Graphic Photo Of Drowned Father And Daughter Captures Real Human Struggle Beneath Immigration Rhetoric
Like other powerful photographs that have come to represent the broader global immigration crisis, the picture resonated with people across the U.S. as it made its rounds on social media Tuesday. In other news on the crisis: immigration court and a walk-out by Wayfair employees.
The father and daughter lie face down in the muddy water along the banks of the Rio Grande, her tiny head tucked inside his T-shirt, an arm draped over his neck. The portrait of desperation was captured on Monday by the journalist Julia Le Duc, in the hours after 脫scar Alberto Mart铆nez Ram铆rez died with his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, as they tried to cross from Mexico to the United States. The image represents a poignant distillation of the perilous journey migrants face on their passage north to the United States, and the tragic consequences that often go unseen in the loud and caustic debate over border policy. (Ahmed and Semple, 6/25)
Some people were furious over the graphic nature of the photo. Others were聽incensed over U.S. immigration policy that they say is allowing the tragedy to coldly unfold. Others expressed anger聽that the public is not doing enough to help families who are fleeing violence and poverty. (James, 6/25)
Beto O鈥橰ourke on Tuesday blamed President Donald Trump directly for the deaths of a father and daughter who were found earlier this week along a bank of the Rio Grande. 鈥淭rump is responsible for these deaths,鈥 O鈥橰ourke wrote on social media, sharing an Associated Press story and the image of drowned man and girl that was ricocheting around the internet. (Siders, 6/26)
The nation鈥檚 nearly 400 immigration judges are under a mountain of backlogged cases, and hundreds of thousands of Central Americans continue to arrive at the border each year. Because of a lack of holding capacity and a court settlement requiring the release of children, U.S. immigration authorities allow many migrant families into the country while they wait for hearings. On CBS, Pence claimed that 鈥渢he vast majority鈥 never show up. On CNN, he said the rate of no-shows was 鈥減lus-90 percent.鈥 (Rizzo, 6/26)
Employees at online furniture giant Wayfair are organizing a walk-out to protest the retailer鈥檚 sale of $200,000 worth of beds and other furniture to a Texas detention center for migrant children. The walk-out, planned for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. near the company鈥檚 Boston headquarters, comes after Wayfair executives said they would fulfill an order for beds and other items for a detention center in Carrizo Springs, Texas, according to two Wayfair employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity. (Bhattarai, 6/25)
鈥淜nowing what鈥檚 going on at the southern border and knowing that Wayfair has the potential to profit from it is pretty scary,鈥 said Elizabeth Good, a manager on the engineering team at the company and one of the walkout鈥檚 two dozen organizers. 鈥淚 want to work at a company where the standards we hold ourselves to are the same standards that we hold our customers and our partners to.鈥澛(Nanos, 6/25)
