In recent months, the crackdown on illegal immigrants and those who assist them has increased in the USA. People who fail to go via the proper channels in order to attain legal residency in the states are being deported, even when they have young children or other family members in the country.
Recently, Perla Morales-Luna, a mother from South Carolina, was arrested in front of her children on suspicion of being part of a transnational criminal smuggling organization.
A video of the incident was uploaded to Facebook yesterday, and, at the time of writing, has garnered more than eight million views. Despite the accusations against Morales-Luna, many people are divided over whether or not the actions taken against her were justified.
In the video, Morales-Luna is physically yanked away from people who are trying to hold her back, then forced into a border patrol car while a crowd of people - including her daughters - helplessly look on. Several onlookers can be heard screaming and crying throughout the video; meanwhile, the patrol agents and plain-clothes officers continue to issue instructions to the suspect.
In another video of the incident, which has since been taken down, Morales-Luna can be heard saying, "don't touch me" as she is manhandled and pushed into the vehicle.
During the two-minute ordeal, Morales-Luna's young daughters repeatedly ask for information about what's going on.
"Mom!" one of them screams. "Where is she going?"
The officers appear to be ignoring the girls for the most part and drive off with their mother - leaving them all alone beside an intersection. At the end of the video, a man comes up to them and asks if they are alright and whether they are able to call any other members of their family.
You can watch the clip below, but - be warned - it is fairly distressing.
In a statement, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) explained why the woman had been detained.
"She was arrested as a result of a targeted operation on March 3, 2018, in National City for being in the country illegally," said Jackie Wasiluk, a spokesperson for CBP. "She is currently in Border Patrol custody awaiting transfer to ICE for removal proceedings."
CBP has refused to give any further information on the case - including the name of the smuggling organization that Morales-Luna was said to belong to - because it is still under investigation.
The issue that many people have with the incident is not so much that Morales-Luna was arrested, but that she was taken from her family in such a heartless manner.
Judith Castro-Rangel, who uploaded both videos to Facebook and teaches one of the suspect's daughters, described the ordeal as "brutal".
"The brutalized, injustice that is happening in this country is sad," Castro-Rangel wrote in a Facebook post. "The subjects dressed as civilians detained Perla Morales at the head of her three daughters whom the Border Patrol left alone after brutally arresting their mother."
Opinions are obviously divided on the matter, but one thing is for sure: no child should have to watch their mother being dragged away like this. The situation could have been handled better, regardless of what the suspect has or has not done.
