Save the Children Action Network is the political voice for kids. 

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Ask your members of Congress to support the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act.

Hi John -

When I was nine years old, my family and I immigrated to the United States to escape the poverty and corruption that plagued Ecuador. This country welcomed me with open arms and I easily integrated into American society. Now I am a few years away from becoming a citizen!

Sadly, children like me who are trying to make a similar journey today do not have the same experience. Their first experience with the United States is often in an overcrowded, cold, unhygienic detention facility where they are not given access to basic needs like soap, warm clothes or medical attention. 

Even worse, many of these vulnerable children are separated from their families and left to fend for themselves – and then left emotionally scarred by the experience of facing these traumas alone.

I joined Save the Children Action Network this summer because I wanted to keep fighting to protect children who are escaping violence and searching for safety and a chance at a better life. But I – and they – need your help.

Will you join me in asking your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act (S. 2113 | H.R. 3918)?

This legislation would ensure that children who are detained at the southern border are housed in humane conditions and provided with basic hygiene supplies like soap, toothpaste, a towel and a change of clothes. And it ensures that children are not separated from their parents.

A new report [1] from the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services found that “children separated during the Trump administration’s ‘zero tolerance policy’ last year, many already distressed in their home countries or by their journey, showed more fear, feelings of abandonment and post-traumatic stress symptoms than children who were not separated.”[2] These psychiatric issues can take years to resolve and leave these vulnerable children with lifetime scars at a time when they most need a safe, secure environment to create a positive future for themselves.

Help return the country I sought out as a beacon of opportunity back to its legacy as a global leader in protecting human rights, and back to treating children as children, and not as criminals. 

Please contact Congress today and ask that they support the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act.

Thank you for being a voice for kids,

[1] Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6380666-Inspector-General-Report-from-HHSOIG.html
[2] ‘Can’t feel my heart:’ IG says separated kids traumatized, Associated Press, https://apnews.com/63e7e47666914bf79eff7366e8eb411b