Liberalism 101: It’s Good to Care About Disabled Kids (Just Make Sure They’re Outside the Womb First)

Liberalism 101: It’s Good to Care About Disabled Kids (Just Make Sure They’re Outside the Womb First)

In a news cycle filled with indictments, scandals, and violence, a story like Rosa Maria Hernandez’s can fall through the cracks. But the ACLU took pains on October 31st to make sure the story of the detention of the ten year old undocumented disabled Mexican immigrant remains in the public eye.

According to the Guardian, this past week on October 24th, Rosa Maria Hernandez was traveling from Laredo to Corpus Christi for emergency gallbladder surgery when border patrol stopped her ambulance and discovered her undocumented status. Her parents, who are also illegal immigrants, were not with her in the ambulance. Instead, Rosa Maria was accompanied by her cousin, an American citizen in her thirties. Border patrol then followed Rosa Maria’s ambulance to the Corpus Christie hospital, allowed the surgery to happen, and then took the ten year old into state custody when she was stable. She has not seen her parents since before the surgery.

Image Credit: NY Daily News

Yesterday, on Halloween, the ACLU announced that it had filed a lawsuit against “Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement to demand they release…  Hernandez” to her parents. A representative of the ACLU said that the actions of border control violated “a slew of statutes and regulations in the arrest, transfer, and ongoing detention” of the girl. The ACLU has also stated their belief that detaining the girl is a violation of her Fifth Amendment right to due process, among other grievances and accusations of abuse. One of the biggest reasons behind their request for Rosa Maria’s release was rooted in the fact that Rosa Maria is disabled. According to the ACLU, Rosa Maria needs extensive care and therapy that her mother can provide, and detaining her deprives her of that care.

In light of the ACLU suit, it goes without saying that Rosa Maria’s story warrants attention. It is another tile in the mosaic that is the nationwide discussion of policy involving undocumented immigrant youth. Her situation is one that both sides have referenced to try to fortify their own political stances.

But I’m not here to talk about immigration. I’m here to talk about how the left’s reaction to Rosa Maria’s story demonstrates that feelings of empathy for disabled kids are conditional among activists in the liberal community.

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