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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
AKA Smith
Published Letters: 6540 Editor's Choice: 93
I did say that, after I did a search, but in the interests of being perfectly honest the words I typed into google were
Hutto
illegal immigrants
All kinds of stuff came up.
We can play certain games about how we define terms, but I suspect that we would find after searching some more that people who enter the U.S. without benefit of passport or visa are committing an illegal act. Are you saying that once they apply for asylum that their status then changes?
In the little research that I have done, it seems that children in these circumstances were, in the past, sometimes housed with foster families. Then there was a lawsuit about the fact that they were being separated from their families even though nothing proved that these were not good parents.
But where to put them? The LA Times said that the problem was that their parents, if not detained, often disappeared with the children into the great mainstream of undocumented workers and never appeared for court dates. This so-called catch and release program became unpopular with certain right wing elements of Mr. Bush's own party and he became acutely aware of it right before the mid-term elections last year. To appease that element several high visibility busts of undocumented workers occurred, which the anti-immigrant (sometimes racist) bunch applauded, but not sufficiently to overcome the rest of the voters distaste for the war and for people like Abramoff and Mark Foley.
We all know what happened in the mid-term election. The democrats regained control of the legislative branch.
Still, "they" had gathered all these people up and what were they to do with them? They could not let them go after they had decided not to use catch and release anymore. If they housed the children separately from their parents with no just cause, they were in violation.
So now Hutto is no longer labeled a prison. Of course, it is still a prison and the question becomes: Why do we have children -- some of whom are probably legal U.S. citizens in prison -- without any charge? These children did not violate the law, did they?
We can make this a debate about illegal immigration and undocumented workers, or we can acknowledge that, whatever side of the immigration debate you are on, (1) housing (imprisoning) children in this manner is appalling and a form of child abuse and (2) you can't really imprison U.S. citizens no matter what their age without a due process that bears some resembalance to the Rule of Law.
If I am wrong about any particular, please correct me. However, having this discussion become merely a debate over the term "illegal" does not help these children. Keeping this debate specifically about the children, helps the children.
I became curious about this case because I am a former volunteer CASA (Court-Appointed Special Avocate for children) and wanted to see the particulars of the case. This led me to the article linked and from there to the ACLU site concerning the case where I read the judge's order denying adoption and the social worker's investigative report.
The judge's order is a convoluted Catch-22. The petitioner for adoption of the little six year old girl, Emma, is named Elizabeth Hadaway. Hadaway petitioned to be the adoptive parent of the Emma who has lived with her for some time, after having been given to Hadaway by her mother. Why did the judge deny Hadaway's petition? Because she is in a lesbian relationship. (This relationship is apparently stable.) The judge says that Hadaway is really adopting as part of a couple because she is in this relationship. Moreover, that unmarried couples cannot adopt in Georgia. He seems to worry that allow such an adoption would endorse homosexual relationships -- meaning allow them to be recognized as a couple by law -- and that he cannot do.
I think he may be overestimating his influence upon the law itself. It would be hard to overestimate the damage he is doing to Emma who has been taken from a loving home and placed in foster care and who may shortly be moved again to yet another foster care family.
If you are interested in this case, please follow the links to the ACLU site and read the social worker's report on Emma's case. It will break your heart. A little girl who had previously suffered all kinds of abuse including, apparently, real hunger and sexual abuse, was fortunate to find a woman who cares for her and took all the usual responsibilities as a parent to help her heal.
This bigoted judge as decided to play God with her fate and her future for the sake of making a point.
As a former CASA, I am quite familiar with the uncertainties of foster care and I know what a bad report looks like and what a good report looks like. How lucky Emma was to find this woman who loves her and helps her carve the Halloween pumpkin. (See related child's drawing.) How unlucky she will be if she loses her because of the judge's denial of Hadaway's petition for adoption.
Emma should be home with the woman whom she now calls "Mother."
Our feelings are quite similar.
It is unfortunate that our "leaders" are so clueless in their planning. The Bush gang seems to have some sort of problem anticipating outcomes.
Someone asked should the children be released with their parents. Tricky question.
I would say that since the government is not harboring hardened and dangerous criminals that they should indeed release these children with their parents if they cannot find a near immediate and viable solution that gives these children the decent legal consideration they deserve.
That solution would not please everyone. There is no solution that will please everyone. However, while we await funding and more bright ideas from the Homeland Security Administration, we should err on the side of the children.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
