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President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions began their campaign against immigrants with the dog whistle of MS-13, in language reminiscent of the racist, dehumanizing vitriol often directed at black children.
The cages are nothing new to Black parents. Their kids are locked up at a rate as high as 30 times more than white children even though Black and white kids commit most offenses at similar rates.
But their kids aren't called kids. Their kids are super-predators or juveniles or gang bangers or thugs. Their kids are threatening when walking with a bag of skittles or smoking weed or getting into a fight or going to a diner after the prom or driving around with friends or going to a pool party or playing in the park -- things that all kids do but when their kids do it, it's criminal. It's dangerous. It's met with a 911 call, police, handcuffs, bullets, surveillance, or prison cells. Separation.
And so their kids know the horrors of being caged. Know the horrors of being torn from their parents and sisters. And their mothers and fathers know what it's like to have their child -- who they still kiss goodnight, who they still have to remind to do their homework, who they still steal a look at before going to bed -- caged.
The weapon of incarceration that terrorizes Black families has been turned against people from South and Central America who are fleeing unspeakable violence. Racism - the lifeblood of the Trump presidency -- fuels and sustains both systems.
President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions began their campaign against immigrants with the dog whistle of MS-13, in language reminiscent of the racist vitriol directed at Black children, including by President Trump when he called for the execution of the Central Park Five in 1989. Animals, bad hombres. And then, with a pivot and a wink, all people crossing the border were deemed criminals.
There is no more virulent weapon the United States possesses than its incarceration system and no more damning label than criminal. This weapon is being used to carry out a system of ethnic exclusion, to terrify anyone who considers coming to the United States from South and Central America. For if you do, the system warns, know what awaits you.
It is a system that so dehumanizes those carrying out these policies that they mock the cries of children who have had their parents taken from them. It is a system steeped in a cruelty that knows no bounds. It is a system that anyone who has been labelled a criminal or works in the criminal legal system knows all too well. They see the wounds and say -- Yes, I have those too. Here and here and here.
It is a system that rounds up and deports long-term residents, that snatches up parents on their way to work or after dropping their kids at school, that lurks at courthouses, that combs through old citizenship applications, that ends DACA, that strips asylum protections and due process from victims of domestic and gang violence. It is part of the same system that, before Trump, imprisoned families seeking asylum and argued that children could represent themselves in court. It is a system that many of us remained silent in condemning for far too long.
The literal and metaphorical knock on the door is a tool of an autocratic state. Wherever you may be, know the State can take your freedom or your life, steal you away from all you know and love, strip you of your identity as a child or parent or sister or brother. It is a power and a terror far too many live with every day. And it is a terror that did not begin with Trump and Sessions but it is one we must work, in solidarity with all its victims, to ensure ends now.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The cages are nothing new to Black parents. Their kids are locked up at a rate as high as 30 times more than white children even though Black and white kids commit most offenses at similar rates.
But their kids aren't called kids. Their kids are super-predators or juveniles or gang bangers or thugs. Their kids are threatening when walking with a bag of skittles or smoking weed or getting into a fight or going to a diner after the prom or driving around with friends or going to a pool party or playing in the park -- things that all kids do but when their kids do it, it's criminal. It's dangerous. It's met with a 911 call, police, handcuffs, bullets, surveillance, or prison cells. Separation.
And so their kids know the horrors of being caged. Know the horrors of being torn from their parents and sisters. And their mothers and fathers know what it's like to have their child -- who they still kiss goodnight, who they still have to remind to do their homework, who they still steal a look at before going to bed -- caged.
The weapon of incarceration that terrorizes Black families has been turned against people from South and Central America who are fleeing unspeakable violence. Racism - the lifeblood of the Trump presidency -- fuels and sustains both systems.
President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions began their campaign against immigrants with the dog whistle of MS-13, in language reminiscent of the racist vitriol directed at Black children, including by President Trump when he called for the execution of the Central Park Five in 1989. Animals, bad hombres. And then, with a pivot and a wink, all people crossing the border were deemed criminals.
