A new report suggests that there has been a startling increase in the number of instances where US Border Patrol officers have abused children seeking shelter in the United States from violence and poverty in Central America.
Read MoreSenator Tina Smith (D-MN) and colleagues in the Senate, along with Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA 40) and colleagues in the House, introduced the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act to protect children separated from their parents by immigration enforcement actions.
Read MoreA civil rights group has said Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has an “astounding” level of ignorance about the law after she claimed on Tuesday that it is up to schools to decide whether to report undocumented students to immigration enforcement officials.
Read MoreEarlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a goal to criminally prosecute 100 percent of people crossing the border illegally — including families with children. Those who are charged with improper entry — a misdemeanor on the first infraction — are jailed and separated from their children. Previously, most parents had been allowed to remain with their children in family shelters while awaiting asylum cases or deportation proceedings.
Read MoreWhile the Trump Administration has been careful to state that a decision has yet been made about housing the migrant children on military bases and the DoD has not received formal tasking, choosing this path would continue the trend of widening the military’s role in immigration enforcement more broadly. It follows the announcement made last month that state National Guard units would assist DHS and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in immigration enforcement.
Read MoreThe science is clear that adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, profoundly impact brain and child development. Removing a child from a nurturing parent is a strong ACE and this new policy is likely to have both short and long-term harmful consequences for the child. In addition to the immediate cruelty of separation, many children will experience changes in brain neuropathways, epigenetic profiles and immune system dysfunction. These changes result in life-long behavioral, mental and physical health disorders.
Read MoreThe Trump administration this month did not dispute a New York Times report in federal court that more than 700 children, among them at least 100 younger than 4, were separated from an adult who claimed to be their parent. Now, immigrant advocates are bracing for those numbers to dramatically increase as the administration ratchets up prosecutions of immigrants who illegally cross the border with Mexico.
Read MoreAs we reach the final months of this year’s legislative session, New York legislators have an opportunity to protect immigrant families at a time when increasing enforcement has created fear and uncertainty in our communities. A bill currently before the Senate would allow immigrant parents to appoint a “standby guardian” to ensure that their children are properly cared for in the event they are arrested or deported by ICE.
Read MoreAn estimated 154,000 immigrants without legal status in New Jersey have a child, and the majority of those children were born in the U.S., making them citizens. Many of these parents, now targeted for deportation, are setting up plans to ensure their children are accounted for should they be separated.
Read MoreThe Trump administration is preparing a policy change that could push legal immigrants to forgo needed health care, food and employment assistance while they seek green cards for permanent residency.
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