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INSTAGRAM
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: criticizes Donald Trump immigration policies that separated children and parents. |
CORRECTION: July 26, 9:30 a.m. to correct deadline date.
VISITS by congressional delegations of detention centers in Texas and California confirmed the worst fears of the House members.
“I witnessed the full consequences of President Trump’s zero-humanity, zero-tolerance policy at the border and it was absolutely horrifying," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
"In the courtrooms, we saw mass prosecutions of over 70 people at once. This assembly-line justice has no place in our democracy and must end immediately. And make no mistake – family separation is still occurring and young children are still being held in cages,” said Jayapal, who was born in India and raised in Indonesia and Singapore. She immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager in 1982,
The zero-tolerance policy towards asylum seekers instigated by the Trump administration that separated 2,500 children from their parents was shoved off the front pages last week because of the diplomatic snafus of Donald Trump.
It appears that the government will fail to meet the court-ordered deadline to reunite the children - including infants - with their parents continues to show that the government had no plan for reunification. Government employees and their private for-profit contractors are scrambling to meet the July 26 deadline issued by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego.
The government concedes that the deadline will not be met for all the families. Only 1,012 families have been reunited as of this writing.
The chaos surrounding this callous policy is evident and makes one wonder if there was any advance planning or any intention to reunited the families. More than half of the children will not be reunited with their parents or guardians. Over 460 parents have been deported without their children and 260 cases await further investigation.
"Tthis visit was important to highlight the absolute lack of planning by this administration before they started separating and detaining children," said Rep. Judy Chu, who visited the California facility. "It’s clear that innocent children are being punished for the administration’s lack of planning".
The government concedes that the deadline will not be met for all the families. Only 1,012 families have been reunited as of this writing.
The chaos surrounding this callous policy is evident and makes one wonder if there was any advance planning or any intention to reunited the families. More than half of the children will not be reunited with their parents or guardians. Over 460 parents have been deported without their children and 260 cases await further investigation.
"Tthis visit was important to highlight the absolute lack of planning by this administration before they started separating and detaining children," said Rep. Judy Chu, who visited the California facility. "It’s clear that innocent children are being punished for the administration’s lack of planning".
Jayapal and seven other members of Congress visited the Texas border Saturday. On their visit the members observed court proceedings of those who crossed the border, and visited the Ursula Border Patrol Processing Center, the Port Isabel Detention Center and the Brownsville Port of Entry.
“After visiting the U.S.-Mexico border, I am filled with sadness, despair, and anger that the Trump Administration has created a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude on American soil,” said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier D, CA. “This crisis, created by President Trump and Republican Leaders in Congress, is politically motivated and manufactured to divide Americans. If every American could witness what we experienced and hear the cries of sobbing mothers, fathers, and grandparents broken by what our government has done, people would understand firsthand the cruelty of this Administration’s policies.”
In California, another congressional delegation visited the David and Margaret Youth and Family Services Facility, an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-funded facility in Los Angeles County, which houses immigrant children who have been separated from their parents.
The four Democrats included Congress members Judy Chu, Mark Takano, Grace Napolitano and Raul Ruiz.
While the facilities were better than the centers in Texas, the delegation were still worried about the traumatic impact the separation may have caused with the family members.
According to the Los Angeles Times, at one Customs and Border Protection facility in El Centro, Calif., "families with children as young as 3 were sleeping on cold, concrete floors with no padding, according to the case filings. Detainees, including juveniles, were not given adequate access to drinking water and basic hygiene products."
"This visit was important to highlight the absolute lack of planning by this administration before they started separating and detaining children," said Rep. Judy Chu, who visited the California facility. "It’s clear that innocent children are being punished for the administration’s lack of planning."
For instance, she said, nobody knows why the children are being sent all over the country. Nor is there any assurance that they will meet the court ordered deadline to reunify these children with their families. In fact, it looks like reunification will be a long and difficult process. And it is clear that there is no plan at all to follow the Flores settlement, which prohibits the detention of children once these children are reunified.
The four Democrats included Congress members Judy Chu, Mark Takano, Grace Napolitano and Raul Ruiz.
While the facilities were better than the centers in Texas, the delegation were still worried about the traumatic impact the separation may have caused with the family members.
According to the Los Angeles Times, at one Customs and Border Protection facility in El Centro, Calif., "families with children as young as 3 were sleeping on cold, concrete floors with no padding, according to the case filings. Detainees, including juveniles, were not given adequate access to drinking water and basic hygiene products."
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SCREEN CAPTURE / MSNBC
REP. JUDY CHU |
For instance, she said, nobody knows why the children are being sent all over the country. Nor is there any assurance that they will meet the court ordered deadline to reunify these children with their families. In fact, it looks like reunification will be a long and difficult process. And it is clear that there is no plan at all to follow the Flores settlement, which prohibits the detention of children once these children are reunified.
The inhumane treatment of the families crossing the U.S. border will go down in history as one of the shameful periods of America at a similar level as the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The policy goes against the Christian values espoused by Trump and his supporters and goes against the values we share as Americans.
"This is government-sanctioned child abuse and it must stop now," said Jayapal. "Congress needs to act immediately and bring forward an immigration solution that’s reflective of who we are as a country. This crisis, which will go down as a stain on our nation’s history, is far from over.”
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