Horrifying audio of crying children gives a small idea of the damage these children ripped from the arms of their asylum-seeking parents face—because for those children, it’s not just that few minutes of terror. They are living this, at a vulnerable age when this kind of trauma is likely to do them lasting harm. While some may recover, for others the damage will be lifelong and will shape them not just emotionally but physically:
“Traumatic life experiences in childhood, especially those that involve loss of a caregiver or parent, cause lifelong risk for cardiovascular and mental health disease,” wrote the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
But of course, the terror and suffering of these children right now, just in any one moment that is happening to them, should be enough for us to want them reunited with their parents now, first, right away.
“The earlier they’re out, the better,” [said Mary Dozier, a professor of child development at the University of Delaware]. “The most important thing for these children now is what we do next.”
And “what we do next” is, for the Trump administration, continue shuffling the children around and abusing them and preventing their parents from even knowing where they are, all with no plan to return them. So “what we do next,” for those of us who can see how evil and immoral and cruel this is, is continue to fight.
Can you give $5 to help keep immigrant families together—or bring them back together after separation?