In late June, press reports indicated that Gen. James Mattis was asked by the Administration to assist with the "zero tolerance" immigration policy by building austere, temporary tent camps on military bases to incarcerate migrants detained at our southern border. Gen. Mattis indicated his permission, although this incarceration plan is jurisdictionally and morally very problematic. And clearly, we the people need much more information about this. It is not the Military's job to imprison immigrants for any reason or length of time. Migrants from the southern border are overwhelmingly fleeing violence in their home countries. They are not enemies of the U.S. Rather, many of them have legally requested Asylum but are being criminalized nonetheless. Parts of the Zero Tolerance policy are being reversed in court challenges, such as the separation of children from their parents, and the indefinite detention of children & families. Moreover, both houses of Congress have created a version of the Families Belong Together Act, which explicitly states that they do not favor indefinite detention of these migrant families. Reports indicate that now, the Administration has reverted to an Obama-era policy which let families live in the U.S., wearing ankle tracking bracelets, as they await adjudication of their cases. It is not clear that more detention facilities are even necessary. Transparency has been abominable as even members of Congress are denied access to many detention centers. There are reports of inhumane conditions which some congressmembers have actually observed, and more of which have been kept hidden from the legislature and the public. This is a national emergency, and I have created this petition because the zero tolerance policy has proven to be inhumane and illegal, at least in some respects. For the armed forces to get involved would hurt the Military's reputation both at home and abroad and would certainly negatively affect morale and recruitment of new volunteers. I hope you'll sign my petition to General Mattis, urging that he do the right thing by halting any activity in furtherance of the request to build tent camps and incarcerate migrants in them on military bases. In halting this action, he would be acting for the Military, the migrants who are neither foreign nor domestic enemies of the United States, and for citizens. It's the right thing for him to do.

I've started this petition because President Donald Trump has caused many families to be separated, other countries don't like him which puts our country at risk to be attacked, and President Trump has no filter on what he wants to say and acts on impulses. I have personally been affected by Donald Trump tearing apart families who have done nothing wrong, it is cruel and unfair to the children.

I'm starting this petition because I can't sit by and do nothing while our sitting President commits crimes. It goes against everything the US has always stood for in the world. The letters from the mothers who had their children taken are just heartbreaking and the thought that one of the most powerful leaders of the free world is responsible is reprehensible to me. Someone has to stop him.

I've waited for 12 years to bring my sister here. Her daughter and son aged out of my petition. They had to go back to the end of the line and start a new petition. They've been waiting for several years and now the travel ban is making it very difficult for them to get approved. It's been 18 years.

Since May of this year, the Trump Administration has been separating children from their families at the border in order to deter future migrants from coming across. This has been a horrific/devastating practice. Even babies have been taken away; a one-year-old child appeared before an immigration judge this week without his parents and cried uncontrollably the whole time, and the judge said he was “embarrassed” that he had to ask whether the child understood the proceedings. Federal courts have ruled that the Trump Administration MUST reunite children under five with their parents immediately, but Trump has failed to do so. Reports have shown that the Department of Homeland Security never collected records for some of these children, or in some cases destroyed them, or misplaced them, or never shared them. This might mean that children are NEVER reunited with their actual parents. This is a scandal, but so far Congressional Republicans have been missing in action. Tell Congress that they need to open an investigation on Trump’s horrible practice of separating families, and its apparent inability to reunite them.

As a Phoenician, I expect all of our elected leaders to act in the best interests of children who cannot defend themselves and hold bad actors accountable. AZDHS needs to conduct a thorough investigation and, if appropriate, pursue legal remedies to ensure similar events never occur again. Children depend on responsible adults for their safety; we cannot fail them again.

The "zero tolerance" policies of separating families as they entered the United States has created a humanitarian crisis. In the video clip, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, states he could find a child and their parents with a couple of "key strokes". "A convergence of cruelty and incompetence"* is being perpetuated with a lack of empathy and planning. Even under a court order to re-unite children with their families, Secretary Azar maintains his position, while desperate families, some already deported have not spoken to or know where their children are being held. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/26/alex-azar-separated-families-valencia-dnt-lead-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/family-separations/ *7/8/2018 Senator Dick Durbin, (D-ILL) interview on Meet the Press Update 7/10/18 https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/10/politics/azar-hhs-child-separation-immigration-charity-cnntv/index.html American Academy of Pediatrics report on Separation at the Border https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/StatementOpposingSeparationofChildrenandParents.aspx?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=NewsDailySubscribers20180710&mc_key=003i000003Q8kWMAAZ

