Letters to the Editor: Trump’s separation of migrant children from their parents was an atrocity

To the editor: As a preschool teacher for 40 years, I applaud developmental neuroscientists Emily Cohodes, Sahana Kribakaran and Dylan Gee for their op-ed article on the trauma inflicted on migrant children by the Trump administration, and the need for President-elect Joe Biden to grant them and their families asylum in the United States when he takes office.

I have had to comfort many young children who were the last ones to be picked up from school at the end of the day when their parents were late getting there because of traffic or other problems — and these were children who came from stable, secure homes.

Along with millions of others, I cried when I thought how frightening and traumatic it must have been for these immigrant children when they were torn away from their mothers or fathers.

In order to address the deeper psychological trauma, the Biden administration must from day one take steps not only to reunite these families but also provide free therapy and grant immediate asylum. As the article says, every day matters to these children.

Vicki Rupasinghe, Ojai

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To the editor: The Trump administration’s decision to separate children from their parents at our southern border will go down in history as another cruel act that our government inflected upon people it deemed not worthy of simple humanity.

I was raised with the idea that the United States held itself to high ideals and was a beacon of hope for the world. To see our government guilty of effectively torturing children in the name of teaching a lesson shatters that illusion.

This country should reunite each and every family affected and give them asylum to atone for the atrocity it committed against them. These people will need ongoing therapy to mitigate the damage done to them.

As a nation, we have been witness to what history will see as another example of our shortcoming as a world leader.

Patty Alvarado, Costa Mesa