(Note: This article is categorized as an Op-Ed. As such, all opinions are that of staff writer Kelsey Byrd’s, and do not reflect the ideas or thoughts of Memorial High School nor the MHS Journalism staff team as a whole.)

No matter what place one calls home, a dark history of unrepentant brutality and viciously served inequality are sure to be a part of any country’s history. The past is often heavily morbid; a somber reminder of the inexplicable circumstances our ancestors faced. With that said, the majority of the world acknowledges their past mistakes, their previous rabid dictators, and then work to move on to make a hospitable, peaceful current state of being. But what if it’s not the past, but the present, that brings forth tales of human cruelty? For the United States, this is the case as the country grapples with how to properly treat immigrants. 

Immigration has long since been a common-place source of conversation at American dinner tables. But rarely has it been so heavily (and rightfully) scrutinized as it is now, as President Donald Trump stands without reluctance behind his sickeningly harsh treatment of migrants. For example, the border stations that litter the Texas border have been described as nothing short of hell. “Children as young as 7 and 8, many of them wearing clothes caked with snot and tears, are caring for infants they’ve just met,” Caitlin Dickerson writes for the New York Times, “Most of the young detainees have not been able to shower or wash their clothes since they arrived at the facility, those who visited said. They have no access to toothbrushes, toothpaste or soap.” Descriptions like the aforementioned are both heart-wrenching and abundant; all it takes is a simple Google search and you’ll find hundreds of articles that detail the same barbaric experiences faced by children. 

The famous German poem “First They Came,” which tells the story of a man living in Nazi Germany who took no action while minority groups were targeted, has been a consistent reminder to later generations of the nescessity of speaking up. Furthermore, some people boast on how they would have never been swayed by the evil influential powers at play during times of strife, but would have been a force of resistance. Well now, in American soil, innocent lives are being jeopardized and the time to use your voice is now. I have listed a link below that will assist you on how to help advocate for immigrants. Cruelty to immigrants cannot persist as long as the American people unite together in opposition; and where there is unity, there is hope. 

https://www.change.org/t/immigrant-rights-en-us