by Naomi Post, Executive Director
Since the beginning of this Administration, there has been a relentless assault on immigrant families, threatening their safety and well-being. We remain vocal in our opposition to existing and proposed practices.
- In New York, we submitted comments, encouraging our partners to join us, opposing the newly proposed federal actions which would:
- Bar immigrant and mixed status families from receiving housing assistance,
- Deprive those families of the ability to provide basic necessities such as SNAP benefits or health care for children who are U.S. citizens,
- Shift fees for basic immigrant services to those least likely to be able to afford them, and
- Encourage unsubstantiated information to be shared liberally with all law enforcement information through a new TIP Form.
And while the recent spotlight on the immoral treatment of children and families at the border might fade as news cycles pivot, we have a moral obligation to push this Administration to stop separating families and to cease jailing innocent children in deplorable conditions.
- Our Founder and President Emerita provided a profoundly powerful rebuke of these practices in her June 28 2019 Child Watch Column, “New Levels of Shame.”
- Our CDF- Texas office, with its proximity to the border, has been organizing rallies to protest the jailing of migrant children.
- In NY, we offered testimony regarding the impact of family separation and against the Administration’s zero tolerance policy.
- In anticipation of ICE raids, our office developed and disseminated a guide to faith leaders across the state which provides advice and resources to help them become sanctuary churches and ensure immigrant families know their rights – the guide also has advocacy tools and a map to assist them in identifying legal and social services close to the immigrant families they encounter.
We remain committed to collaborating with our allies and partners to oppose the atrocities that are being committed. The New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), has “Know Your Rights” fact sheets for information about what to do in an encounter with immigration enforcement.
Last week, we had the privilege of attending CDF’s 25th Annual Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry at Haley Farm. Although these are dark days for those most vulnerable, our sense of hope was renewed by being part of a beloved community of faith leaders from across the country, all committed to advancing social justice for all families, working together and in their communities against the myriad of inhumane practices being advanced by this Administration. We invite you to join us too by speaking out and calling your Congressional representative demanding that they reunite families and close the abhorrent child camps.