A leaked image from inside a federal court shows dozens of immigrants in orange jumpsuits with their hands and feet shackled in the process of undergoing a ‘mass trial’ inTexas.
Under the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration, scenes like this one in Pecos, are becoming more the norm according The Intercept’s reporter.
Because cameras are typically strictly forbidden in federal court, these new mass proceedings are an unfamiliar sight to those not present inside the courtrooms.
Many of the immigrants coming into the United States are poor families from crime ridden countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
They often seek asylum citing the daily violence in their home countries.
Thousands of immigrants cross the US – Mexico border each week and immediately turn themselves in to authorities asking for asylum.
Last month attorney general Jeff Sessions announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy that will see every unauthorized border crosser charged with a crime even before they can even request asylum.
‘Today, we are here to send a message to the world, we are not going to let thiscountry be overwhelmed…
If you cross this border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you’
Public defenders only have mere minutes to meet with each defendent, when the judge asks a question the entire room must answer in unison to save time.
Meanwhile many of those standing in the mass trials have no idea where their children are.
The person who took this photo, while breaking the rules of federal court, is said to have felt compelled to do so after witnessing the effects of the Trump administration’s policy first hand.
In April alone, 50,924 people were detained after crossing the border without papers, including 4,314 unaccompanied children and 9,647 family units, according to US Customs and Border Patrol.
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