The Immorality of Deportation

 The Immorality of Deportation

What is Deportation?

    Deportation is the act of removing foreigners from a country. Deportation has been an ongoing issue in the U.S. for many years. To this day, thousands of immigrants are stopped from making a better life for themselves due to deportation. Aside from separating families and causing trauma to the victims and their loved ones, the whole process of deportation is a gruesome one for the victims. In the process of deportation, there are many basic human rights that are violated. 

The Process

    As stated before, the process of deportation is a long a gruesome one. Many immigrants who are put through the deportation process, often get stripped of their basic human rights. According to Michael Garcia Bochenek, senior counsel on children’s rights at Human Rights Watch, when immigrants are detained, they are put in cells referred to as “freezers’. The immigrants are forced to sleep on the floor with nothing to to keep them warm from the cold temperature of these cells besides an aluminum blanket. These conditions clearly show how human rights are being violated for each and everyone of these people.

    Another example of the stripping of basic human rights from immigrants during deportation is when handling the immigrants' personal hygiene. According to Amanda Holpuch for theguardian.com, many kids at the Texas Deportation facility were put through inhumane conditions at the center. Attorneys met with some children to ask them about the conditions they were in and reported that some of them had bodily fluids on their clothes such as mucus or breastmilk, some were wearing the same clothes which they had been caught with for weeks and they had no access to basic sanitation. The children were also exposed to extreme cold and didn't have enough access to food or water.

    These are just some of the examples of the struggles immigrants have to go through when being detained and prepared for deportation.

Personal Take

    Personally I have a lot of connection with this issue. My parents, who have been in this country for 22 years, are illegal immigrants. Despite being here for so long, they still run the risk of getting sent back to their home land. To think of not being with them due to their legal status is saddening. I've also had family go through the process of deportation. An uncle of mine got deported about 9 years ago and would tell us that the authorities will put you through harsh conditions in order to get you to sign a paper which confirms you want out of the country instead of fighting your case. It's really a shame that this is what the country has come to. The reason why I chose this issue is to raise awareness about the on going issue that is deportation. This issue affects the community around me because all my life I've grown up around immigrants and people who are at risk of deportation. The population in my neighborhood is majority Latino, and many of us face these legal issues. We keep hoping that one day things will get better.

References

Garcia, M. (2018, March 01). In the Freezer | Abusive Conditions for Women and 

            Children in US Immigration Holding Cells. Retrieved October 26, 2018, from 

            https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/02/28/freezer/abusive-conditions-women-and-

            children-us-immigration-holding-cells

Holpuch, Amanda. “Migrant Children Held in Texas Facility Need Access to Doctors, Says Attorney.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 July 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/08/migrant-children-detention-center-texas-attorney-health-crisis.