Veterans For Peace strongly condemns
Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy,
the imprisonment of children, and criminalization
of undocumented immigrants.
Our immigration laws and enforcement
tactics have long been at a crisis point and
we are now witnessing even more draconian
enforcement and criminalization of people
seeking refuge.
Veterans For Peace recognizes that these
orders did not happen in a vacuum, but
represent a long history of racist and violent
policy that has perpetuated U.S. wars across
the world and horrific domestic policy that
created ICE, massive immigration detention
centers and a wall that already splits
towns and separates friends and families.
However, the Trump administration has escalated,
at an alarming pace, the implementation
of new dangerous measures. President
Trump is moving to fulfill on the promises
of his campaign that caused an upsurge of
hateful sentiment in our nation and spurred
a rise in fear and anger.
Veterans For Peace understands that this
outrageous abuse of refugee children and
their parents is an extension of historic
and current U.S. intervention in Central
America. The U.S. government conducts
military interventions, orchestrates coup
d’etats, and supports oligarchs and dictators.
The CIA, NED and USAID pursues regime
change for any Latin American government
that will not bow to U.S. economic
exploitation of their land and their people.
This too must end. It is time for the U.S.
to have a just foreign policy that treats our
neighbors with fairness and compassion.
At a time when refugees who are fleeing
U.S.-sponsored violence are being branded
as criminals, rapists and terrorists, and as
anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to poison
the public discourse, it is important for
people of conscience to take a stand and
to offer a different narrative.
Instead of welcoming refugees as required
under international humanitarian standards,
the U.S. government is treating individuals
and families fleeing to the U.S. as if
they are criminals, imprisoning them for
profit. Moreover, the U.S. “solution” to the
so-called child migrant crisis has been to
further militarize the borders of Mexico
and Central America and to jail families
indefinitely.
We need to build grassroots power to chal- lenge the racist status quo and we need to
take action. We applaud those who have
already taken action across the country, from
Portland to D.C. We can not remain silent
about the connections between militarized
U.S. foreign policy and the reasons why
people flee here for their lives.
From: www.veteransforpeace.org
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