“What would you do if you had to choose between watching your kids die & crossing an invisible line on a map?”

*Edit: Since writing this post Wednesday morning, Trump signed an executive order to stop the policy of separating families. A problem that he created.

As Matt Cameron, an immigration attorney and author of this viral Facebook post wrote: “What would you do if you had to choose between watching your kids die & crossing an invisible line on a map?” Stop separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border. These are asylum-seekers and refugees fleeing violence. These are children (and parents) who will suffer from life-long psychological damage. While Obama did not handle the problem of undocumented immigrants well, the policy of separating children from asylum-seekers is 100% the Trump administration.

If I’m being honest, it’s hard to keep up with the news when you are taking care of a young child. At the end of the day, it’s easy to feel burnt out. While self-care is important in building sustainable social justice work (and parenting and when you are trying to do both simultaneously), we cannot retreat into our privilege in moments like this. If I find myself retreating into ignorance, I think about everything I would do to keep A safe and know that these parents are doing the exact same thing. While I don’t have legal skills to donate, I do have money. The internet is ripe with suggestions of where to donate financially to organizations advocating against this practice. Our family has donated to:

• ACLU
• CARA

It’s not enough, but it’s something. Stay awake. Donate money and time when you can (and most of us can.). Don’t retreat.

Solidarity and love,

Olivia.