(Emigrant-i of the Huitch gtatcs Washington, 30: 31.1515 February 8, 2013 The Honorable Kirstjen Nielsen Secretary Department of Homeland Security US. Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC. 20528 Dear Secretary Nielsen: We are deeply concerned that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is separating immigrant families, including parents and their minor children, both in the interior of the United States and along the U.S.-Mexico border. Separating children from their parents is unconscionable and contradicts the most basic of American family values. Moreover, the reported justi?cation of this practice as a deterrent to family migration suggests a lack of understanding about the violence many families are ?eeing in their home countries. More pointedly, the pretext of deterrence is not a legally suf?cient basis for separating families. We are deeply disturbed by reports that the practice of separating families is increasing. Two recent complaints ?led with DHS oversight components, the Of?ce of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the Of?ce of Inspector General (010), illustrate that DHS appears to be intentionally separating families for purposes of deterrence and punishment. In some cases, this appears to be in direct contradiction to previously articulated policies.1 The ?rst of the two complaints,2 ?led on December 6, 2017, illustrates how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inappropriately used unaccompanied immigrant children to lure and place into custody family members who had come forward to shelter and care for them. Approximately 400 of these individuals were apprehended between June and August 2017 as a result of these enforcement actions. Homeland Security Investigations claimed that these sponsors had committed acts of smuggling,3 but the US. Attorney?s of?ce refused to prosecute over 90% of these cases. In fact, DHS has been unable to confirm that any of the sponsors were subsequently convicted of smuggling.4 See, e. g. US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ParenIaI Interest In the Course ofCiviI Immigration Enforcement Activities (Aug. 20 U.S. Customs and Border Protection NationaI Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, anrar Search (Oct. 2015). 2 and CBP Coercive Enforcement Actions against Sponsors of Unaccompanied Children Conducted in Violation of Family Unity, Protection, and Due Process Rights." Complaint ?led with DHS CRCL and 01G (Dec. 6, 201'?) available at: OIU CRCL Complaint Cover Letter-FINA]. 3 Burnett, John. ICE Has Arrested More Than 400 in Operation Targeting Parents Who Pay SmaggIers, NPR (Aug. 20?) available at: Imps: I ot??cials-and-immi. Per conversation between of?ce staff and the Dep?t of Homeland Security 1'de rtl'?rl?J The second complaint,5 ?led on December 11, 2017, notes the alarming increase in the number of families separated in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody for the purpose of punishing or deterring further migration to the United States. The complaint documented instances of infants and toddlers as young as one and two years old separated from their parents and rendered ?unaccompanied.? Moreover, one recent news investigation identi?ed 22 cases since June 2017 in which parents were charged with ?improper entry and had their children removed?? Once separated, children were rendered ?unaccompanied? and parents were either con?ned in ICE adult detention facilities or transferred to U.S. Marshals Service custody to await criminal prosecution. Among the cases is a father separated from his one-year-old son, Mateo, despite presenting appropriate documents to establish their relationship.Ti ICE, the Of?ce of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), CBP, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have inadequate measures to facilitate reuni?cation of separated family members. Yet, the separation of family members increased signi?cantly over the past several months and directly contradicts stated commitment to keeping families together, including a statement by former Secretary John Kelly that the separation of parents and children generally should not occur, unless the child is in danger} 9 such as for protection from child traf?cking. We believe that separation is especially unnecessary given that ICE can and should turn to humane, less costly, alternatives to detention, such as the Family Case Management Program, which ICE prematurely terminated after only one year of a ?ve year pilot.? Rather than protecting the best interests of the child, practices that punish and deter immi grant families violate fundamental domestic and international principles of family unity and are inconsistent with numerous U.S. child welfare and refugee laws and 5 ?The Separation of Family Members Apprehended or Found lnadmissable while in U.S. Customs and Border Protection Custody at the U.S.-Mexico Border.? Complaint ?led with DHS CRCL and (HG (Dec. 11, 2017) available at: "adores-'Fatnii 1? 'lpd? Lorni Kriel, Trump moves to end ?catch and release?, prosecuting parents and removing children who cross border, HOUSTON CHRONICLE (Nov. 25, 2017) available at: 2333fg??php. Mgram seeking asylum says ltis toddler was taken away at the U.S. border, PBS (Dec. 22, 2017} available at: BTestimony before Congress in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing titled, ?Improving Border Security and Public Safety? (Apr. 5, 2017); see also Tal Kepan, Kelly says DHS were ?i separalefamilfes oi the border, CNN (Mar. 29. 