Rep. Bass Leads House Democrats on Letter Opposing Trump Administration Plan to Use Foster Care as Immigration Deterrent

Statement

Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) sent a letter signed by 80 Members of the House of Representatives to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in strong opposition to his flippant remarks regarding newly proposed immigration policy that would take custody of immigrant children and then place them in foster care. On Thursday afternoon, Rep. Bass was joined by six of the signatories and many child welfare advocates outside the U.S. Capitol to discuss the letter and to condemn Secretary Kelly's remarks.

"Our child welfare system is designed to protect children from abusive and neglectful parents. The system should never be used as a deterrent or a punishment for anyone, whether they are Americans or not," said Rep. Bass. "To consider using the threat of detainment of a child as a deterrent to parents outside of our borders is not only irresponsible and inadequate but immoral and inhumane. Not only does this policy purposefully disassemble the family unit, but it also overloads an already past-capacity foster care system, exacerbating consequences already experienced by foster youth nationwide."

"As a psychologist and as somebody who has seen the pain of child immigrants in detention up close, I know how traumatic this callous plan to separate children from their parents is. Not only will it place an impossible -- and unnecessary - burden on our child welfare system, it is also bad policy. Traumatizing children here in the hopes of teaching a lesson to somebody else's parents thousands away is senseless and cruel and I urge Secretary Kelly to abandon this policy and return us to our standing as a moral country," Said Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)

"The Secretary of Homeland Security clearly seems out of touch with our country's immigration priorities and the challenges facing the already stretched resources of the foster care system." Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) stated. "We need to be clear, the foster care system is designed to protect children--not allow them to be used as a tool to punish or attack immigrants trying to come to this country. Immigrant children are especially vulnerable and these situations require extra consideration and care. Secretary Kelly should reconsider the priorities of his agency and not move forward with this harmful immigration policy."

"The people that actually do these acts are less than human because they should have to come up and apologize for their own actions," Rep. Shelia Jackson-Lee (D-TX) said. "America is a country that has freedom of religion. And to be probed about your religion is probably one of the highest public secular sins that we can have."

"It is unconscionable that the Trump Administration is using our overburdened and under-resourced child welfare system as a means of punishment for immigrant families," said Jim Langevin (D-RI). "Not only does this demonstrate an utter lack of awareness and understanding of the challenges already facing foster youth in this country, it is quite simply inhumane and must be reversed for the health and wellbeing of these families."

"As a former pro-bono attorney representing foster children, I know that they are more likely to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as U.S. war veterans. Immigrant children do not need the added trauma of being placed in foster care after leaving violence from their home countries and migrating through harsh conditions. This proposal is simply wrong and not who we are as Americans," said Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA).