Two families in the USA

Dennis suggested I write this up.

A story, really a snapshot of two families in the USA, in our country, 24 hours apart.

This picture is of the military family; wife with two children whose husband is on a deployment.  As part of the Trump's State of the Union Speech, he called attention to her as a military family.  "And wait, there's more," he says and the husband walks down the stairs for a joyous reunion for all to see.  Melania on the left.

I don't have a picture of the other family, it would have been inappropriate to take their picture.  Yesterday, Dennis and I worked a shift at AID-NW's Welcome Center at the ICE Processing Center in Tacoma providing services for those released.  We had 3 customers who had been released with light clothing out the gate, the temp in the mid 30s.  But, as often happens, we had other people there too.  A family, a mother with two daughters, ages 6 and 12; the father was in detention scheduled to be deported starting that very night.  To El Salvador.  The family had a packed suitcase for him and they were desperately trying to get it to him.  One of our volunteers tried three times to get GEO, the private prison company, to take it.  We couldn't get it to happen.  The mom was trying to keep everything together.  This family was so so sad, many tears and grieving.  They had been here 18 years, the father worked in landscaping.  The mother got him on the phone and he talked to both of his daughters.  There was no happy ending here.  There was no First Lady helping, there was no chamber of those giving standing ovations.  This family is white; the one last night is not.

Their father and husband was sent off in chains, his wife and children grieving.  They left in tears.