President Trump today announced the administration’s intention to build a “detention center” in Guantanamo. This must never happen and I am calling on you to do all in your power to ensure the administration does not proceed with this plan, for two main reasons.
First, America has stood as the land of liberty but these “detention centers” are nothing more than modern-day concentration camps. While the President and his administration will argue their necessity for national security purposes, the majority of Americans and certainly the people of the world understand that such centers/camps will never assure us of security, and nor are they designed to. Rather, they are intended to make examples of specific demographics of people, in service of a theological and economic agenda. This is no different to the concentration camps of 1930s/1940s Germany. Their development will irredeemably ruin America’s reputation in the world and significantly DAMAGE our national security. In short, these “centers” will destroy American values, our economy, our alliances with peace-seeking nations around the world, and our ability to defend ourselves, in the name of an unclear and poorly articulated goal.
Second, the President and the administration does not have the authority to redirect federal tax dollars to any endeavor of this kind. While they may argue the opposite, the power of the budget is held by Congress. Only Congress can authorize this kind of expenditure. As a member of Congress, you are responsible for ensuring the development of these pseudo-concentration camps never proceeds. We, the People, and history are watching your actions and how you demonstrate your values in this unprecedented time.
As an American, I demand that you prevent this national self-sabotage and moral outrage.