Family Separations: What’s Happening and What You Can Do About It

UPDATE: JUNE 25 (11:00 A.M.)

What happened over the weekend:

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is pressuring parents to sign voluntary deportation orders to be reunited with their children. A voluntary deportation order, when signed, automatically deports the person who signed and their children without a trial.
• 522 previously separated children have been reunited with their parents, still leaving over 1,500 children apart from their families. Reunified families have either been deported or are still detained.
• DHS has refused to reunite families until the parents’ deportation proceedings have been completed. Whether the immigration court decides to deport the parents or grant requests for asylum, children must stay apart from their parents in this interim period.
• The administration has not backed down on housing immigrant families indefinitely on military bases, meaning children could spend their childhood detained in internment camps.
• Multiple states are suing Trump over this executive order, which is expected to be struck down in the courts.
• Republican lawmakers are working on legislation that would institutionalize the order, allowing immigrant families to be legally detained indefinitely.

What you can do about it:

We must take action NOW. This weekend, on June 30, there will be nationwide protests in 130+ cities to demand immediate reunification of families and humane treatment of all immigrants. Make a plan to attend and share the location finder with your friends. Scroll down to the end of the article for even more ways to take action.

UPDATE: JUNE 21 (11:00 A.M.)

President Trump issued an executive order that would allow families to be detained together indefinitely. While this ends future family separations for now, it is not the appropriate solution. It does nothing to reunite the 2,000+ children already separated from their parents. Additionally, this order directly contradicts a previous settlement that prohibits the federal government from detaining immigrant children, regardless of whether they are with their parents, for more than 20 days. Not only will his administration continue the zero-tolerance prosecution policy, but also innocent children could spend their childhood in cages for months or even years.

JUNE 20 (10:00 A.M.)

Catch me up -- what’s going on?

As Vox reports, the Trump administration recently implemented a “zero-tolerance policy” for immigrants crossing the border. It recently surfaced that this policy as implemented by our government separates children from parents, while their parents are criminally prosecuted and deported. Last Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that between April 19 and May 31, almost 2,000 children were separated from their parents. These children are literally being held in cages.

Separating families like this has been a tactic by cruel, unjust governments for centuries -- everything from separating slave families in the 1800s, Native American families since exploration, and Jewish families during the Holocaust. All the research points out that these children will suffer lifelong trauma from being separated from their families.

The Trump administration has justified this policy by stating that it discourages other immigrants from coming to our country in fear of being separated from their children at the border. A CNN exclusive, citing internal documents from the Department of Homeland Security, revealed that while the government thought the policy would be effective quickly, in over eight weeks of its implementation, there has been a 5% increase in the number of immigrants arriving. Along with being inhumane, this policy simply does not work.

In some cases, parents are being deported without their children. The New York Times covered the story of Elsa Johana Ortiz Enriquez, a 25-year-old fleeing Guatemala with her eight-year-old son to the United States, and how she was sent back to her home country, while her son was kept in a migrant shelter. Now it’s up in the air whether or not she will ever see her son again.

What are elected officials doing about it?

President Trump has repeatedly shifted the blame to the Democratic party, at first citing a law that doesn't actually exist, then asserting that Democrats refused to come to the negotiating table. This is not true. This is a policy executed by the Trump administration and immigration enforcement, NOT legislators. In fact, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been working on bills that would stop this horrific practice.

After a meeting with Trump, House leaders are optimistic that one of two proposals that were debated will pass and eventually be sent to the president, who will sign. One bill, referred to as the “compromise bill,” would guarantee $25 billion for a border wall, offer a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers (young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as kids), and end family separation. The more conservative proposal would not guarantee citizenship for Dreamers and has more controversial immigration restrictions.

As of writing, the only proposed bill in the Senate is the Keep Families Together Act, which would outlaw family separation, except in cases where the child is in danger. This bill has all 49 Democratic Senators supporting. Senator Ted Cruz is currently working on a Republican bill that would allow families to be detained together and pushed to the front of the line in prosecuting their case. Moderates in the Senate are working to craft their own compromise bill.

What can WE do about it?

Along with mobilizing our members with tangible actions that will make an impact, DoSomething.org signed on to a letter of over 300 organizations, which was delivered to Congressional leaders, demanding specific, legislative action to protect immigrants. Here’s how YOU can take action right now.

1. Share this article with friends and family. By doing so, you'll help build the movement and educate the people around you with factual information about what the government is doing to immigrant families.
2. Call your elected officials NOW. Both houses of Congress are considering legislation on the issue of DACA and to stop the indefinite practice of detaining families. Pressuring representatives with calls could be the deciding factor in how they vote. Call this number +1 202-831-0125. You’ll hear Anthony, a DoSomething staffer, who will give you a script. Then you’ll be connected to your official’s office.
3. Take 2 minutes and register to vote. It shouldn’t be this hard to pass common sense legislation that protects human rights and dignity. Let’s elect officials dedicated to protecting the wellbeing of all people, including immigrants.
4. Sign up for our Defend Dreamers campaign to receive updates on the situation, including how to attend protests being held on June 30th and what more can be done. You can continue to advocate for our government to do the right thing on ALL things immigration.

DoSomething.org is the largest not-for-profit exclusively for young people and social change. Our digital platform is activating 6 million young people (and counting!) to create offline impact in every US area code and in 131 countries.