Rep. Chu Condemns DOJ Decision to Separate Immigrant Parents and Children

Congresswoman's statement on separating immigrants from their children.

Washington, DC —On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his new plan to separate immigrant children from parents when apprehended at the border. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) released the following statement:

“I’m amazed at this administration’s capacity to create increasingly hateful policies that do nothing but make lives harder for minorities. Attorney General Sessions claims that this policy to punish immigrant parents by treating them as criminals and separating them from their children is what the law demands of him. But as one of those who writes our laws, I can attest it does not. This was a choice he made to perpetuate Trump’s war on immigrants.

“Immigration is driven by people escaping often dire and life threatening situations at home, believing in opportunity here. Unless and until President Trump destroys our economy, immigrants will still be drawn to the promise of the American Dream, as they have throughout our history. Just as air flows from high pressure to low, immigrants will always seek out a better life here. This policy just ensures that when they arrive, they are subjected to the worst treatment imaginable – being torn away from their children.

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“And what of the children? They will be sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is already at 86% capacity and lacking the resources necessary to care for these children. Others face being lost when released by ORR, as was the case with 1,475 migrant children last year who the administration lost track of. Does the administration care what happens to these kids that they take away from their parents as some form of punishment? By the looks of this policy, no. They are more focused on showing a xenophobic few that the most powerful nation in the world is stronger than a vulnerable immigrant showing up at our border and asking for a chance at a better future. This is a bully’s policy. It is an assault on families. And it is an insult to our values.”