Jayapal, Thompson, and Lofgren Lead 108 Lawmakers Urging Appropriators to Stop DHS from Separating Families
(WASHINGTON) Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) led 108 members of Congress in urging the Subcommittee on Homeland Security on Appropriations to restrict the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to separate families at the border.
The letter comes in response to the Trump administration’s cruel and inhumane policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Many parents arrive at our borders with their children to seek protection—a lawful act. In the last several years, the numbers of such families apprehended at our southern border has increased. Overwhelming evidence shows this is driven by rising levels of violence and persecution in their home countries,” wrote the members. “We believe that in a misguided attempt to reduce these numbers, DHS has been separating families with the hope that cruel treatment at our borders will send a message to and deter future migrants.”
“The solution to the cruel inhumanity of family separation cannot be the alternative—and costly—cruelty of family detention. Instead, DHS must act with humanity and fiscal responsibility by prioritizing a spectrum of alternatives to detention, beginning by restoring the Family Case Management Program (FCMP),” the members continued. “We respectfully request that the DHS FY 2019 Appropriations bill make it clear that no funds may be used to support the ongoing and increasing use of family separation as a means of deterring future migration. We also strongly urge you to include funding for the FCMP as a cost-efficient and effective alternative to detention.”
The members signing this letter are Pramila Jayapal, Bennie G. Thompson, Zoe Lofgren, John Lewis, Frank Pallone, Jr., Eliot L. Engel, Rosa L. DeLauro, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jerrold Nadler, Jim Cooper, Anna G. Eshoo, Gene Green, Luis V. Gutiérrez, Alcee L. Hastings, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Carolyn B. Maloney, Bobby L. Rush, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Nydia M. Velázquez, Lloyd Doggett, Sheila Jackson Lee, Elijah E. Cummings, Earl Blumenauer, Danny K. Davis, Diana DeGette, Ron Kind, James P. McGovern, Adam Smith, Barbara Lee, Michael E. Capuano, Joe Crowley, Grace F. Napolitano, Jan Schakowsky, Mike Thompson, James R. Langevin, Rick Larsen, Raúl M. Grijalva, G. K. Butterfield, Emanuel Cleaver, Jim Costa, Al Green, Gwen S. Moore, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Doris Matsui, Albio Sires, Yvette D. Clarke, Steve Cohen, Keith Ellison, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson Jr., John Sarbanes, Peter Welch, John Yarmuth, Niki Tsongas, André Carson, Jackie Speier, Gerald E. Connolly, Ben Ray Luján, Chellie Pingree, Jared Polis, Mike Quigley, Judy Chu, John Garamendi, Ted Deutch, Bill Foster, David N. Cicilline, William R. Keating, Cedric Richmond, Frederica Wilson, Suzanne Bonamici, Suzan DelBene, Dina Titus, Colleen Hanabusa, Carol Shea-Porter, Julia Brownley, Tony Cárdenas, Joaquin Castro, Elizabeth H. Esty, Tulsi Gabbard, Denny Heck, Jared Huffman, Joseph P. Kennedy, III, Derek Kilmer, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Grace Meng, Beto O'Rourke, Scott H. Peters, Mark Takano, Marc Veasey, Filemon Vela, Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., Donald S. Beyer Jr., Brendan F. Boyle, Mark DeSaulnier, Ruben Gallego, Brenda L. Lawrence, Ted W. Lieu, Seth Moulton, Kathleen M. Rice, Norma J. Torres, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Anthony G. Brown, Salud Carbajal, J. Luis Correa, Adriano Espaillat, Vicente Gonzalez, Ro Khanna, A. Donald McEachin, Jimmy Panetta, Jamie Raskin, Jimmy Gomez.
Full copy of the letter to the Subcommittee on Homeland Security is available here
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Media contact: Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978
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