Dear editor,

The world held its breath during the prolonged rescue of the Thai soccer team this month.  Although one heroic diver was lost, it was with relief that we witnessed the 12 boys and their coach emerge alive from the caves.

Our government has acknowledged that nearly 3,000 immigrant infants and children are still separated from their parents, some for months now, with no effective plan for reuniting them, despite court orders to do so.  The American Pediatric Association has warned that such toxic stress in young children will lead to irreparable harm with life-long consequences.

I am a member of the Immigration Action Team at First Presbyterian Church and am appalled by what is happening.  Water is not separating these children from their distraught parents, but the cruel and inhumane policies of our government are. Is this Margaret Atwood’s Gilead from Handmaid’s Tale or America?

Barb Gillespie
Marshfield, WI