We have a humanitarian crisis on our border with Mexico. We all know it. We have all read reports of children still being taken from their parents, reports of physical and sexual abuse, and reports of terrible overcrowding in detention centers. In other words, people are being treated inhumanely and cruelly. This has to stop. There has been extraordinary secrecy and little to no oversight by Congress.
Alaska’s elected representatives, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and U.S. Rep. Don Young, must intervene in this enormous problem. According to a recent article in Newsweek, ICE is currently holding 50,000 people in custody, and there are more coming every day. It is up to our representatives with the power of their official positions to investigate the reports of cruelty and abuse, and to do something about it. NOW.
We need dedicated funds for more judges, social workers, translators and other staff. There are human rights abuses happening now and the more people who come, the more abuses will continue, because it is obvious that there is no plan to deal with this crisis.
We hold other countries accountable for their human rights abuses, yet we are turning a blind eye to the callous indifference with which these people who are seeking asylum are being treated. This is becoming a shameful chapter in the history of our country.
Bridget Smith,
Juneau
• My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.