The Trump administration’s ramped-up, supercharged immigration enforcement within the interior of the U.S. is simply family separation by another name. Aggressive immigration enforcement choices, like the reemergence of worksite raids and expanded “expedited removal” policy that allows immigration agents to arrest and deport people without a court hearing, add trauma and toxic stress to children’s lives. We must end this cruelty and keep families together.
Children’s wellbeing must be top of mind when people in power make immigration decisions that upend lives. To protect children, the Department of Homeland Security must reduce immigration enforcement, and shift detention and deportation priorities away from parents. Congress must pass laws that mitigate harm to children, such as the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act (H.R. 1011 and S.2097), and exercise oversight to prevent unchecked power from hurting children and families.
The Children Thrive Action Network today released a toolkit for protecting immigrant families facing deportation. The toolkit includes sections to help service providers and community members speak out and advocate against enforcement that harms children in immigrant families, as well as guidance for parents, service providers, and community members working to protect families at risk of being torn apart.
Check out the toolkit.