As a mother and a human being, I find the practice of separating immigrant children from their parents horrifyingly cruel. The Trump administration is turning America into a country that explicitly endorses traumatizing children for political and corporate gain. (The GEO Group, a private-prison company and a major Republican donor, stands to profit handsomely from these new policies.)

Despite numerous reports of inhumane treatment and abuse in these facilities, despite the persistent and vocal outcry of not only her constituency, but also of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the United Nations and Pope Francis and other religious leaders, Sen. Susan Collins continues her record of failing to act on critical issues that matter to the people of Maine.

Although she publicly states that she opposes the separation of immigrant families (“Collins opposes family separations at border, but calls Democratic bill too broad,” Portland Press Herald, June 17), she went on to object to the Keep Families Together Act (S.B. 3036), co-sponsored by our own Sen. Angus King, a bill that contains provisions to ensure the safety and well-being of these children. Instead, Sen. Collins feels that the best path to remediating this travesty is a Republican-backed immigration bill already in Congress.

In other words, Sen. Collins once again toes the party line, a line that is increasingly moving to the right, betraying her own centrist values and those of the people of Maine, who elected her to be their voice.

Bethany Mulkern

Old Orchard Beach

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