In 2017, when my colleagues at the border noticed an unusual increase in the number of children getting separated from their families, we fought tooth and nail to stop what became the "Zero-Tolerance" policy and undertook the difficult work of reuniting families—work that continues today.
In 2019, the government introduced a policy that forced tens of thousands of families to return to Mexico and live in refugee camps while they waited for their day in court. In response, we visited Matamoros, met with families, and set up a hotline to speak with families trapped the encampment.
In March 2020, the government closed the border to all people seeking protection, including unaccompanied children. DHS locked children in hotels before “expelling” them to the very dangers they had fled. We responded by working with the desperate family members whose children were trapped at the border and got dozens of children out of hotels and into the United States.
These are just three of the administration’s most direct attacks on children. Over the last four years, the administration has implemented hundreds of harmful immigration policies, from bans on migration from African and Muslim countries to the “public charge” rule that penalizes families for using benefits for which they’re eligible. These policies will take an immense amount of work to undo.
