Thank you for your service.  How do I rationalize this to my children?  You don't.  Hopefully you can home school them because there is no rationalization of a crazy-ass-backwards world, and much of these policies and the narratives supporting them are in place to make it so citizens can't stand up and protect their own children.    It's also a huge reason for "sanctuary" cities and states:  everyone knows parents can't stand up for their kids without facing deportation, so they get bullied, molested and worse in public schools.