The continuing abhorrent separation of children from family members and incarceration of children is appalling and a human rights violation. The crisis on our U.S. Border is exacerbated by these cruel policies steeped in hatred of immigrants from Latin American countries and Black and Brown immigrants coming via Latin American countries. The camps have been affirmed by Holocaust scholars as parallel to concentration camps. Investigative journalism, advocates, and lawyers working with refugees and asylum seekers show us the consistent terrorism of those fleeing violence—many from domestic and sexual violence. All of these migrants are the survivors we work with everyday in Washington.
The recent Pro Publica story exposing thousands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection current and former agents engaged in racist and misogynistic behavior on a private Facebook group is a clear illustration of the necessity of an intersectional approach to ending sexual and domestic violence. Memes illustrating Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being sexually assaulted by President Trump and jokes about dead migrant children are beyond despicable and show how so clearly how racism and sexism bolster one another and are weaponized in systems.
We may be far from the Southern Border, but Latinx and Black immigrant communities right here in our state are experiencing intense community trauma and the racism representative of the daily, institutional, and historical anti-immigrant sentiment evidenced through microagressions, discrimination, sexual violence, and so many other forms of violence that are woven into our cultural fabric.
WSCADV and WCSAP plan to partner on, and center, policy that is focused on the expansion of immigrant rights, strengthening access to resources for immigrant survivors in 2020.