There is no more virulent weapon the United States possesses than its incarceration system and no more damning label than criminal. This weapon is being used to carry out a system of ethnic exclusion, to terrify anyone who considers coming to the United States from South and Central America. For if you do, the system warns, know what awaits you.
It is a system that so dehumanizes those carrying out these policies that they mock the cries of children who have had their parents taken from them. It is a system steeped in a cruelty that knows no bounds. It is a system that anyone who has been labelled a criminal or works in the criminal legal system knows all too well. They see the wounds and say -- Yes, I have those too. Here and here and here.
It is a system that rounds up and deports long-term residents, that snatches up parents on their way to work or after dropping their kids at school, that lurks at courthouses, that combs through old citizenship applications, that ends DACA, that strips asylum protections and due process from victims of domestic and gang violence. It is part of the same system that, before Trump, imprisoned families seeking asylum and argued that children could represent themselves in court. It is a system that many of us remained silent in condemning for far too long.
The literal and metaphorical knock on the door is a tool of an autocratic state. Wherever you may be, know the State can take your freedom or your life, steal you away from all you know and love, strip you of your identity as a child or parent or sister or brother. It is a power and a terror far too many live with every day. And it is a terror that did not begin with Trump and Sessions but it is one we must work, in solidarity with all its victims, to ensure ends now.
The cages are nothing new to Black parents. Their kids are locked up at a rate as high as 30 times more than white children even though Black and white kids commit most offenses at similar rates.
But their kids aren't called kids. Their kids are super-predators or juveniles or gang bangers or thugs. Their kids are threatening when walking with a bag of skittles or smoking weed or getting into a fight or going to a diner after the prom or driving around with friends or going to a pool party or playing in the park -- things that all kids do but when their kids do it, it's criminal. It's dangerous. It's met with a 911 call, police, handcuffs, bullets, surveillance, or prison cells. Separation.
And so their kids know the horrors of being caged. Know the horrors of being torn from their parents and sisters. And their mothers and fathers know what it's like to have their child -- who they still kiss goodnight, who they still have to remind to do their homework, who they still steal a look at before going to bed -- caged.
The weapon of incarceration that terrorizes Black families has been turned against people from South and Central America who are fleeing unspeakable violence. Racism - the lifeblood of the Trump presidency -- fuels and sustains both systems.
President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions began their campaign against immigrants with the dog whistle of MS-13, in language reminiscent of the racist vitriol directed at Black children, including by President Trump when he called for the execution of the Central Park Five in 1989. Animals, bad hombres. And then, with a pivot and a wink, all people crossing the border were deemed criminals.
There is no more virulent weapon the United States possesses than its incarceration system and no more damning label than criminal. This weapon is being used to carry out a system of ethnic exclusion, to terrify anyone who considers coming to the United States from South and Central America. For if you do, the system warns, know what awaits you.
It is a system that so dehumanizes those carrying out these policies that they mock the cries of children who have had their parents taken from them. It is a system steeped in a cruelty that knows no bounds. It is a system that anyone who has been labelled a criminal or works in the criminal legal system knows all too well. They see the wounds and say -- Yes, I have those too. Here and here and here.
It is a system that rounds up and deports long-term residents, that snatches up parents on their way to work or after dropping their kids at school, that lurks at courthouses, that combs through old citizenship applications, that ends DACA, that strips asylum protections and due process from victims of domestic and gang violence. It is part of the same system that, before Trump, imprisoned families seeking asylum and argued that children could represent themselves in court. It is a system that many of us remained silent in condemning for far too long.
The literal and metaphorical knock on the door is a tool of an autocratic state. Wherever you may be, know the State can take your freedom or your life, steal you away from all you know and love, strip you of your identity as a child or parent or sister or brother. It is a power and a terror far too many live with every day. And it is a terror that did not begin with Trump and Sessions but it is one we must work, in solidarity with all its victims, to ensure ends now.