OPINION: Immigration and Border Security
Ava Neugebauer
Yes this is a very controversial topic, but some things about this must be talked about.
Not everyone knows this but a boy from Brazil, who was not named in any files, was separated from his father for 400 days. Along with those days, his father was deported from America and sent back to Brazil all with his son not even knowing. He was sent on plane to be reunited with his father in September. He had two birthdays while being detained. He was 13 in June and now he is 15. Two years of his life were spent being detained in the U.S. and not seeing his father.
Everyone has been focused on the men and women in detention seeking asylum. However, there is something that should be talked about that is equally just as big of a problem: The mental health of the children in detention.
A lot of the children are showing signs of PTSD, depression, separation disorder, and other mental illnesses. Children are threatening to kill themselves if they don’t see their parents. Some people may say, “Oh people threaten to do that every day that isn’t a big deal.” Well obviously that should be fixed, but kids who don’t know anything about where they are and where their parents are shouldn’t have to threaten to kill themselves for answers.
Children as young as 10 months are being separated from their mothers. Ten months! No child that young should be stripped from their mother, who may or may not be breastfeeding them.
In a Propublica article, letters written from 11-year-old children are shown. In the letters it has quotes like, “The American dream is the worst nightmare. It’s sad to realize that all of our faith and hope was in this country that everyone said was a country where there was justice, where everyone was free. I’m very afraid that they won’t let us stay.” They are 11 and have thoughts like this.
These young beautiful minds have been stripped from love, family, proper care, and schooling.
The sad present can lead to a worse future. Abuse of substances, mental illnesses, and learning disabilities. Dr. Paul Spiegel, the director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says this trauma can change the architecture of the brain. Since they kids are so stressed about everything they are constantly in the fight-or-flight stage. With this, an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study has shown that kids who were under stress found an increase in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even earlier death. This is all said in an article by Newsweek.
I emailed U.S. Senator Pat oomey about this problem to ask if there is anything he can do. He said his parents were immigrants from Ireland, but he dodged the fact about what my email is about. He just wrote about all the policies that I am already aware of and dodged the mental illness aspect.
Everyone mentions “job stealing” and overpopulation as immigration concerns. What about mental health of the children who may or may not spend YEARS in the detentions centers?
All sources cited:
Cohen,Jodi S. ,Sanchez,Melissa and Eldeib, Duaa.“Here’s What Happened to the 99 Immigrant Children Separated From Their Parents and Sent to Chicago.”ProPublica Illinois,Alo, Katlyn,ProPublica Illinois,September 10th,2018 5 a.m.,.(pp.1). https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-zero-tolerance-separated-immigrant-children-chicago
Wapner, Jessica.“Immigrant Children Separated At Border Could Suffer Depression, Disease And Even Earlier Death, Doctor Says”.Newsweek,June 20, 2018 ,https://www.newsweek.com/immigrant-children-separated-border-could-suffer-depression-disease-and-even-987292
Not everyone knows this but a boy from Brazil, who was not named in any files, was separated from his father for 400 days. Along with those days, his father was deported from America and sent back to Brazil all with his son not even knowing. He was sent on plane to be reunited with his father in September. He had two birthdays while being detained. He was 13 in June and now he is 15. Two years of his life were spent being detained in the U.S. and not seeing his father.
Everyone has been focused on the men and women in detention seeking asylum. However, there is something that should be talked about that is equally just as big of a problem: The mental health of the children in detention.
A lot of the children are showing signs of PTSD, depression, separation disorder, and other mental illnesses. Children are threatening to kill themselves if they don’t see their parents. Some people may say, “Oh people threaten to do that every day that isn’t a big deal.” Well obviously that should be fixed, but kids who don’t know anything about where they are and where their parents are shouldn’t have to threaten to kill themselves for answers.
Children as young as 10 months are being separated from their mothers. Ten months! No child that young should be stripped from their mother, who may or may not be breastfeeding them.
In a Propublica article, letters written from 11-year-old children are shown. In the letters it has quotes like, “The American dream is the worst nightmare. It’s sad to realize that all of our faith and hope was in this country that everyone said was a country where there was justice, where everyone was free. I’m very afraid that they won’t let us stay.” They are 11 and have thoughts like this.
These young beautiful minds have been stripped from love, family, proper care, and schooling.
The sad present can lead to a worse future. Abuse of substances, mental illnesses, and learning disabilities. Dr. Paul Spiegel, the director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says this trauma can change the architecture of the brain. Since they kids are so stressed about everything they are constantly in the fight-or-flight stage. With this, an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study has shown that kids who were under stress found an increase in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even earlier death. This is all said in an article by Newsweek.
I emailed U.S. Senator Pat oomey about this problem to ask if there is anything he can do. He said his parents were immigrants from Ireland, but he dodged the fact about what my email is about. He just wrote about all the policies that I am already aware of and dodged the mental illness aspect.
Everyone mentions “job stealing” and overpopulation as immigration concerns. What about mental health of the children who may or may not spend YEARS in the detentions centers?
All sources cited:
Cohen,Jodi S. ,Sanchez,Melissa and Eldeib, Duaa.“Here’s What Happened to the 99 Immigrant Children Separated From Their Parents and Sent to Chicago.”ProPublica Illinois,Alo, Katlyn,ProPublica Illinois,September 10th,2018 5 a.m.,.(pp.1). https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-zero-tolerance-separated-immigrant-children-chicago
Wapner, Jessica.“Immigrant Children Separated At Border Could Suffer Depression, Disease And Even Earlier Death, Doctor Says”.Newsweek,June 20, 2018 ,https://www.newsweek.com/immigrant-children-separated-border-could-suffer-depression-disease-and-even-987292