I hope you enjoyed the fireworks on Memorial Field, the parade and related activities on the 3rd and 4th of July.

So much has happened in the last ten days, with most of us left disheartened. How is it possible that the U S Government detains children without providing toothbrushes, soap, showers, hot food, medical attention, not even mattresses to sleep on.

These conditions amount to child abuse at its worst. Imagine if your neighbor kept his children in such conditions. They would be promptly arrested and criminally charge. The physical damage and the emotional damage is unspeakable.

I haven’t researched it, but I suggest that the Geneva Convention requires better treatment for prisoners of war. Convicted criminals are treated to more humane conditions in prison.

Those responsible for these intolerable conditions should be prosecuted as child abusers.

Please take a minute and call the White House (1-202-456-1111) and tell the president how you feel. It takes only 3 or 4 minutes to leave your message with the operator.

If we remain silent, we are condoning this practice.

A. NEWS OF INTEREST:

According to the Washington Post, the administration has now begun to fine immigrants hundreds of thousands of dollars who have eluded deportation by residing in a physical sanctuary. SEE: Trump Administration Threatens Hefty Fines On Immigrants Who Elude Deportation

I received the following from Mark Swartz:

One Week Left to Comment on HUD Rule That Would Harm Mixed Status Families

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a rule that would prohibit families with mixed immigration statuses from living together in subsidized or public housing. If enacted, the rule would cause both citizen and non-citizen members of immigrant families to be evicted simply for sharing a household with a non-citizen family member who is ineligible for housing assistance. With a nationwide shortage of affordable housing, this policy would cause thousands of people, including older adults and children, to live on the streets. Thousands more families will choose to separate or forgo vital housing assistance out of fear. 

Join the Keep Families Together Campaign in reaching our goal of submitting 25,000 comments for the 25,000 mixed status families who are at risk of homelessness because of the HUD mixed status families rule.

Use Justice in Aging’s toolkit and talking points to tell the Trump Administration to #KeepFamiliesTogether. The comment deadline is Tuesday, July 9. 

B. IN THE COMMUNITY:

>>. On Wednesdays, from 5:30 – 6:00pm join the vigil on the Town Common protesting the separation of children from their parents by Homeland Security. No reservation necessary.

>>. I have received the following email:
“On Friday July 12th, 2019, at 7:00PM, at the State House, 24 Beacon Street, Boston, Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Detention Camps (www.lightsforliberty.org), will bring thousands of Americans to detention camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees

If you live in the Boston area, join us outside the ICE Detention Center (on the campus of the Suffolk County House of Corrections, 20 Bradston Street, Boston, though we’ll be going to the Detention Center’s separate entrance) – or even in front of your own home – to hold a candle and share a moment of silence. 

This is a completely volunteer-led effort. Invite your friends, and bring your own candle demand an end to these concentration camps.

RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/boston-lights-for-liberty

If you are aware of any event that would be of interest to the Task Force membership, please send me a brief description of the event along with a contact person for further information.

A final thought:
“When indecencies become normal, decent people must speak out”, Jake Tapper

Gerry Rovner, Chair
Needham Area Immigration Justice Task Force
Gerry80059@Comcast.net