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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIt is a violation of the 8th Amendment of the Constitution
Separating children from their parents is a violation of the 8th Amendment of the Constitution.
The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause also applies to the states.
SHRED
(28,136 posts)OhNo-Really
(3,985 posts)SHRED
(28,136 posts)Fucking dumbasses running this country.
Wicked for sure.
leftstreet
(36,078 posts)they could do some 'checking' and 'balancing' of the Orange Anus Mouth's administration
oh wait...
pazzyanne
(6,518 posts)and disgusting!
Lindsay
(3,276 posts)the White House web site featured the Bill of Rights. But in place of references to people or persons, the White House version referred to citizens.
Because apparently Trump and his minions believe that Constitutional rights only apply to citizens.
And so far they're mostly getting away with that.
pazzyanne
(6,518 posts)a statement. repugs are experts in using this techniques and naïve people do not get it.
Volaris
(10,260 posts)That Rights come from Gawd has been abandoned by their party. Good I'm gonna use that against them every damn chance I get--especially when the evangelicals start in about TehGayz and Teh 'Borshuns. I'm tired of their bullshit.
xmas74
(29,658 posts)WWJD every damn chance I get. I'll pull up passages if need be.
Hartzler is over the phone only since her staff have repeatedly told people to leave. Blunt, otoh-well,maybe it's time for another visit to his Springfield office.
thbobby
(1,474 posts)loves the constitution when they can use it to justify their vile policies. Loves the bible when they can use it to justify crimes against humanity. But, you know, FUCK the constitution or bible when it gets in the way of their evil. Hypocrites to the bone. Nazis in their soul.
SHRED
(28,136 posts)pazzyanne
(6,518 posts)Ummm, they are not doing the job they were elected to do. In fact, they are in violation of their oath to uphold the constitution. Therefore they are negligent in their duty to the people of the United States no matter what "side" those people might be on. Believe it or not, the constitution is for all people in the United States, not just the majority party at the time.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)I dont think this avenue of attack will work.
LeftInTX
(24,549 posts)They also are not reuniting parents with kids once they have been deported.
What is going to happen to these unclaimed kids?
At least a child can be placed in CPS if a parent is incarcerated and legalities about the child can be determined via the courts. Here is it just mass detention of kids.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)And if you read up on what is actually happening with these kids- and not the hype- there are essentially being placed with the equivalent of CPS, but in a Federal system.
LeftInTX
(24,549 posts)When a kid is in CPS every effort is made for them to stay in contact with their parents. DUI, Assault, DV put kids in harms way. Border crossing is more like shoplifting or writing a bad check.
Years ago, I worked as a nurse in newborn nursery. (County hospital)
We implemented a zero tolerance policy also.
Moms were given tox screen. If positive, their child was placed with CPS, but parents still had contact with their children. Almost all of the time a grandparent was given temporary custody. Every effort was made to reunite the parents.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)What I am finding (and its difficult to find reliable sources) is that the parents are arrested and the kids go into care of HHS since they cant go to jail with the parents.
The parents are processed through the system, given due process, and almost always at their hearing plea guilty to misdemeanor illegal entry. They are warned that the next illegal entry is a felony with long jail time, sentence given is time served, then they are reunited with the kids and deported.
duforsure
(11,882 posts)csziggy
(34,120 posts)By Jenny Samuels, Editorial Staff, ACLU
June 14, 2018 | 5:45 PM
In an interview with the LA Times published early Monday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan set out to clarify CBPs systematic practice of separating children from their parents at the border. Rather than provide real clarification, however, McAleenans comments continued the trend of Trump administration officials attempting to justify this unprecedented and horrific policy by spinning the truth and, worse, by making specious claims with little to no basis in fact.
When asked how CBP was handling family separations, McAleenan at first forcefully denied that an official policy regarding separating children from parents even exists: We do not have a policy of administrative separation. But, this is misleading. While the statement is technically true the administrations new zero-tolerance policy does not explicitly mention family separation in practice, it is meaningless. Prosecuting every person who crosses the border somewhere other than a port of entry necessitates criminal detention. If a person has children with her, that necessitates taking the children away. As the AP has noted, while separating families might not be official U.S. policy, it is a direct consequence of Sessions zero-tolerance approach.
