How You Can Help Separated Families and Ensure Protection for Children
Kids in Need of Defense (June 28, 2018)
This page provides some simple steps and actions you can take to support and advocate for separated families.
Oversight of the Care of Unaccompanied Alien Children
United States Senate, Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (August 15, 2018)
This report documents findings related to the oversight of federal government programs designed to care for unaccompanied children and ensure they are not trafficked or abused The subcommittee has focused on weaknesses in the care of unaccompanied children and placement with sponsors.
Feds don’t follow-up on child immigrant placements, says new report from Sen. Rob Portman
Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland.com (August 15, 2018)
The federal Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t adequately track unaccompanied immigrant minors who enter the United States after placing them with sponsors, putting the kids at “significant risk for trafficking and abuse,” says a new report from Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.
Read MoreWhat happens when migrant children are deported home
Joshua Barajas, PBS News Hour (August 15, 2018)
Migrant children fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries are even more vulnerable if they’re deported back once they arrive in the U.S. and Mexico, in part because they return to worse conditions than those that prompted them to leave in the first place…
Read MoreFeds point fingers as illegal immigrant children face abuse: Senate probe
Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times (August 15, 2018)
Illegal-immigrant children are slipping through the federal safety net designed to protect them from abuse, Senate investigators said in a new report released Wednesday that found no federal agency willing to step up and accept responsibility for them once they’re released into the community.
Read MoreMigrant children’s health endangered by family separation at US border
Infectious Diseases in Children (August 2018)
Although the Trump administration has ended its policy of family separation as a deterrent against illegal immigration, experts are concerned that migrant children are not receiving adequate care at detention facilities and may experience long-term health implications due to detention and separation.
Read MoreFamily Separation Isn’t New
Natalie Escobar, The Atlantic (August 14, 2018)
This article explores the history of family separation in the U.S., pointing out that while many aspects of the current administration’s approach are unprecedented, many aspects have a long history in U.S. immigration policy.
Read MoreJoin Us on 8/29 for a Free Live Chat About Kids Waiting for Families
International Social Service-USA (August 29, 2018)
Join ISS staff for a #KidsAreWaiting Live Chat with the ISS-USA Staff on Wed, August 29th from 1-2pm EST. They will answer questions about our cross-border services that benefit waiting children and families.
More InformationThe Shiloh Scandal Is Even Worse Than It Seems
Daniel Engber, Slate (August 10, 2018)
A federal court has given the Trump administration until Friday, Aug. 10, to figure out a plan for the 28 immigrant children still detained at the Shiloh Treatment Center in southeast Texas….She also addressed the lawsuit’s claims that residents at Shiloh have been given forced injections and prescribed antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotic drugs without consent.
Read MoreInside a Texas Detention Facility for Immigrant Families
Alicia A. Caldwell, Wall Street Journal (August 10, 2010)
This article takes the reader inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement family detention center in Dilley, Texas, which can hold as many as 2,400 mothers and children.
Read MoreTexas Investigates Reported Death of Child Who Was Released From ICE Facility
Paul J. Weber, TIME (August 9, 2018)
Texas child welfare officials Thursday opened an abuse and neglect investigation into reports that surfaced last week of a child dying after being released from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Judge orders plane carrying deported mother and child turned around, blocks more removals
Suzanne Gamboa and Jacob Saboroff, NBC News (August 9, 2018)
The court learned that the Trump administration had put a mother and a daughter who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit on a flight to Central America.
Fact Sheet on Family Separation
CLINIC (August 9, 2018)
This fact sheet describes the process by which the Trump Administration carried out family separation and how the related federal court ruling Ms. L v. ICE addresses family separation.
The Government Reunited Some Immigrant Families—Then Took the Children Away a Second Time
Robert Moore, Texas Monthly (August 6, 2018)
As the government contends with 500 children who remain in government facilities, nightmarish tales are emerging of aborted reunifications.
Read MoreDetained Immigrants at San Antonio-Area Facility On Hunger Strike for Their Release
Camille Sauers, San Antonio Current (August 3, 2018)
On Thursday, August 2, fathers detained at Karnes Detention Center, 52 miles outside of San Antonio, staged a hunger strike and protest to demand their release, according to a RAICES press statement…
Read More2 Workers at Arizona Migrant Children Centers Are Charged With Sexual Abuse
Matthew Haag, New York Times (August 3, 2018)
Two youth care workers at Arizona shelters for migrant children have been charged with sexually assaulting immigrant teenagers, according to court records. They are the latest claims of abuse at government-contracted shelters that have a key role in the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration crackdown.
Read MoreSeparated Children Resources Website
Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health (July 2018)
The Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health has developed a website with resources to support families who have been separated during their time of need. Two types of resources are available: resources for children who have been separated from their parents and resources for caregivers and social service providers working to support these children and their families.
I Was in Foster Care. Family Separation Isn’t Just a Problem at the Border
Sherry Lachman, TIME (August 2, 2018)
This article discusses the similarities in how the government has been handling family separation and how it handles foster care.
Read MoreHow Trump’s Family Separation Policy Has Affected Parents
Nicole Einbinder, PBS Frontline (August 2, 2018)
As the Trump administration scrambles to reunite children with their parents, immigration lawyers and psychologists have raised another concern: whether the government is equipped to deal not just with lasting trauma to children, but also their parents in detention…
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