Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts spoke on the House floor Friday, pleading for common decency and morality to prevail during a time when immigrant children are being torn from their mothers/fathers/siblings put in detention centers indefinitely or sent away permanently.
They call this “Trump’s America.” It’s on his watch and under his orders. But more than him, this cruel and inhumane travesty is on the repulsive, self-serving and complicit Republicans in Congress who own the majority. They let Trump do whatever the fuck he wants—as if Americans are going to forget the GOP’s part.
Once again, Joe Kennedy speaks from the heart and it’s powerful. Here is his short CSPAN clip.
Video Clip Transcript:
“Mr. Speaker tonight, children—two, three, four-years-old will sleep alone in cages on American soil. Yes, the brutality being perpetrated by the United States government is about who we are as a country. It’s about morality. It's about humanity. But first, it’s about those kids—the five-year-old boy from Honduras who collapsed on a kitchen door in Michigan sobbing for his parents, the mother who had to listen to her seven-year-old daughter frantically screaming in a detention room next door, as she was hauled away, the three-year-old boy who was put, inconsolable, on a flight to the Midwest after his mother was left behind, a four-month-old baby ripped rom his father’s arms…
I don’t care hat you believe, I don’t care who you vote for, or what you think about the nuances of immigration reform. These children, these babies, need to be with their parents—just like every other child in this country.
Any less is cruelty in its purest form.
And there it is, in speech and text. One more Democratic Congressman stands up and speaks out for what’s right in this country and in this world. Thank you, Congressman Kennedy.
Now please, someone, tell me where are the Republican mothers and fathers and those who call themselves Christians? Where is House Leader Paul Ryan a so-called devout Catholic? Where is VP Mike Pence who is God-fearing. Aw, and don’t forget about Trump who found Jesus when he decided to run for president and who has proven himself to be everything Jesus was against. There are so many more Republicans in government who can stop this, but won’t. By watching and not doing anything, they are directly abusing and terrorizing these children. They do so in way unimaginable to most people and for parents—it’s our worse fear, not knowing were your child, if they’re crying out, if they’re in pain and unable to help them. Republicans allowing this who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ are committing blasphemy. It’s one of the worst sins a Christian can make—using the name of God to harm others. May they be penalized by their pseudo God—because it’s not the Jesus Christ real Christians have come to know.
For the millions who DO care and want to help, Here are some suggestions via the New York Times Editorial Board on what you can do—and how you can take immediate action.
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 Actwould 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.
Lastly, be please be sure to to register now so you don’t miss the deadline—and please vote and remind others to do the same.