Under U.S. domestic law and international treaties, public servants locking up immigrants at the border could be prosecuted.
Only 24 hours after a suspected anti-immigrant terrorist killed 20 people in El Paso, echoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about a “Hispanic invasion,” Customs and Border Protection-West Texas tweeted that its agents “have returned to their regular duties.” These duties include implementing a policy that treats asylum-seekers as “invaders” and criminals—instead of as vulnerable civilians exercising their human rights—and that deprives asylum-seeking civilians of their liberty while also aiming to keep refugee families on the Mexico side of the border.
Public officials who carry out these commands, including the 6,600 U.S. troops now deployed to assist in the task, are not only enabling policy that harms civilians and that is widely seen as inhumane and immoral. They are also violating the law. The U.S. Constitution guarantees due process, equal treatment, and humane treatment for all people in the country, not just U.S. citizens. Beyond that, these agents are being asked to commit crimes that violate international human rights law. If they follow these orders, they are vulnerable to prosecution. Continue Reading>>
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