The movement of people based on climate related effects has already begun. Some asylum seekers at the US border are there because of climate stress. Trump’s repugnant border policies may set a precedent for the future management of much larger flows of people, across the globe. It is fair to say that the US is building a concentration camp system. History teaches us that such efforts only deteriorate, and we see this in increasing deaths in custody. This is unacceptable to American ideals. We must view our border circumstances in the context of climate change, and demand a humane and farsighted response.

The reading list

• NYT/Kristof on climate as a driver for Guatemalan asylum seekers
• Esquire "Things can be concentration camps without being Daschau.."
• Texas Monthly on CBP conditions
• Daily Kos reviews a thread on freezers and dog pounds
• Rolling Stone gives definitions of Tonks and Guats
• Pacific Standard asks if there have been unreported deaths
• NBC reports 24 deaths in ICE custody 
• Mother Jones reports on For-Profit prisons holding detainees  
• Time reports on use of Fort SIll, where Japanese internment happened
• The Nation on climate change and open borders
• UNHCR on climate and displacement
• Grist asks "what’s a climate refugee and how many are there?"
• MA MIRA supports the "Safe Communities Act"
• RAICES Texas is on the front lines
• Wikipedia on the Gulag
• ThinkProgress on Trump's tweets

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre