Nomination of Lynn Johnson

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, these are incredibly harmful and traumatic times for immigrants and refugees in America. Perhaps there is not greater example of the damaging immigration policies of this administration than the so called zero-tolerance policy that led to the cruel and needless separation of thousands of children from their parents.

Separating a child from his or her parents has lasting, harmful, and traumatizing impacts. These separations have been shown to increase anxiety and depression among children that have already experienced significant trauma in their home countries and along their journey to the United States. Best practices in child welfare promote keeping children and their parents safely together, unless removal is in the child's best interest.

While the Department of Justice ended the family separation policy after an incredible outcry from the public and experts in children's health and well-being, the damage is far from over. The administration is now undergoing a court-supervised process to reunify separated children and families. Significant and self-inflicted obstacles remain in this reunification process, and I and my Senate colleagues will continue to doggedly press the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services until every child is safely in the custody of a parent, relative, or other guardian and to ensure nothing like this happens again.

Hundreds of children still remain in government custody, scared and unsure if they will ever see their parents again. Children who were separated from their parents or arrive on their own are placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which falls under the Administration for Children and Families, ACF, within the Department of Health and Human Services. The President has nominated Lynn Johnson of Colorado to fill the role of head of ACF. If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Johnson has one of the most important jobs in public service, and that is ensuring the safety and well-being of these vulnerable children and working toward their reunification.

I voted against Ms. Johnson's nomination when it came before the Senate Finance Committee due to the sheer volume of unanswered questions and false or misleading answers from this administration regarding its family separation policies. Tonight, I had the opportunity to discuss my concerns with Ms. Johnson and secure her commitment to changing the way things are done in the Administration for Children and Families.

Ms. Johnson committed to enacting and enforcing policies that prevent Office of Refugee Resettlement grantees and facilities from engaging in activities that are not consistent with best practices for children including prohibiting solitary confinement for punitive purposes or behavioral modification; prohibiting the distribution of psychotropic medications or sedatives absent the informed, written consent of a parent or guardian, except in the case of well-documented emergencies; prohibiting arbitrary restraint policies; prohibiting any security measures that are not necessary for the protection of minors or others, such as denying them access to drinking water or preventing them from making private phone calls; and guaranteeing the maintenance of confidentiality of information disclosed by children to therapists and counselors in the context of a therapeutic/treatment relationship.

In addition, Ms. Johnson committed to ensuring ORR and its supported grantees and facilities allow any separated child to call a parent or legal guardian as frequently as the child wishes--if there are documented safety concerns, calls may be monitored by staff with the child, but otherwise, children must be able to contact a parent or legal guardian as they wish. If the parent/legal guardian is in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, the two agencies must establish a process to accept children's calls and connect them to their parents; and conducting a full review within 90 days of the oversight, staffing, training, medication, and licensing policies for ORR-funded facilities and issue a report to Congress describing the oversight of these facilities and the actions ACF will take to address oversight and program shortcomings. The review must include the extent and adequacy of policies related to post-release services; legal services; and health, including reproductive health, to ensure that they are consistent with constitutional protections. In the event the full review cannot be completed within 90 days, ACF will provide the summary of their work at that point, with a timeline and guarantee that the full report will be soon available.

I am grateful for these commitments and will hold Ms. Johnson to them if she is ultimately confirmed by the full Senate.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source