2017} 30 1 Elise Foley Roque Planas, Trump Administration Won ?t Routinely Separate Families A: The Border A?er All, HUFFINGTON POST (Apr. 5, 2017} available at: border us 53650d4lb4b0i4a923b448bl, 9 Children should not be released to unveri?ed parents or legal guardians. Release should be consistent with the child protection policy under the Homeland Security Act, section 479(g). Aria Bendix, ICE Shuts Down Program for Asylum-Seekers, THE ATLANTIC (Jun. 9, 2017) available at: l-"llb "ice?shuts?dou 2 obligations.? ?1 13* 1" Based on evidence of current trends, we are gravely concerned that these practices are expanding and worsening, further traumatizing families and impeding access to a fair process for seeking asylum or other immigration bene?ts for which these families may be eligible. We request that your office respond within 14 days to clarify current Department and component policies, initiatives, and practices relating to family separation, including any initiatives, training protocols, or written or other policy guidance relating to The separation of families while in the custody of CBP or 0 Requests by ICE to ORR for information on the identity and location of individuals seeking to sponsor unaccompanied children in ORR custody, including family members of such children; and I ICE apprehension, detention, or other processing of such sponsors. Thank you for your attention to this very troubling issue. We look forward to hearing ?'om you soon. Sincerely, PRAMILA JAYW Member of Congress Member of CongressL Co- Chair Co-Chair Women?s Working Group on Immigration (Pt; Jasmin/0?. THOMPSON ember of Congress Ranking Member House Committee on Homeland Security Troxel v. Granville, 530 US. 65 {2000). Women?s Working Group on Immigration emh of Congress ng Member House Committee on the ciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security '2 DB. v. Cardall, 826 F.3d 721, 740 (4th Cir. 2016} (quoting Berman v. Young, 291 F.3d 976, 933 (7th Cir. 2002)). ?3 See, eg, Articles 16 and 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles VI and VII of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, Articles 17 and 19 of the American Convention on Human Rights, and Article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among others. See generally, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. See also Subcommittee on Best Interests, Interagency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children, Framework for Considering the Best Interests of Unaccompanied Children (Young Center for Immigrant Children?s Rights, May 2016). 1? 8 actions also contravene its own agency standards. See, Customs and Border Protection, National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search at 1.9 and 5.6 (2015} (TEDS requires family units to remain together ?to the greatest extent operationally feasible" absent concerns for security or safety. If separation must occur, TEDS further requires, ?such separation must be well documented in the appropriate electronic system(s) of record?). 3 w, PETE NANETTE DIAZ ARRAGAN Member of Congress Member of Congress ANTHONY BROWN NY CA DENAS Member of Congress Member Congress Odd/A W) Am CA CH Membero Congress Member of gress AVID N. CICILLINE Member of Congress J. LUIS CORREA E. CUMMINGS Member of Congress Member of Congress @pn. DANNY K. DA IANA DEGETTE Member of Con ess Member of Congress 7 Jaw o. 1 a 3" USA DELAU VAL BUTLER DEMINGS Member of Congress Member of Congress @441 tDo 5r MARK DOGGETT Member of Congress Member of Congress ADRIANO ESPAILLAT Mequ er of Congress Member of Congress BILL FOSTER RUBEN GALLEGO Member of Congress Member of Congress AL GREEN Member of Congress GENE GREEN RAUL Member of Congress Mem er of Congresst CLCEE L. HASTINGS Member of Congress bember of Congress 7A W's- SHEILA JACKSO EE C. JR. Member of Congres Member of Congress RXKEATING ember of Congress Member of Congress A ES R. LANGEVM BARBARA LEE 6 ember of Congress Member of Congress TED W. LIEU Member of Congress I ALAN LOWENTHAL IT M. LOWEY Member of Congress Member of Congress MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM Member of Co ess DORIS MATSUI Member of Congress AMES Pa MCGOVERN ember of Congress WERNEY GRA MENG . emb of Congress Mem rof Congress GWEN s. MobstE Member of Congress CE NAPOLIT 0 her of Congress PALLO E, JR Member of Congress gm Ma BI Member of Congress MARK Poems?3 Member of Congress MIKE QUIGLEY E7 Member of Congress M. I Member of Congress 2.4/4 RROLD NADLER ember of Congress ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON Member of Congress DONALD M. PAYENLE, JR. Member of Congress POLIS ber of Co ess IE RASKIN mber of Congress CEDRIC L. RICHMOND Member of Congress LINDA SANCHEZ A SCHAKOWSKY Member of Congress ber of Congress ROBERT SCOTT BIO Member of Congress Mem of Congress AM SMITH DARREN SOTO Member of Congress Mil-12f Congress MARK TAKANO NORMA J. Member of Congress Member of Congress Mern er of Congress . #7 1 EMON VELA MIA M. VEl?zrg?rjEz Member of Congress of Congress BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN PETER WELCH Member of Congress Member of Congress MW 1 HN YA TH ember of grass