Shakira recently expressed her frustration with the United States “unimaginably cruel immigration policies” that separated 2,800 migrant children and parents at the southern U.S. border in 2018, and have still left 545 children displaced in 2020.
At the time of separation, 60 children were under the age of five.
The “zero tolerance” policy was administered by the Trump administration in 2018.
Watch the video below from 2018 that shows the effects of the ridiculous policy:
By the time a federal judge ordered that the children be reunited with their parents, more than 1000 parents had already been deported.
Shakira penned an open letter to Time Magazine on Friday expressing her frustration with the “zero tolerance” policy.
In ‘the land of the free,’ there are 545 children now stuck in no-man’s-land, at risk of growing up without a mom or dad, 545 children who have to go to sleep without someone to reassure them that they aren’t in danger at any given moment, 545 children who can’t hug, laugh or have any contact with the people they love most.
As a mother, I think about my youngest son, who is now 5. I think about how he cries for me when he skins his knee, and the pain I feel if I am not there to comfort him. Who answers the cries of the children left without their parents?
Policies like family seperation are born out of cruelty. This policy is not about protecting people or making communities safer. The unspeakable tragedy taking place at America’s southern border is about hate and the denial of basic human rights.
Speaking up isn’t always easy, especially when one is not an American citizen and can be perceived as an outsider commenting on domestic policies. However, the United States’ decisions affect us all, even more so when children’s lives are on the line. So it becomes a common and urgent responsibility to share the stories of these families, no matter where they are from. Now is not the time to be silent.
Shakira’s words are heartfelt and sincere, and I’m sure many of you feel the same about the “zero tolerance” policy.
At this point we have to pray that those 545 children are reunited with their parents, and vote for an administration that will not allow a “zero tolerance” policy.
There is a team of lawyers still working to find the parents of the 545 children who have been displaced.
