, 06.20.2018 04:51 AM

Why won’t Canada denounce this? Why? (UPDATED!)

It’s the story that made Maddow cry on air.

Read it, here.

And – now – we are also being told that these children are orphans now – they will never be reunited with their parents again.

Trump administration officials have been sending babies and other young children forcibly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border to at least three “tender age” shelters in South Texas, The Associated Press has learned.

Lawyers and medical providers who have visited the Rio Grande Valley shelters described play rooms of crying preschool-age children in crisis. The government also plans to open a fourth shelter to house hundreds of young migrant children in Houston, where city leaders denounced the move Tuesday.

In recent days, some have taken me to task for likening this American regime to Nazis. For saying I hate them. I don’t care: they are like Nazis. And I do hate them.

But what I think doesn’t matter. I’m just a guy with a web site.

What matters is what people with power do and say.

And, so: when will my government – the Canadian government – will finally speak out on this?

When?

UPDATE: And Trudeau condemned it! That is such, such good news.  Proud Canadian, here.

13 Comments

  1. Kevin T. says:

    When this nightmare presidency will be over, the Trump name will be as synonymous with evil has Hitler.

  2. Gyor says:

    Last time Trudeau critized Trumps immigration policies, he accidently created the false impression that the refugees and illegal immigrants could just come to Canada, which caused problems and misunderstandings.

    So he’s gun shy now. He’s not going to risk people misconstruding his critisms of the policy as an invitation to cross the Canadian border.

    I too find Trumps policies inhumane, but some of this IS the responsiblity of illegal immigrates, a country has a right to expect its borders be respected, although he doesn’t have to be so cruel in enforcement given that most of the unwanted immigration is driven not by contempt of American law, but by those deseperate for a future for themselves and their childern. If Trump wanted to do sometjing meaningful on illegal immigration he’d focus on the issues that are driving people away from their home countries in the first place.

    • Ted H says:

      They are driven from their homes partly by American policy in Meso-America. Family farms are disappearing replaced by huge conglomerate farms owned by US companies. They don’t necessarily understand US immigration policy or law even if some of it is posted somewhere in Spanish, some are not educated people, some may be illiterate. They cannot be accused therefore of knowingly committing a criminal act. (Unlike Trump). As you said, they are just people trying to have a better future. They are not vermin infesting the US as T. says.

  3. Ron Benn says:

    If this was about climate change, diversity or gender equality, PM Trudeau’s script writers would have already retrieved the appropriate document from the file server and he would have emoted it for public consumption. Unfortunately, this is not a situation that the script writers had previously identified as a vote capture device, so they have to start from scratch. That takes time, and what with summer vacations on the horizon, well they may get him something in time for Thanksgiving.

    Having gotten my morning sarcasm out of the way, I agree with Mr. Kinsella. Why hasn’t the Government of Canada spoken out against this travesty? Why hasn’t the Government of Canada suggested that the US could accomplish the same outcome while keeping families together, in the same detention centre? This issue IS at the core of human rights. It is a VALUES issue. Where does Canada stand on this?

  4. Luke says:

    I have no answer, except I’d imagine they are treadling lightly so as to not spoil the trade negotiations. Which makes no sense to me, given that negotiations are meaningless wtjbthis administration, and playing nice already didn’t work.

    I hope they have some good reason for this approach, something not apparent to me as a casual observer.

    WWIII and/or American Civil War pt. 2 inches closer.

  5. doconnor says:

    If he where to condemn it, he would be forced to suspend the safe country agreement with the US and lose some voters due to the influx of refugee claimants.

  6. Pedant says:

    I’m skeptical about the bit about children not reunited with their parents. That strikes me as emotive sensationalism. But I’ve learned as well as anyone not to be surprised when it comes to the Trump Administration.

    When people commit crimes, it does not matter whether or not they have children. The law does not let parents off the hook while punishing non-parents (or at least, it isn’t supposed to). The children are clearly blameless, so what is the best way to care for them when their parents are arrested? The Trump Administration has no idea how to handle the situation and making grievous errors. However I have heard precisely zero solutions from the progressive camp. Unless and until the day US borders are declared open to all, illegal crossings will continue to be criminal acts, not to mention a slap in the face to LEGAL immigrants who waited their turn and followed the rules.

    • Ron Benn says:

      Pedant, in response to your question about no solutions being presented, here is one. Detain illegal adult immigrants and their children in the same facility.

      The US is following a law of its own making. If the law is generating consequences that it was not intended to generate, change the law. Congress is sitting. The president is in the Oval Office. The only thing preventing changing the law is the law makers. Unless, of course, the law is generating consequences that were intended.

  7. Matt says:

    Before Trudeau and the media get too elevated on their high horses with the condemnation of what’s happening in the U.S. I wonder if media would want a tour of the Migrant Detention Centre at 111 Disco Road in Etobicoke (Toronto) Ontario to see who’s housed there and what goes on there.

    Canada ain’t innocent in this type of behavior

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