Seeking asylum is legal

Bill Bell
In Interesting Times
2 min readJun 7, 2018

These people followed all the rules. They crossed into the United States at an official port of entry and applied for asylum. They were allowed into the country so that their request could be processed. Their kids were then taken away and moved to a facility across the country. They haven’t seen them in more than a month.

This isn’t “zero tolerance” against people breaking the law. This isn’t doing away with “catch and release.”

These people were fleeing violence and trying to protect their kids — just like many of us would, were we in their position. We are lying to them, abusing them, and taking their children away from them. We. All of us. This is being done in our names.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions tries to explain this away. “And every time somebody…gets prosecuted in America for a crime, American citizens, and they go to jail, they’re separated from their children.”

That’s a dodge of the most cynical and damaging kind.

Crossing the border illegally is a misdemeanor in the vast majority of cases. I wouldn’t be separated from my children were I convicted of vandalism, drunk driving, a bar fight, or carrying pot. Furthermore, in the case of asylum seekers, they have not broken the law and are not being prosecuted.

Seeking asylum is legal. Respecting the dignity of asylum seekers is moral and humane.

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Bill Bell
In Interesting Times

Bill Bell is a writer and higher-education marketing professional who lives in Champaign, Illinois.