United States

As I’m writing this, I hear that Bruce added ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ to his Broadway show, in protest at the inhumane treatment at US Borders. This was the first set change for 146 shows and was warmly received by the audience.

I look at my Twitter feed and learn that MSNBC newsreader Rachel Maddow broke down on air whilst describing the forcible separation of babies and young children from their migrant parents at the US-Mexico border and the use of ‘tender age shelters’ by officials of the Trump administration.

Making light of my own immigration ‘inconvenience’ in no way diminishes how I feel about this disgraceful treatment of families and children – or the subsequent inadequate statements by the Trump administration in the face of international condemnation.

‘And what is your reason for visiting the United States?’

Welcome to immigration at Newark Liberty Airport. Obvious irony alert in the name but let that pass. After two merciless hours in a queue, the question comes as a blessed relief. It’s the one I’ve been waiting for.
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