The Uncertainty Principle

It may take federal officials two years to identify what could be thousands of immigrant children who were separated from their families at the southern United States border, the government said in court documents filed on Friday.

— Julia Jacobs, New York Times, April 6, 2019

1

Only so much can be known about a particleat any given moment. There is a limit,Heisenberg stated, to the precision withwhich one can measure the exact positionand momentum of a particle. This is nota statement about a technological dearth,rather, the uncertainty arises becausethe act of measuring affects the objectbeing measured. The only way to measurethe position of something is by using lightbut, on the subatomic scale, the interactionof light with the object inevitably changesthe object’s position and direction of travel.

2

Only so much can be known about a part-personat any given moment, a refugeechild led into a dim tunnel. There is a limit,an official stated, to the precision with whichone can measure the exact position of a childin sleep, how he turns beneath his metallicblanket, the watchful focus of cameras and police dogs sniffing the rank neglect of hisbody. This is not a statement about a technologicaldearth, rather, the uncertaintyarises because the act of measuring affectsthe perspective of lawmakers. The only wayto measure the position of lawmakers is byusing light but, on the subatomic scale, thelawmakers’ interaction with light inevitablychanges their position and direction of blame.

3

Only so much can be given to a childwhose parents have tried to save themfrom a fragmented life, one of violenceand thirst, and men whose howling greedfor power and blood surpasses all beliefin light. There is a machete swinging wildlythrough what is left of the burning forestbut there is a limit to whom we can allow in,given our scarcity of clean water and cash.This is not a statement about a financialdearth, only a way to slide the frame awayfrom the child in the corner, arms acrossher chest because she has forgotten hermother’s face and the face of the armedguards offer only revulsion. She is three.

4

I know, I know where the lost children go.Lo sé, sé a dónde van los niños desaparecidos.I know, I know where the lost children go.Lo sé, sé a dónde van los niños desaparecidos.La tierra está tan vacía como el cielo.Only so much can be known about knowing.Nuestros niños son tragados por la oscuridad.They go into the mouths of wolves.

5

Some say the lost children are the lucky ones,their inability to be reached no cause for alarm,and the focus on these children (who are likelywith family) displaces our focus on the childrendetained. On a mundane level, the lulling effectof safety contaminates our ability to see. See?No, look here: where the halfway people arepressed together so close against the chain-linkthey can’t lie down beneath the Paso del NorteBridge, where citizens drive, their eyes narrowedby an influx of light, the unrelenting sun blurringtheir vision. As they pass over they almost hearthe unsettled breathing, the indeterminate notesof a dying song, but lose the frequency when theyreach the other side. They shrug. They can’t becertain of what they heard, though it haunts themas they lift cups of coffee to their tender tongueswhich they burn, sipping then spilling the darkdrink on their clean clothes, marking themselveswith awkward inattention, which makes them soresigned they yawn long toward the empty-skiedwindshield, their exposed throats revealing a silentdangle of flesh — the uvula, which grows betweenwhat is uncertain and what has been left unsaid.