Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 21-06-2018
A human rights activist has told Radio Islam US President Donald Trump’s policy of separating children from refugees and migrants who cross the US-Mexico border smacks of racism.
Pressure is mounting on Trump to reverse the policy as hundreds gathered outside detention centres in the states of Texas and New Jersey, calling for an end to the practice saying Families belong together.
In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” approach towards migrants and refugees who cross the US southern border without documents, promising to prosecute those who did so.
Part of that approach has been separating children from their parents who are detained.
Speaking to Radio Islam, activist at Code Pink Barry Tige says he is ashamed of Trumps policy.
“As far as the pressure on Donald Trump, I’d say the pressure is very limited, because he knows where he gets his power from. His power comes from these white racists in the middle of our country. If these were white babies that were being pulled from their mothers arms, trust me there would be hell to pay for this. But these are little brown babies, these are babies that these people find easy to hate.”
He says the detention centres are likened to concentration camps.
“This is another incident of racism in my country. Even liberal media is calling it’s a concentration camp, although they don’t cover such things as the protests that took place yesterday in New Orleans around Jeff Sessions and his speech to the United States Sheriffs Association.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman told reporters last week that 1,995 minors were separated from 1,940 adults who crossed the US border without documents between April 19 and May 31.
Listen to the interview with Barry Tige
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