Donald Trump is using national fear of COVID-19 to spin and justify further erosion of our democratic norms. He is turning away asylum seekers on our southern border. His justification? Fear of a #COVID19 outbreak in detention centers. This is SPIN. Spin is the twisting of truth in such a way that it looks true on its surface, but below the surface the facts don’t line up. The fact is, asylum seekers should never be placed in detention in the first place. They seek to enter the country LEGALLY, according to the United Nations Geneva Convention of 1951. We signed that treaty. We promised the world we would give every asylum seeker the chance to live within our borders. You are breaking the law—American and international law.
We see you, Mr. President. We see what you are doing. We remember the day you jerry-rigged US asylum policy to criminalize women, men and children simply seeking to save their lives and their families in the land where people can dream.
