Tearing Immigrant Children Away From Their Parents

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Correa for his leadership in putting together this Special Order.

I know this shocks us all, what is happening at the border, because in our country, family is an institution. It shapes every aspect of our lives.

If you just listen to Ronald Reagan, who painted a wonderful picture of what family means in America, he said: ``The family has always been the cornerstone of American society. Our families nurture, preserve, and pass on to each succeeding generation the values we share and cherish, values that are the foundation of our freedoms.''

That is Ronald Reagan talking about the family as an American institution.

Today, family, that concept, is being torn apart and challenged at our own borders. Screaming children are being ripped from their parents' arms. These parents are fleeing government violence, domestic violence, religious persecution. They follow generations of people who came to America seeking a better life. Remember that America was founded by people fleeing religious persecution in Europe.

We know the story all too well about what is happening at the border in San Diego where, last week, Dana Sabraw, a Federal judge appointed by George W. Bush, refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging family separation. The lawsuit involved a Congolese woman and her 7-year-old daughter who were separated at the San Ysidro border crossing after applying for asylum.

As The New York Times described, the girl ``was taken away `screaming and crying, pleading with guards not to take her from her mother,''' and then she was sent to Chicago, thousands of miles away. They didn't see each other for 4 months.

This is common practice. After children are taken from their parents, many parents don't have any idea where they went, who is taking care of them, or how to reach them.

Now, this mother and her child were reunited, but only after a legal challenge and a DNA test.

This mother was looking for the life all parents try to provide their children: one of security and comfort, one of hope, one of opportunity.

We don't know the exact number of children who have been separated from their parents, but we do know that just one is unacceptable when their parents were just trying to give them a better life.

It is also potentially unconstitutional, because I know people in this Chamber still care about that.

In his opinion, Judge Sabraw said that family separation ``arbitrarily tears at the sacred bond between parent and child. Such conduct . . . is brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency.''

He also reiterated these same constitutional rights are guaranteed to the noncitizens who come to our borders and ask us for asylum.

The American Psychological Association called on the Trump administration to stop this cruel practice, citing increased anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and developmental disruptions in children who are separated from their parents.

But as parents, we don't need the American Psychological Association to tell us that. Imagine it is you and your children. Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to take care of your kids and had one torn away from you.

We had one account of a woman nursing her baby. The baby girl was ripped from her arms while she was breast feeding at a detention center.

How many children will have to suffer before we have to say, ``No more''?

Thankfully, we can do something here. We will not admit every family who comes and asks for our protection. We understand they don't all met the criteria for asylum. But while they wait for a decision on their application, we can treat these families with respect and dignity that demonstrates American values to the rest of the world.

Tearing families apart as an immigration deterrent is repulsive, and it is not us.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Correa, for his leadership and for holding this conversation on this important topic.

It shocks the conscience. I hear all the time from my constituents who are horrified by this. We need to stop this. We will continue to come back and speak up if we have to, but this needs to end.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Correa once again for holding this hour.

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