On CNN, Navid explains the ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He dismantles the false narrative that all families arriving at the U.S. border are doing so illegally. Instead, these individuals are fleeing violence in their home countries and are lawfully seeking asylum in the U.S. Yet, due to a Trump administration immigration policy change, border agents are tearing families apart, separating children from their parents.
In just the past month, border agents have separated 2000 children from their families. As if this separation were not traumatic enough, the government has failed to properly track these children and reunify them with their families. Children have experienced physical and mental abuse in the government facilities and, in some cases, have been released to non-custodial adults who traffic the children for labor.
As more information about this human rights catastrophe has emerged, public outrage has increased. We are a nation of immigrants who should be welcoming those who flee violence and who lawfully ask for our help. Navid’s own personal experience drives his empathy, but he reminds us that many of us need only look back a generation or two to our own immigration story to understand the struggle these individuals experience today. From asylum-seekers, to foreign-national employees working in the U.S., to families seeking reunification with their U.S. citizen relatives, the common thread among these individuals is the hope for a better life and opportunity to realize the American Dream. This is why we will continue to defend the rights of all immigrants, no matter what changes the Trump administration throws our way.
Click here to watch the full video.
