Open Letter to Border Patrol Agents
The tragedy that is unfolding on the border is not about their work, but about the dignity and well-being of these children in their custody
By Marielena Hincapié, NILC Executive Director
“Mami! Papi! Mi papi… Por lo menos pa’ que me venga traer mi tía y me lleve a su casa… Papá… Primero, mi papá… Primero, mi papá…”
These were some of the chilling words I heard through the sobs of two Little girls, one from El Salvador the other from Guatemala. The first thing I thought was that I wanted to hug them, find their aunt, their dad, their mom, and reunite them so they could all be together where they belong.
When I heard one of the agents commenting that the orchestra was missing a conductor in response to the kids crying, I thought of writing to you: the border patrol agents I heard in the recording obtained by ProPublica and your colleagues.
I don’t pretend to know what economic necessity or professional ambitions led you to work for the Border Patrol. I imagine that you may see this as simply a job like any other that helps you pay the bills and put food on the table for your family. Despite the fact that my organization (the National Immigration Law Center) has sued the Border Patrol over the last decades and that we have active cases, I am not writing to you as a lawyer but simply as another human being who was unable to sleep last night thinking about these two girls and the rest of the children.
I also thought of you: Were you able to sleep last night? How are you surviving now that you are protagonists in this political war in which the Trump administration has taken almost 2,000 children hostage?
The tragedy that is unfolding at the border is not about your job, it is about the dignity and wellbeing of the children in your custody. Throughout history, there are many examples where people who thought they were simply following orders ended up committing atrocities against humankind.
This is also about your own dignity and humanity not as agents but as fathers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and simply as human beings. As employees of the federal government you are public servants and you work for us, the taxpayers, who pay your salaries (including millions of undocumented immigrants who also pay taxes).
There is still time.
Perhaps you think you are complying with federal law, but the fact is that this change in policy to separate families was created by the president and by Attorney General Sessions.
They have the power to change it immediately.
Similarly, your hands are not tied. You can safeguard your humanity while you protect it for these children. This is the moment in which you can say “enough, I will not obey orders that violate the human rights of these children.”
If you do not find it within your own humanity, dignity, and courage to reject the separation of these families, you will be complicit in the psychological trauma that President Trump is causing these children. You do not have to do the president’s dirty, cruel and inhumane work.
Millions of people in this country and around the world will support you. You will be on the right side of history and justice. Do it for these children, but most importantly, do it for yourself. Don’t let the Trump administration rob you of your dignity and humanity.
The original article was posted to LaOpinion.com.
