Separation of immigrant families is horrible and inhumane, but unfortunately reuniting these families won’t solve the basic problem: that they’re being detained to begin with.
It’s not illegal to seek asylum and crossing the border illegally is only a misdemeanor — and a nonviolent one at that. Why put these people in detention?
Those seeking asylum are unlikely to be flight risks, because they’ve risked too much to get here. But if that’s believed to be the case, ankle bracelets are much more humane — and cheaper, at $15 per day vs. $600 for detention.
Ankle bracelets work too. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General reported that immigrants wearing them show up for 99 percent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement appointments and 100 percent of court hearings.
The Trump administration’s current “zero-tolerance” policy is not only inhumane, it’s a huge waste of our tax dollars.
Judy Markland
Whately