John -- a few weeks ago lawyers announced that 545 kids separated from their parents by immigration officials were never reunited. We’re learning that original number was too low.
Lawyers now believe 666 kids have been apart from their parents all this time, and 129 of them were under the age of 5 when they were ripped from their families.
This devastating news is *exactly* why our movement can not let up the pressure for even a moment. We can’t stop until every family is reunited, and to make sure that happens, we have to do everything in our power to make family reunification a top priority.
These 666 children shouldn’t have to wait another day to be with their families. Act now and ask President-elect Biden to make family reunification a top priority for his administration.
Right now, our government doesn’t even know where the parents of these 666 kids are. The parents were deported without their children, and their whereabouts were never recorded because there was never any plan to reunite families, only one to break them apart.
President-elect Biden has promised to assemble a task force to reunite families on Day 1 of his administration. This is a step in the right direction, but that doesn’t mean our work is over. Reuniting every family will take tremendous dedication. Unless our movement stays active and vocal throughout the entire process, it’s possible that family reunification could be sidelined in favor of other priorities.
These children have already waited three years to be with their parents. They shouldn’t have to wait any longer than necessary to finally be with their families. As a movement, it’s our responsibility to do everything in our power to make sure there are no delays.
Send a message to President-elect Biden now: Family reunification must be a top priority!
Only time will tell how the new administration handles family reunification. While there’s reason to be hopeful, we can’t just leave the task of making change and righting wrongs up to our leaders. People power got us to this point, and we’ll need that collective power for the fight ahead, too.
Let’s put our power to work,
Erin “Maz” Mazursky
Families Belong Together Organizing Director
Families Belong Together is a campaign of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). NDWA is the nation's leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. If you would like to get in touch with Families Belong Together, click here.
