America Is Better Than This

Jeff Merkley couldn't believe his eyes. He never dreamed the United States could treat vulnerable young families like caged animals. No outsider had witnessed what Merkley discovered just by showing up at the border and demanding to see what was going on behind closed doors.

Behind the official stories and soothing videos, he found mothers and children, new-born babies and infants, locked into ice-cold cages in makeshift prisons, or camping in blistering heat at the border. There were internment camps with no running water. There were disused supermarkets overflowing with more than a thousand young boys, locked up with nothing to keep them sane or active each day.

This was how the Trump administration treated the victims of the unspeakable violence that had driven them from their homes: as dangerous criminals whose spirits needed to be broken.

It was Merkley's visits -- captured live on viral video -- that triggered worldwide outrage at the forced separation of children from their parents. Just by taking an interest -- by caring about the people legally claiming asylum at America's borders -- Merkley helped expose the Trump administration's war on migrant families. Along the way, he helped turn the tide against some of its worst excesses.

FREE THEM! tells the inside story of how a junior senator, with no background of being an immigration activist, became one of the leading advocates for reform of the brutal policies that have created a new humanitarian crisis on the southern US border. It represents the heartfelt and candid voice of a concerned American who believes his country stands for something far bigger and better than the punishment of immigrants who are no different from so many of the people who built the United States.

“"Senator Jeff Merkley has led the fight to expose President Trump's inhumane family separation policy and to reunite families torn apart at the border. America is Better Than This is a powerful reminder of our moral duty to speak out and fight back."-- Senator Elizabeth Warren”

"Senator Jeff Merkley bears powerful witness to the trauma faced by migrant families on America's border, and delivers an urgent challenge to every reader to fight for justice, respect, and dignity for all."--p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 17.0px; font: 14.7px Helvetica; color: #323130; -webkit-text-stroke: #323130; background-color: #ffffff}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps
"Senator Jeff Merkley has led the fight to expose President Trump's inhumane family separation policy and to reunite families torn apart at the border. America is Better Than This is a powerful reminder of our moral duty to speak out and fight back."--Senator Elizabeth Warren

Jeff Merkley is the junior senator from Oregon, serving in the US Senate since 2009.

Jeff Merkley couldn't believe his eyes. He never dreamed the United States could treat vulnerable young families like caged animals. No outsider had witnessed what Merkley discovered just by showing up at the border and demanding to see what was going on behind closed doors.Behind the official stories and soothing videos, he found mothers and children, new-born babies and infants, locked into ice-cold cages in makeshift prisons, or camping in blistering heat at the border. There were internment camps with no running water. There were disused supermarkets overflowing with more than a thousand young boys, locked up with nothing to keep them sane or active each day.This was how the Trump administration treated the victims of the unspeakable violence that had driven them from their homes: as dangerous criminals whose spirits needed to be broken.It was Merkley's visits -- captured live on viral video -- that triggered worldwide outrage at the forced separation of children from their parents. Just by taking an interest -- by caring about the people legally claiming asylum at America's borders -- Merkley helped expose the Trump administration's war on migrant families. Along the way, he helped turn the tide against some of its worst excesses.FREE THEM! tells the inside story of how a junior senator, with no background of being an immigration activist, became one of the leading advocates for reform of the brutal policies that have created a new humanitarian crisis on the southern US border. It represents the heartfelt and candid voice of a concerned American who believes his country stands for something far bigger and better than the punishment of immigrants who are no different from so many of the people who built the United States.

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