Do you ever fall for clickbait? By clickbait, I am not referencing the popular Netflix Limited Series, Clickbait. Instead, I am asking you if you ever click on a video, article, or photo because the heading or image stirs something inside of you.
Often, I can catch my hand before slipping into digital traps. However, this week I caught the hook with my mouth wide open. While on Instagram, I saw an image of a border patrol officer on horseback with a whip in his hand while pursuing a Haitian man.
I stopped everything that I was doing at the moment.
Images of slavery immediately came into mind as I read the caption of my friend’s post. Despite the credibility of my real-life friend, who works as a professor, I had to verify the legitimacy of the picture.
I entered the words “Haitian migrants” into the Google search bar and discovered a New York Times article discussing the situation in Texas. I learned that Biden authorized deporting thousands of migrants attempting to cross the Rio Grande into Texas from the report. The images reflect a continuation of Trump's backward xenophobic policies to "make America great again."
The author of the article claims that the current administration does not support the methods used by Border Patrol agents and plans to launch an investigation.
Without a doubt, the US border needs security. However, there are better tactics that begin with understanding refugees as fellow human beings. Many are attempting to enter the US for access to better employment and educational resources.
What would you be willing to do to create a better life for your family? Moving to another country is not absurd. Albeit under different conditions than the Haitians displaced by natural disasters, many people have ventured outside their home country’s boundaries searching for opportunities.
The United States Department of Homeland Security needs an overhaul. Chasing men, women, and children on horseback with whips is not humane to control the border. The separation of thousands of children from their parents and erecting a wall are also not suitable methods to enforce immigration policies.
With the election of Biden and Harris, it appeared that the States were working toward amending some of Trump's destructive hate-filled laws powered and protected under the banner of white supremacy.
According to the New York Times article referenced above, Biden’s administration has used the public health rule, a policy created to limit the spread of corona, more than 700,000 times to export refugees seeking asylum. The clickbait images of the white men attempting to stop black bodies from entering Texas reflect current immigration policies.
I wish that I could implement a viable solution to the White House’s challenge with migrants, but we know that is not possible. So, despite my limitations, I am creating clickbait with this blog post to hook others into joining online and in-person protests against immigration policies.
As you can tell, the header image of this entry has nothing to do with the topic of this blog post. Is that what caught your eye?
With our combined awareness of the atrocities migrants encounter on the borders, we can take courageous actions to overturn policies. Well, maybe... – that’s what I am telling you and myself to help with processing this rage.
We can do something.
Share this blog post with one person to further the cause of mandating revised immigration practices along the US border.
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