Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Rejecting the Trump Administration’s Policy of separating children from their families at the border, calling on congress to immediately halt this inhumane policy, and enact fair and humane comprehensive immigration reform.
Body
WHEREAS, the Trump Administration recently implemented a new ‘zero tolerance’ policy to separate children from their parents at border crossings and hold the children in large detention centers in what been called cages; and,
WHEREAS, this new policy dramatically increases the number of vulnerable minors who are in U.S. custody without the protection of their families; and,
WHEREAS, in practice, this policy has resulted in 1,995 minors who have been separated from their families between April 19, 2018 and May 31, 2018; and,
WHEREAS, the purported goal of this new policy is to serve as a deterrent to prevent people from crossing the border without documentation; and ,
WHEREAS, this policy came at the express direction of Attorney General Jeff Sessions after April 6th, 2018 when he directed each U.S. Attorney’s Office along the Southwest Border (i.e., Southern District of California, District of Arizona, District of New Mexico, Western District of Texas, and Southern District of Texas) to adopt a policy to prosecute all Department of Homeland Security referrals of section 1325(a) violations to the extent practicable; and,
WHEREAS, this ‘zero tolerance’ policy further escalates the increasing harassment and discrimination of immigrants caused by the Trump’s Administration policies including:
1. Regular public vilification of migrants, people of color, and people from certain countries;
2. Executive Orders authorizing increased raids and deportation of undocumented immigrants;
3. Reduction of the refugee quota;
4. A costly and unnecessary border wall;
5. A travel ban directed at select Muslim majority nations;
6. Threats to retaliate against law enforcement and cities that seek to keep...
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