Thread by @TobyGialluca

Thread:

Since Trump's family separation policies began, I've been to ICE detention centers, CBP processing centers & the encampment at Matamoros. Prior to my first visit I had never witnessed a humanitarian crisis. I had never been to a war zone, or witnessed genocide.

I can not say the same today. I have seen the intentional infliction of trauma on innocent children on American soil by a government acting in all of our names. And that government has lied to you. These aren't drug dealers or rapists coming for you.

These are families fleeing unspeakable violence. Children traveling alone thousands of miles with no money, no resources, who are beaten, raped, kidnapped and forced into manual labor along the way.

Only to arrive at the border seeking out CBP in order to present themselves for asylum - WHICH IS THE LEGAL PROCESS FOR CLAIMING ASYLUM.

Many of these children have babies of their own, the result of being raped by gang members in their country of origin. What these children have witnessed and endured haunts me.

When they arrive, they are striped of possessions & even clothing.

They are taken to the "Dog Pound" where they roast in the Texas sun and/or the "Freezer" where they are kept in cages and frigid temperatures. They are separated from their families and treated in ways that make me question the very existence of God in humanity.

Despite the worst of this coming to light last year, despite the courts repeatedly striking down these policies as illegal, the Trump Administration continues to implement new and horrific policies created to result in the cruelest possible treatment of asylum seekers.

Family separation & child detention continue. COVID-19 runs unabated through these facilities & the camp at Matamoros.

You can't be pro-life and support these policies
You can't claim to be spiritual and support these policies.
Ignorance is a choice and silence is complicity.

What I have witnessed; the capacity for evil that lives in humanity juxtaposted with the bravery, resilience and kindness of the persecuted and those that reach out to support them, has changed me in more ways than I can articulate.

To my friends & family that have supported & accompanied me on this journey, I hold a special place of gratitude in my heart for you.

To the army of attys, med. profs & activists that fight every day for rule of law & humanity, I am humbled by your work & forever grateful

To those of you on the sidelines, knowledge is power. We must normalize the ability to take in new information and change our minds. #DontLookAway

@Lights4Liberty
@DontLookAwayPAC