There was a time when I thought all law enforcements were good. There was a day when I thought they would help me when I was in trouble. There was a time…that I trusted them, but it all changed the day I went to San Diego to chat with my aunt.
We were at the backyard sitting on the couch with my parents and I was reading a book. They were talking about the border patrol and the run-ins they all had. I asked them abruptly, “Did they treat you right?” It was silence and my father asked, “How do you think the border patrol treats the immigrants they catch?” It sounded like an innocent question and I answered “like humans.” At that my aunt laughed out loud and my parents’ eyes looked at me with pity. My aunt beckoned for me to come closer and she showed me her arms and her small back.
I was puzzled what did she want me to look at, “What do you see?” she asked me and as I looked closer in the sunlight I could see long ragged scars decorate her aged skin. The scars seemed like dents in her flesh and I even saw burned marks cover her shoulders. I was confused why would she show these to me?
She looked at me and told me that these scars weren’t from an accident they had been done intentionally. My eyes widened, who would do such a thing? It had been the border patrol! But they were part of the law enforcement. Quickly in that moment I realized the border patrol brought no justice. Where was the justice in how my aunt had suffered? My aunt talked to me about how she had gotten caught and instead of just bringing her back to Mexico they had tortured her for a day before leaving her on the streets like a bloodied rag.
My aunt had tears streaming down her face but her voice was firm, “I still remember the agony those officers gave me as I pleaded for them to let me go and these scars still throb with the pain they inflicted.” My parents had been quiet the whole time and I glanced at them. My mother had tears down her face and my Dad had an expressionless face as he stared at empty space. I looked at my aunt and asked her why she had not reported this to any one. She had simply replied, “Who was there to tell when the law enforcement was against her?”
Anger throbbed throughout my body at the powerlessness my aunt felt. No human deserved to feel this amount of pain. A human is a person no matter what race they are, they do not need to be treated like animals but as humans. The government should check to see if the law enforcements are doing what they’re suppose to do. Not all officers are cruel, it’s just that some choose to be and that is their decision. They will be brought to justice one day. There was a time when I thought the border patrol treated illegal immigrants humanely.
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