Donald Trump and his administration have been actively separating children from children from their parents when they attempt to cross the border without documentation.
Trump and his conspirators continue to deny this policy in spite of several exposes on the conditions inside the concentration camps for the young refugees. Just this morning, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen tweeted “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.”
The great-grandnephew of former President John F. Kennedy caught wind of this deliberate falsehood and swooped in to correct Ms. Nielsen by quoting someone who works closely by her side:
Your colleague Stephen Miller referred to this policy as “a simple decision.” You might want to let him know. https://t.co/GxyzG1QrmZ
— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) June 17, 2018
“Your colleague Stephen Miller referred to this policy as “a simple decision”,” he states. “You might want to let him know.”
Rep. Joe Kennedy III is referring to an interview which Miller, the talking forehead and demonic mastermind behind Trump’s most insidious anti-immigration policies, delivered to the New York Times a few short days ago.
Miller isn’t the only Trump team member to contradict Nielsen on the policy. In the beginning of May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke at a press conference where he introduced the “no tolerance” border policy.
“If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law,” Sessions said Monday. “If you don’t like that, then don’t smuggle children over our border.”
Aware of all the obvious contradictions to Nielsen’s statement, Kennedy continued his criticism of Nielsen’s lie. He is among several democratic leaders who have traveled to or spoken with officials along the American southwest border to make sense of the misleading information pouring forth from the White House, which he addressed in a follow up tweet:
If this isn’t the White House policy, please tell the officials who I spoke with in Tornillo today who believe it is. Either own it or change it. Scratch that – just change it. #KeepFamiliesTogether https://t.co/GxyzG1QrmZ
— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) June 17, 2018
“If this isn’t the White House policy, please tell the officials who I spoke with in Tornillo today who believe it is,” tweeted Kennedy, referring to a community in Texas which will soon be used to house children in tents in the desert heat.
“Either own it or change it. Scratch that – just change it,” he added before finishing with the hashtag #KeepFamiliesTogether.
What is most interesting about Nielsen’s tweet is that unlike most Trump scandals which unravel after someone slips the truth, Nielsen lied after two separate instances of high-ranking members of Trump’s cabinet had publicly confirmed and celebrated the policy. She also tweeted on a Sunday – Father’s Day, no less – when reports of the practice have been in the mainstream news cycle for nearly a week.
Thankfully, there are some out there like Kennedy who are doing more than tweeting for these kids – they’re taking action against Trump’s abhorrent policies.
If you’d like to help Rep. Kennedy and all of the democrats fighting for the rights of these children, visit the ACLU’s website for more information.
Trump can only win when he successfully makes us silent. Speak up.
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