Ten Democratic senators are protesting Homeland Security's "massive expansion of immigrant family detention, a practice that allows women and children seeking asylum to be locked up and potentially puts them at risk of abuse" by writing to the secretary of Homeland Security. The senators believe the women and children who are seeking asylum are targets of abuse in the detention centers and strongly feel that building more family detention centers may cause a higher number of abuse cases. The proposed facility in Texas is meant to house 2,400 people, which is to help with the influx of illegal immigrants. There were "68,000 family units" who were caught trying to cross the U.S./Mexico border this year, which is an increase of almost 15,000 family units from 2013.
Immigration advocates echo similar statements as the senators and argue some of the families are coming from countries with much violence. They say the families just want to be safe. Advocates also point out that it is harder for the families to receive legal help because many of the detention centers are in rural areas.
I find the Democratic senators' protest to be ridiculous because it has no legal standing. These families are not legal citizens; therefore, they have no rights. I sympathize with the reports of sexual abuse because no one should have to endure that kind of trauma. However, these women would not be sexually abused in the detention centers if they came to the United States legally.The families are making the choice to come to the United States and should face the consequences if they do not follow the law. My opinion may seem callous and cold-hearted to some people, but it is the truth.