<SNIP>
There is our client, Ms. L, for example, who, despite following the governments own instructions for seeking asylum crossing at an official port of entry had her 7-year-old daughter taken from her with no explanation. The two were not reunited until 4 months later, and only after the ACLU filed a lawsuit and a federal judge ordered a DNA test, which proved maternity. Then there is Mirian G., who also sought asylum at a port of entry, and yet still had her 18-month-old son taken from her for over two months. In that case, Border Patrol agents ordered Mirian to strap her baby into a car seat while refusing to answer her repeated questions about why they were being separated. When McAleenan cites hundreds of cases in which there was suspected smuggling, it undoubtedly includes stories like those of our clients.
<SNIP>
If the Trump administrations real priority was to ensure the wellbeing of children, then it would not have ended the Family Case Management Program, which allowed families to be released together, but into a program that would ensure that they appeared for court proceedings. Again, this is not a loophole, but rather an alternative to family separation that prevented needless and expensive detention. Moreover, it was hugely effective: The initiative boasted a 99.6 percent appearance rate at immigration court hearings for those enrolled in the program.
More: https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/border-patrol-commissioner-kevin-mcaleenans
Donate: https://www.aclu.org/donate-aclu
Duppers
(28,094 posts)scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)So, I want to thank you for your post, because for whatever reason, it just hit me at the right time, in the right mood, and in the right financial condition.
And it's a great feeling of relief to have finally done something I've felt guilty about not doing for years.
kimmylavin
(2,284 posts)After reading your post, I realized that the same was true for me, and now would definitely be the time.
So thank you for that.
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)Now we both can feel good!
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,787 posts)spike91nz
(180 posts)The immigrants are not citizens and in many cases they have not made it into the country. The right has argued that the constitutional rights do not apply to non-citizens. This is one of the reasons they are considering removing US from U.N. human rights agreement. Granted, Israels behavior factors in, but they want rights granted by authority rather than assumed natural rights. If no international authority and constitution only applies to citizens then they apparently expect to get away with inhumane treatment.
question everything
(47,264 posts)Not a legal maven but I think that there have been cases when such arguments won - certainly in the right leaning court
DallasNE
(7,392 posts)It should have abolished slavery, prohibited waterboarding and even the police tactics NFL players call to attention by taking a knee. Indeed, money has pretty much gutted the Bill of Rights.
Duppers
(28,094 posts)LeftInTX
(24,549 posts)Even then a defendant won a case against the govt.
Police tactics are a tough issue. Police can always claim they felt their life was threatened. They go to court and often the cop wins. Not that it is right, but it is difficult. In the immigration cases, they are deliberately doing this. No one in ICE is having their life threatened. It is not an emergency. It is cruel and unusual because it just too extreme for the crime.
As for slavery....yeah..I agree..
neeksgeek
(1,214 posts)The president* has clearly stated that Hispanics are not people [tm]. Therefore they can be rounded up and split into groups like cattle. Besides, as long as the Second Amendment is left unsullied by librul corropshun, who cares about the other amendments? I mean, how many of those are there, really? Ten? Like the Commandments?
in case anybody doubted my satirical intentions here.
yuiyoshida
(41,759 posts)Who is going to enforce it? how ... how?? FBI? DOJ? Trump believes he is above the law...and maybe he is.. I just don't know..does anyone??
FakeNoose
(32,345 posts)What can he possibly mean by that?
I mean, besides his standard deflection of blaming his enemies for everything he does.
Is there any US law that allows separating children from their parents, when the parents don't have US citizenship?
OhNo-Really
(3,985 posts)What consequences has Don been meted for lying to the world?
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)shraby
(21,946 posts)Algernon Moncrieff
(5,780 posts)Not saying you are wrong. Just keeping it real.
onenote
(42,374 posts)Civil detention without due process of law.