I haven’t written about Trump’s zero tolerance policies and the locking up of families on our southern border. It’s been too painful to contemplate, let alone articulate. As a friend to newcomers for many decades, I know people like the people who are now being treated so inhumanely. I’ve shared meals with them, played with the children, and taught them to drive or apply for jobs. They are not criminals to me, but rather beloved members of my community. 

As a psychologist, I am familiar with the research on attachment and what happens to children when they are separated from those they love. I am also the grandmother of five children. I have some sense for what this experience would do to them. And, as a child, I was separated from my mother for a year. I am still dealing with the trauma of that experience.