Dear John – Our elected leaders have had to make many tough decisions over the past few weeks as they’ve sought to protect the nation’s health while also staying true to core American values. One place where they have fallen short is in humanely treating vulnerable children who are seeking to escape violence in their home countries by coming to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been forcing unaccompanied children back to Mexico or to their countries of origin.[1] These children are being denied their right to make a claim for asylum and are being put at greater risk of violence and human trafficking. Deporting unaccompanied children in the midst of a global crisis is not only inhumane, but also illegal and contrary to international human rights law and federal laws like the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). While we must be careful to avoid the spread of coronavirus, the U.S. government has systems in place to check for health and wellness before allowing someone to enter the country. We can keep our country safe without putting children’s lives at risk. Ask your members of Congress to speak out against the treatment of vulnerable children at the U.S. southern border. Additionally, unaccompanied children who have made it into the U.S. are placed under the custody of the Officer for Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in overcrowded detention facilities, where the virus can spread even more quickly. Already, three unaccompanied children in a detention center in New York have tested positive for coronavirus.[2] This puts the lives of everyone there at risk. The administration should use proven options to avoid detention for vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women, where the risk of a coronavirus outbreak is high. This includes safe and appropriate care through humanitarian parole, placement with a sponsor, or family case management. Please send a message to Congress and the Trump administration today urging them to protect the health and safety of these children. We understand that people are afraid during this uncertain time. But that should not prevent us from following the law and protecting the lives and safety of these children. This crisis will be over in time, and when we look back on our response as a nation we should have a sense of pride that we did not allow the emergency to end our commitment to protecting the most vulnerable among us. Please take action today. Thank you for being a voice for kids, | 
