Mark Hetfield, CEO of HIAS, described the visits to detention centers and courthouses where migrants are being tried on charges that they entered the country illegally.“It’s heartbreaking to see the way the United States is treating immigrants. It’s not treating them like human beings,” he told JTA in a phone interview from Tijuana.Hetfield, a former immigration lawyer, said members of the delegation witnessed migrants being tried in a court as a group and that some who pleaded guilty to criminal charges lacked proper understanding of the consequences.“It’s really troubling in terms of the lack of due process and the lack of understanding that people have as they’re going through and pleading guilty to these criminal proceedings,” he said.I’m on the ground today with @HIASRefugees heading to the border to bear witness to the crisis at the border & stand in solidarity with immigrants and refugees. #JewsAtTheBorder pic.twitter.com/kEIeKOGdRa
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) August 22, 2018
Nancy Kaufman, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, said visiting a detention center for unaccompanied minors, which held children as young as 6 years old, was “eye opening.”Though she described the shelter as “clean and decent” and the staff as “very caring,” she had concerns about the conditions.“I asked if they go to school. They have school there, but I don’t know how you have meaningful educational programs for that kind of range of kids,” she said.Kaufman referenced the Holocaust in speaking about the importance of the trip.“As Jewish leaders, we need to bear witness. We all committed after the Holocaust to ‘Never again’ — we meant it,” she said. “I think we all live our lives with the belief that every person is made in the image of God, ‘b’tzelem Elohim,’ and should be treated with dignity and respect.”Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL, called the trip “a moral imperative” in a statement to JTA.“In the face of continued harsh policies by the Administration targeting immigrants and asylum seekers, we’re here to learn more about the crisis at the border, listen to the experiences of migrants and asylum seekers escaping violent conditions, and recommit to our advocacy for humane and compassionate immigration policies,” he said.We visited SW Key detention center: 65 unaccompanied minors, who have endured dangerous journeys and are arrested at the border. They are incarcerated. They have no freedom of movement. And they are just children. Hard to keep it together. #JewsAtTheBorder @jstreetdotorg pic.twitter.com/BJt3UzSTAu
— Jess Smith (@JessCantTweet) August 22, 2018
Many Jewish groups have joined progressives and some conservatives in criticizing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, including his executive orders banning citizens from some Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and the since-rescinded policy of separating migrant families at the border.Last week, HIAS organized a letter to Trump urging him to raise the cap on refugees admitted into the country to at least 75,000. The letter was signed by leaders of 36 Jewish groups. Trump set the cap for 2018 at 45,000, a historic low, and is considering a further decrease, The New York Times reported earlier this month.At shelter for migrant women and children in Mexico. 44 beds but 105 people sleeping here. Women fleeing abuse, rape, violence seeking better life for their children. Bearing witness with #jewsattheborder pic.twitter.com/Ip22TCjArY
— Nancy K. Kaufman (@NCJWCEO) August 22, 2018