Why do Texas officials, especially those from Child Protective Services, seem so intent on punishing the mothers and children of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints ranch in El Dorado? The actions of Texas officials against the FLDS community in El Dorado may be a tragedy in the making, at least for the moms and kids concerned. The officials' raid and attempt to remove the children from their mothers has the potential of seriously harming these 416 children for the rest of their lives.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that either officials were duped into obtaining a false warrant or obtained a warrant for which they knew there was no reasonable factual basis. The evidence CPS has so far is slim, to say the least, and even that questionable evidence may have been manufactured.
If there was child abuse, there should be punishment - punishment of the perpetrator, not the mothers and the children. The culpable man or men should be arrested, and nothing at this time suggests wrongdoing to justify mass separation of all the children from their mothers. Otherwise, all that happens is victimizing innocent children. So far, nothing has come to light that shows any grievous misconduct at the El Dorado ranch. In fact, it now turns out that the one alleged perpetrator has been in Colorado the whole time.
But CPS convinced the judge that mass genetic testing was necessary and wants to move forward, removing children from their moms. Why does the judge - who rather shamefully referred to the mass proceedings she engineered as a "cattle call" - need to wait until June for another hearing on the future of the children? There are plenty of retired judges around who could help resolve these cases quickly. In the meantime, the kids suffer more and more.
One certainly can get the impression that the officials may be motivated by bias against the FLDS people because of their practice of plural marriage and their self-isolation in an enclave. It would not be the first time in American history that majority of society has struck out against Mormons or other self-isolating religious groups. Simply because their beliefs and lifestyle are very different, and maybe even incomprehensible to the majority of society, is no reason to leverage the law against them. Religious freedom is a cardinal tenet of the First Amendment. It may be hard to swallow for many "mainstream" folks, but it is essential to any pluralist democracy. And so is due process.
These children are taught that they live on a ranch that is insulated from the general community because the majority of society acts arbitrarily and capriciously toward religious minorities. State officials are reinforcing that view.
Imagine what kind of trauma befalls young children who are rounded up and transported en masse to live in Ft. Concho national park and then herded off to the city coliseum - all while the state tries to take them away from their mothers.
This sad situation needs to be resolved - quickly - for the children's sake. Punish the wrongdoer, if there is one, but not the children and their mothers. And if the state has committed a grave error, the officials should apologize and let everyone go on with their lives.
Harrington is an adjunct professor at the UT School of Law and the director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit that promotes civil rights and economic and racial justice in Texas.
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