Commentary: WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 10, 2018) - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined elected officials and advocacy leaders in Washington, D.C. to demand action after the Trump administration failed to meet the court ordered deadline today to reunite children under the age of five who were separated from their parents due to President Trump’s cruel family separation policy.
During a press conference organized by Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), an organization working to reunite families, Senator Heinrich called on the Trump administration to stop treating children refugees like criminals.
“President Trump’s decision to take children as young as infants and toddlers away from their parents as a form of punishment or deterrence is morally indefensible. Today is the deadline for reuniting children under five with their parents, but barely half are expected to be reunited on time,” said Senator Heinrich. “Each and every child needs to be accounted for and reunited with their parents and it is incumbent on President Trump to fix the crisis that he created.”
Senator Heinrich has been leading efforts calling for a reunification plan for every child and demanding congressional hearings on the Trump administration’s treatment of migrant children.