Border Policy: Fact v. Myth

In mid-June I made this frustrated post on the internet:

With all the lies being streamed to justify family separation, it can be hard to keep hold of the truth. Yesterday, despite everything I’ve read, I had a moment of confusion about whether parents were being detained on criminal or misdemeanor charges.

Some reminders:
1) Seeking asylum is LEGAL.
2) Crossing the border between ports of entry is a MISDEMEANOR.
3) There is no law that requires family seperation. It is an unnecessary cruelty as of the “zero tolerance” POLICY issued in April.
4) Cruel and inhumane treatment of children and families for any reason is WRONG.
5) Unjust treatment of children and families for the purpose of sending a message of fear to others is WRONG.
6) Families belong together.
7) Children are not bargaining chips.

We are now one month on.

It’s mid-July, and (like many) I have continued to read and gather a deeper understanding of the context for the recent U.S. government-created crisis that culminated in children being separated from their parents, sheltered in detention centers, and facing deportation proceedings on their own. I have learned–not surprisingly–that a great deal of misinformation, sometimes benign, but more often malignant, brought us here and continues to undermine the efforts of those labouring for change and in defense of the vulnerable.

It is important to separate fact from fiction for meaningful progress to be made, not just putting right the most immediate injustice, but going further than that, recalibrating the national conversation on immigration altogether so that we can make informed choices at the polls and our government elected officials can begin creating policies that deal with the actual circumstances, as opposed to policies and politics that cater to groundless fears, to misconceptions, and to phantoms of the racist imagination.

People have been speaking out on this for a while, probably longer than you think, certainly longer than I thought. Though to lesser degree, prior to what I call Trump’s green light on hate crime—horrific injustice had already been taking place on the U.S.-Mexico border for years. It is due to Trump’s gross escalation of inhumane practices, policies, and conditions, that we, that is to say, decent people, are now aware of the current injustice, and the past injustice. The damage done and being done cannot be undone—but it can be stopped, and we CAN move heaven and earth to create change that will protect the vulnerable. I mean, just look at the June 30th marches. We’re doing this.

A collection of border policy fact v. myth–

1. 1. A good place to start is this Facts vs Myths Lesson thread based on information provided by Michelle Martin, PhD California State and then collated on Twitter by Zoe Washburne, @DeepInTheHills. She focuses on refuting the misinformation surrounding the family separation policy itself.

      

   2. You’ll also want to familiarise yourself with this fact sheet by The National Immigration Forum on the family separation policy and practice–Fact Sheet: Family Separation at the U.S.-Mexico Border.
   3. And, for the latest on the reunification of families, including “are parents paying for their own DNA tests to be reunited with their children?” visit Politifact to read their July 12th article: The latest on reunification of families separated at the border, Trump immigration policy.
   4. Then, to clear up some longstanding misconceptions about undocumented migrants, particularly those crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, this, from Lauren Markham‘s book, The Far Away Brothers, (bold text below for emphasis):
      

      The notion that unauthorized immigration into the United States is spiraling ever higher is a myth. In fact, the number of undocumented people rose steadily from around 3.5 million in 1990 to 12.12 million in 2007, but it dropped (owing largely to the economy) to approximately 11.3 million in 2009 and has stayed relatively steady ever since. Of these immigrants, 2.3 million lived in California as of 2014, more than in any other state. But immigrant demographics have changed. In 1990 approximately 525,000 undocumented people living in the United States had come from Central America. By 2011, that number spiked to 1.7 million.

      Another myth is that immigrants . . . do not pay taxes. Taxes are taken out of their paychecks; they pay sales tax on milk and soda and tortillas and cars . . . . When undocumented immigrants use fake or borrowed Social Security cards, they are paying into the real Social Security benefit pool–benefits that they will never receive. Even those without a Social Security number often file tax returns using an individual tax identification number. Had Wilber [a character in the book] owned a house, he’d pay property tax. In 2012, according to the left-leaning American Immigration Council, the undocumented paid $11.8 billion in [California] state taxes alone.

      Of course, undocumented immigrants also avail themselves of public services: schools, roads, and public hospitals. They do not, however, qualify for benefits like welfare (contrary to what is so often charged), or food stamps, or subsidized housing, or health insurance–even under the Affordable Care Act.

 

These are a few of the fact v. myth sources that I have found and valued. If you have any to add, please share them in the comments and we will all benefit.

And, lets continue spreading truth.

Border Reading Blog: Covering current events, books on border crossing, and books on the part the United States played in destabilising Central American countries.