Washington, DC
Congressman Richard E. Neal became an Original Co-Sponsor today of the “Keep Families Together Act” that would stop on the Trump administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” immigration policy which has led to thousands of young children being separated from their families along the U.S. – Mexico Border. The Trump Administration has implemented an insidious practice of family separation as a tool to deter asylum seekers from Central America from seeking refuge in the United States. Family separation has been universally condemned by the child welfare community, immigration rights community, and medical professionals such as the American Pediatrics Association. There have been reports of children being physically pulled from the arms of their parents, babies being separated from their mothers, children with disabilities being separated from their parents and most recently, a distraught father separated from his family choosing to take his own life instead of living apart from his children. The parent-child relationship is the most important primal emotional bond and it is at the very core of our humanity. The Trump Administration’s degradation of this relationship is cruel and inhumane
The House bill, introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would:
- Keep Families Together: The bill promotes family unity by prohibiting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials from separating children from their parents, except in extraordinary circumstances. In these limited circumstances, separation could not occur unless parental rights have been terminated, a child welfare agency has issued a best interest determination, or the Port Director or the Chief Border Patrol agent of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have approved separation due to trafficking indicators or other concerns of risk to the child. It requires an independent child welfare official to review any such separation and return the child if no harm to the child is present. It imposes financial penalties on officials who violate the prohibition on family separation.
- Limit Criminal Prosecutions for Asylum Seekers: The majority of the parents separated at the border are being criminally prosecuted for illegal entry or re-entry. This bill restricts the prosecution of parents who are asylum seekers by adopting the recommendation of the DHS Office of Inspector General. The bill delays prosecutions for asylum seekers and creates an affirmative defense for asylum seekers. It also codifies our commitment to the Refugee protocol prohibiting the criminal punishment of those seeking protection from persecution.
- Increase Child Welfare Training: The bill requires all CBP officers and agents to complete child welfare training on an annual basis. Port Directors and Chief Border Agents, those who are authorized to make decisions on family separations, must complete an additional 90 minutes of annual child-welfare training.
- Establish Public Policy Preference for Family Reunification: The bill establishes a preference for family unity, discourages the separation of siblings, and creates a presumption that detention is not in the best interests of families and children.
- Add Procedures for Separated Families: The bill requires DHS to develop policies and procedures allowing parents and children to locate each other and reunite if they have been separated. Such procedures must be public and made available in a language that parents can understand. In cases of separation, it requires DHS to provide parents with a weekly report containing information about a child, and weekly phone communication.
- Establish Other Required Measures: In order to inform Congressional oversight and promote public understanding of the use family separation, the bill requires a report on the separation of families every six months.
In a statement released today Neal said, “The American people are justifiably outraged at the heartbreaking scenes they continue to witness on the U.S. – Mexican border. Over Father’s Day weekend, hundreds of parents were forcibly separated from their children and then held in secretive federal detention centers. How many more families are going to be emotionally traumatized before this cruel and inhumane program is halted? President Trump could stop these forcible separations with one phone call to the Department of Homeland Security. But he continues to play politics with the lives of people seeking asylum in the United States. I believe this policy is wrong, does not reflect our country’s basic values, and should end immediately. Families belong together.”
The House bill currently has 124 Co-Sponsors. The Senate companion to the “Keep Families Together Act” was introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA).
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