American Voice

After the massive and devastating earthquake in Haiti left thousands of people dead, there was a huge rescue effort that was immediately underway. Some of the Haitian families began to line up at the airport in Haiti for food and water, as this was one place where food was being disbursed.

Upon seeing this, the U.S. military ushered a few families onto a waiting aircraft and whisked them overseas to the United States, as had been done quite a few times already. These men, women, and children were being placed into homes and hotels in other states.

This time, however would be different. The families were taken to the state of Florida by our well intentioned military servicemen. Upon landing in Orlando, Florida, the families were whisked away in vans to a location about 4 hours away. The new locations proved to be immigration prisons and detention centers.

Per a decision by the state of Florida, the state had decided to jail women, children, and men that had only hours before been rescued from the most massive earthquake in the country's history. Many of these family members had been recently pulled from the rubble themselves and many others had lost family members during the earthquake.

When a major newspaper posted this astonishing article on the front of their paper, half of the family members were immediately released from the prisons, however they still face deportation. The other half of the family members remain imprisoned.


So, what was the reasoning behind placing these families in prison in the first place? Well, it seems as if these families had no visas, which would disqualify them from gaining entry into the country. But wait a minute...weren't these families placed on military aircraft by our own gracious and understanding military, as they waited in line for food and water? Why would they have visas?


I have no idea of how the thought process worked or what influenced the decision making to imprison families rescued from an earthquake ravaged country. But it was an incredibly stupid idea. How can some humans be so cold, calloused, and heartless?