Letter: End the ICE contract

To the Editor:

I am a McHenry County resident of 18 years, living in Woodstock the past 13. I am an elementary teacher, have worked within the educational field for 22 years and have earned two graduate degrees, including one in educational leadership.

I feel that my education and experience has given me the background and knowledge to comment on the effects of ICE detention centers on children and families.

I am writing to ask the Board to dissolve its contract with ICE.

As of the end of October, over 500 children have been identified as being separated from their families with little hope of reconciliation. There may be more that haven’t been uncovered. That is the size of the elementary school at which I teach.

That is 500 families that are in constant worry and despair over not knowing whether their child is healthy, being fed and clothed, or even if they are alive.

Five hundred may not seem like a large number in relation to the size of the country. However, to the families of those 500 children, it seems like a million.

As a parent (and human being), I cannot fathom how it is acceptable to house human beings as if they are animals (or worse) and separate them from their families.

The effects of the separation of parents and children are irreparable. These families are suffering immense psychological and emotional harm. Some of the negative effects include anguish, despair, guilt, stress, anxiety, fear, and depression.

Research has shown that the long term effects from these negative emotions can lead to increased risk of heart disease, alcohol and drug addiction, suicidal thoughts, and shortened life expectancies.

These children are having their lives forever altered for the worse. As human beings, this is horrific and inhuman - to purposely ensure a child’s life will forever feel the negative effects of forced family separation that is occurring at ICE detention centers.

In order to maintain the dignity of McHenry County and to ensure the safety and futures of all children, the contract with ICE needs to be dissolved.

Jenny Sanchez

Woodstock