Yesterday, Arizona Representative Adam Kwasman (R) observed a school bus filled with what he believed to be immigrant Mexican children. Kwasman was quite distressed about their condition:
I was able to actually see some of the children in the buses and the fear on their faces.
Visibly upset, Kwasman was emphatic about what he saw, emphasizing it twice:
I saw children. I saw children.
Kwasman's
dramatic eyewitness account is disturbing to say the least, and an investigatigation into just what the Tuscon YMCA is doing to its children at its Triangle Y camp outside of Tuscon is in order.
The children's condition and demeanor was severe enough to provoke outrage from Representative Kwasman:
"This is not compassion. When you aggregate the rule of law, and a secure border, and citizenship and an immigration and naturalization process that works, you don't see this. This is a very sad state of affairs right now." - Rep Adam Kwasman (R)
As it turns out, these frightened children were not Mexican immigrants. In fact, they were American campers headed to the Tuscon YMCA's Triangle-Y camp as part of a program with the
Marana School District.
What were children so afraid of at YMCA Triangle Camp?
Kwasman now acknowledges that the frightened children were not migrant children, but were actually American children. Now that Representative Kwasman knows that these frightened children were attending a YMCA camp, will he call for an investigation? Why were they so frightened?
Satellite image of YMCA Triangle-Y camp, nexus of the alleged abuse.
If the children's frightened demeanor was enough to draw concern about the treatment of immigrant children, shouldn't we be equally concerned about these children now that we know they are American citizens? If Kwasman's allegations are true, the Tucson YMCA, the leaders of Triangle-Y Camp, as well as the Marana School district need to be investigated.
When it comes to the welfare of chidren in the care of others, all allegations of abuse need to be investigated, no matter how spurious. And this is an eyewitness account from a trusted public official about a large group of children that can't just be ignored. The YMCA and the Marana School District have an obligation to conduct a full investigation.
Would you want your kids attending YMCA Triangle-Y camp after hearing Adam Kwasman's description of the children? I wouldn't.