Donald Trump promised to be “tough” on immigration on the campaign trail, vowing to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history.”

“Criminals,” he said. So why is ICE detaining children? And why do half of the adults held in ICE detention facilities have no criminal record?

In New York, a mom and her three kids—including a third grader—were arrested by ICE and shipped off to a facility in Texas. In Louisiana, ICE deported a four-year-old with cancer to Honduras, despite the child being a US citizen. Across America, families live in fear of separation, even those who are following the legal pathways and completing all of their required paperwork and check-ins.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the conditions in ICE detention facilities is atrocious: crowded cells, freezing concrete floors, water from the toilet, and constant dehumanizing treatment from guards. All of this for people with no criminal record and, again, actual children. Is this really the America we want?

This Okay, But Why is upsetting, but we can’t turn away. Trump’s ICE quotas and for-profit prison companies are creating a hell on earth for some of our most vulnerable people and we have to speak out.

***

If you're enjoying Okay, But Why, we'd love if you could leave us a rating and review in your podcast player!

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media!

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

Nixon, Reagan and the crisis years of the 1970s