Khloé Kardashian has joined the chorus of famous figures who have broadcast their opinions on recent developments in American immigration policies. Those policies have dominated news headlines for weeks, particularly as the government revealed thousands of migrant children were separated from their parents at the southern border, with the children being held in facilities while the parents face prosecution for illegal entry into the country. On Friday, June 22, Khloé Kardashian's tweets about family separation captured what she described as the perspective of a new mother.
She tweeted,
As a new mommy, there is nothing in this world more important to me than my baby girl. It has been heartbreaking to watch what has been going on at the border, and impossible to comprehend that we live in a country where children are torn from the arms of their parents, who are dealt the ultimate punishment for wanting a better life for their families. Whether you believe that refugees should be allowed into this country or not, this is not how human beings treat each other. This is not how we foster love and acceptance. This is not who we are.
What has come to be known as "family seperation" is shorthand for what President Donald Trump's administration has called a "zero tolerance" policy on illegal immigration. The policy was announced in early April, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at the time that the government would pursue "100 percent" prosecution of migrants illegally crossing the border.
"If people don't want to be separated from their children, they should not bring them with them," Sessions said during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier in June. "We've got to get this message out. You're not given immunity. You have to, you will be prosecuted if you bring, if you come illegally. And if you bring children, you'll still be prosecuted."
On Wednesday, June 20, President Trump signed an executive order with a stated goal to end family seperation at the border. A day later, signs of a change in policy seemed to be taking place, with USA Today reporting that a number of migrants who were transported to a federal court had been "abruptly" returned to where they were being held, without facing prosecution.
Still, it is unclear when families who have already been separated will be reunited, a fact with Kardashian pointed out on Thursday.
"There are thousands of children now separated from their parents and we must not let these children be forgotten, nor can we let this moment be forgotten," she tweeted. "We have to do better than this. Please tweet, talk, call, post, write, donate."
Kardashian's tweet also featured a link to a charity that says it splits proceeds among 10 organizations dedicated to helping migrant families, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
That Khloé Kardashian is the latest famous figure to speak about family seperation is indicative of just how much attention the subject has received worldwide.
In a span of days, a former president, former first ladies, athletes, American allies, the pope, TV hosts, members of the president's party, and more have publicly spoken out against the administration, detailing how the images of children in detainment has affected them.
The consensus sentiment appears to have been enough to have moved both the president and the attorney general.
"It hasn’t been good and the American people don’t like the idea that we are separating families. We never really intended to do that," Sessions said in a recent interview. What we intended to do, was to make sure that adults who bring children into the country are charged with the crime they have committed."
Regardless of the intentions, families being separated at the border has become the most controversial and — for many like Khloé Kardashian — "heartbreaking" feature of the Trump presidency.
