decades, but today there is not a single Republican co-sponsor for reauthorization in the House. More alarming, Sessions—the same person who excluded domestic abuse as grounds for asylum and voted against VAWA when he was a Senator—is in control of carrying out its enforcement.
Lines are being crossed that will ultimately destroy the lives of innocent women and children. As a nation, we cannot allow ourselves to look the other way while our government steals children from their mothers’ arms and signs the death warrants of battered women. We must stand up against all proposals that unfairly punish women stemming from this administration’s cruel immigration agenda—starting at the ballot box this November.
http://msmagazine.com/blog/2018/11/01/must-end-trumps-war-migrant-women/
