Regardless of what you think of undocumented immigration, I think we can all admit that there’s some serious problems surrounding the issue of ‘immigration’ here in the U.S.. But what may be more difficult to admit to is the problems with incarceration in the U.S. that immigration exposes. Take, for example, the following gut-wrenching story of a little boy who was separated from his mother after an ICE raid:

Lopez, who immigrated illegally from Mexico with his family when he was 3, said it has been torturous waiting to know what would happen to his mother, Consuelo Vega Nava.

After her arrest officials transferred her to a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., and then later to a Florida facility before her deportation to Mexico.

Lopez, who has not seen his mother since May 12, said he will be reunited with her when he returns to Mexico next month.

“I’ve missed those days when me and my mom would just walk or go get an ice cream,” he said. “I don’t want this to be forgotten.”

The practice of moving imprisoned people away from their families is not a new or unusual practice. It, in my opinion, is an illegal and immoral practice, one that the U.S. should be ashamed of participating in. Punishing through incarceration is one thing, punishing through denial of family is something else all together. The denial of access to family is what the dictatorships we abhor so much do.

If we can’t agree on immigration as a whole, let’s agree on the treatment of imprisoned people. Family integrity should be respected as much as possible for ALL imprisoned people. Period.