ATLANTA -- In the wake of President Trump's "Zero Tolerance" policy regarding the separation of crossing the US-Mexico border, Dr. Bernice King posted a series of messages on social media late Sunday quoting and echoing her father, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
King's first message, posted to Twitter at 3:37 Sunday afternoon, focused on the inequalities of both the nation's immigration system and the nation's justice system.
"Today...
Some fathers are separated from their children because of cruelty & discrimination in U.S. immigration policies.
Some fathers are separated from their children because of cruelty & discrimination in the U.S. Criminal 'Justice' System.
Raise your voice. Work your vote."
King's second message, was posted to Twitter at 8:56 p.m., and suggested that some in America may be blind to what is going on in relation to the border controversy.
"#America still has not learned. Wake up, everybody. We are living in troubling times. To ignore what is happening is to our own detriment. #FamiliesBelongTogether #ImmigrantChildren #SpeakOut"
That Tweet also provides an often-quoted passage from German anti-Nazi theologian Martin Niemoller:
"First they came for the Socialists,
and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak for me."
King's third tweet in the sequence came at 9:20 p.m., and quoted her father. It spoke directly to the separation of children, calling the practice evil.
"In the words of my father, 'to ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.' Separating children from their parents is beyond inhumane; it is evil."
President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions along with other members of the Trump cabinet have come under significant scrutiny for separating children from adults accused of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.
In April, the "Zero Tolerance" policy was introduced by Sessions, who warned that violators would be met with "the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice."
Photos: U.S. Customs and Border Protection release photos of McAllen facility
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen defended the policies in a speech Monday, saying her department was providing food, medical attention, education and anything else they might need. This came hours after social media posts denying that her department's border policy dictates the separation of children from their parents.
"We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period," Nielsen tweeted late Sunday. "For those seeking asylum at ports of entry, we have continued the policy from previous administrations and will only separate if the child is in danger, there is no custodial relationship between 'family' members, or if the adult has broken a law."
Sessions defended the Trump Administration's policy at the same event.
"We cannot and will not encourage people to bring children by giving them blanket immunity from our laws," he said. "If we build the (border) wall, if we pass legislation to end the lawlessness, we won’t face these terrible choices. We will have a system where those who need to apply for asylum can do so and those who want to come to this country will apply legally."
