America must reclaim its empathy

I am profoundly confused as to when empathy became a virtue rather than a natural, universal human reaction.

Reading the statistics on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment centers — the lack of proper medical care, the crammed rooms with no sinks, showers, soap or toothpaste — and watching accounts of desperate parents and pleas of sobbing children, I am speechless and devastated.

These pioneers left their country in pursuit of the sensationalized American dream that we so pride ourselves in. They came selflessly in search of a better future for their families, where they could watch children grow and lead a life far more beautiful and fulfilling than theirs. These brave people, confined in cages fit for animals, are the most American among us.

The immigration policies that President Donald Trump has implemented can no longer be considered a political issue, but rather a basic human rights issue. The brutal practices of ICE officials and the conditions in the detainment centers are past the point of polarizing and divisive. They are extremist, designed to dehumanize marginalized communities and perpetuate a cycle of indifference, making traits such as compassion and empathy abnormal.

This harrowing progression can only be stopped if all Americans, regardless of political ideology and party loyalties, defy the president’s actions, spurred by ignorant, hateful rhetoric, and call it out for what it is — innately un-American and intolerable.

AVA KARAS Forest Hills