On separating families

Sometimes if my 4-year-old acts up badly, I put him in his room. Since the door doesn’t lock, I have to hold it shut, so I’m a close audience. His protests turn to heartbroken sobs and cries of “Please let me out! I need my mama!” My heart cracks a little. I open the door, give him a hug, and offer him a second chance.

These ordinary separations and reunions with my son are what I think about when I read about children being separated from their parents at the border. I think about how my son would feel if I never opened the door. If he were locked away from me, not for minutes, but days, weeks, months. If I never came back.

Right now, our government is doing this to children. Families who cross the border are being forcibly separated. Parents are not told where their children are being taken, or when or if they will see them again. There is no requirement that families be reunited.

Some commenters have said that, sad as this is, it’s the fault of parents for crossing the border illegally with their children. This ignores the fact that the policy of separating families, adopted in May, applies across the board — to those seeking asylum legally as well as those who have committed the crime (a misdemeanor) of unauthorized entry into the U.S.

This is why me and my son went, with our quickly made cardboard sign, to the rally covered in the Herald on Thursday (“Pro-immigrant rally hits the hill”). Before going we talked about what he might hear, and I promised him that he would not be separated from me. I want all mothers and fathers to be able to say the same.

— Gabriel Robinson,

Cambridge