John,

The dire situation at the border, in which thousands of children and families are being jailed and kept in dirty, unsanitary, inhumane conditions in what are essentially concentration camps, hasn’t gotten any better. With countless reports of our government refusing to provide immigrants with adequate food, clean water, medical care, blankets, toothbrushes, and other basic necessities, progressive members of Congress like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley went to the border yesterday to see these detention centers for themselves -- and what they saw was disturbing.

Just read what AOC experienced:

What makes this all the more disturbing? The discovery of a private Facebook group of more than 9,500 former and current Customs and Border Patrol officials who’ve made cruel comments celebrating or expressing indifference at the death of migrant children, laughing at the squalor detained people are being forced to endure, threatening to throw burritos at visiting members of Congress and even some like AOC with memes depicting them in sexually violent situations. Just disgusting and flat-out unacceptable.

There is clearly an absolute lack of morality and accountability from this administration and those tasked with “policing and jailing” immigrants. That children and families are being detained at all shows the need for a just, humane, and expedient alternative on immigration. We know that with Trump in charge, it’s a top-down problem.

We cannot look away or allow this ugly, inhumane behavior to continue, John, and this badass team of women of color in Congress is making sure we don’t.

And it's working. Progressive champions AOC, Ilhan, Rashida, and Ayanna are shining a red hot spotlight on the CBP and ICE, exposing them and building the public pressure to stop it. Will you pitch in $5 right now to support them and DFA as we fight to end this government’s dehumanizing treatment of immigrants?

The squad is right: we cannot let Congress keep throwing money at the problem, allowing CBP to continue their cruel treatment of immigrants on the taxpayers’ dime. We need drastic reform to dismantle this system of oppression, and we must treat those seeking a better life with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Thanks for standing with us in this critical moment in history,

-Yvette

Yvette Simpson, CEO
Democracy for America