The People Orchestrating This Policy Should Be in the Hague

By Charles Pierce, Esquire

14 October 18

Yeah, they're Americans. Send them to the International Criminal Court, and send the kids back to their families.

verybody involved in this policy should sleep tonight in a bunk bed in The Hague. From The New Yorker:

According to a long-standing legal precedent known as the Flores settlement, which established guidelines for keeping children in immigration detention, Helen had a right to a bond hearing before a judge; that hearing would have likely hastened her release from government custody and her return to her family. At the time of her apprehension, in fact, Helen checked a box on a line that read, “I do request an immigration judge,” asserting her legal right to have her custody reviewed.

But, in early August, an unknown official handed Helen a legal document, a “Request for a Flores Bond Hearing,” which described a set of legal proceedings and rights that would have been difficult for Helen to comprehend. (“In a Flores bond hearing, an immigration judge reviews your case to determine whether you pose a danger to the community,” the document began.) On Helen’s form, which was filled out with assistance from officials, there is a checked box next to a line that says, “I withdraw my previous request for a Flores bond hearing.” Beneath that line, the five-year-old signed her name in wobbly letters.

Double-talking a kindergartner out of her rights. Now, that's the way to be a great nation on the world stage. That's making American great again.