Through our country’s history, military service has been a path to citizenship for new Americans arriving on our shores. But Trump hates immigrants so much, he wants to slam even that door shut. And Secretary Mattis is standing by, doing nothing to defend these recruits. Enough is enough. United we stand, and divided we fall. We’ll do whatever it takes to defend the rights of everyone who calls our country home. And we’ll vote out everyone who’s been complicit in Trump’s horrific policies of hate. We’ve seen these policies halted before. We know that our people power can win. In the military we believe that you NEVER leave our comrades behind. And that rings just as true today as it did when I served. That’s why I know you’ll join us in fighting for a more just system for all of us.

Let's use the power of our consumer voices to cut off the corporate money behind Trump’s unconscionable immigration policies! Tell Wells Fargo to STOP financing CoreCivic and GEO Group, private prison corporations that are profiting off the pain and separation of families. Why target Wells Fargo and private prison companies? Private prison companies are not only making huge profits from the incarceration and detention of immigrants, they are also a huge political force in lobbying for the legislation and policies that criminalize immigrants and communities of color in the U.S. [1][2] But private prisons are not the only ones making money here. Two of the private prison industry leaders, CoreCivic and GEO Group, depend on debt financing from Wells Fargo and other banks to conduct their day-to-day business operations, finance new facilities, and acquire smaller companies. This is a big deal. An analysis of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings over the past 10 years, shows that Wells Fargo has played a leading role in financing these debts.[3][4] Follow the money. As consumers, we have the power to stop this! Wells Fargo needs consumers like you and me in order to keep their business afloat, so our voices are powerful. We can demand that Wells Fargo stop financing private prisons, and thereby stop the construction of new private prisons to house immigrant children and families, stem the political power of private prison lobbyists, and send a warning message to other banks that consumers will not tolerate the use of their deposits to finance the private prison industry. Imprisoning children with families is still imprisoning children! Studies have shown that detention, even with families, is traumatic for children and can have long term health and developmental effects. [5] It’s time for everyone who cares about our democracy and the future direction of our country to use our voices, our votes, and the power of our pocketbooks to fight against human rights abuses in the name of immigration enforcement. Wells Fargo MUST stop financing this pain! There are alternatives to detention that are not only more compassionate for children and families, but also more fiscally responsible. In FY18, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that it cost on average $319.37 dollars a day, per family member, to incarcerate a family on the border. On the other hand, with the Family Case Management Program, (which the Trump administration terminated in 2017), children and their parents were provided with individualized family service plans, and had a proven 100% success rate ensuring the family attend their hearings, and it cost only $36, per family, per day![6] We believe that families seeking safety in our country need protection and opportunity. Children deserve to be with their families outside of cages and they deserve to have their rights protected. Join us today in telling Wells Fargo that they MUST stop the financing of CoreCivic and GEO Group. They MUST stop financing pain for corporate gain! [1] "For-Profit Family Detention: Meet the Private Prison Corporations Making Millions by Locking Up Refugee Families," grassrootsleadership.org [2] “How For Profit Prisons Have Become The Biggest Lobby No One Is Talking About,” The Washington Post, Apr. 28, 2015. [3] "The Banks That Finance Private Prison Companies," In the Public Interest, November 2016. [4] “Who Is Profiting From Incarcerating Immigrant Families,” Eyes on the Ties, June 21, 2018. [5] “Separating Kids From Parents Can Cause Psychological Harm. But Experts Say Detaining Them Together Isn't Much Better,” Time Magazine, June 21, 2018. [6] "The Real Alternatives to Detention," Women’s Refugee Commission, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Immigrant Justice Center, American Immigration Lawyers Association.

I am a mother of two and a long-term teacher and the thought of these traumatized children sitting alone in detention centers makes me cry myself to sleep.

We must work quickly to stop the human rights crisis of the separation of families at the border and of the families of the 7 million US citizen children and Dreamers.

Sign on to this letter advocating from a Buddhist, mindful and compassionate perspective for reunification of immigrant children with their families and for not creating long-term internment camps like those used to imprison Japanese-Americans in WW-II. Many Buddhist teachers and community leaders have signed; this is an opportunity to add your name as well.