WASHINGTON, DC – Interfaith Immigration Coalition leaders reacted strongly to news that some House Democrats are pushing Leadership to take up the Senate version of the DHS supplemental spending bill. The Senate version will not end the administration’s cruelty toward children and families; the House version contains vital measures for oversight and accountability.
Faith leaders call on the House of Representatives to pass the House amended version of the Senate humanitarian supplemental and to refrain from politicizing the best care for children in U.S. custody.
Members of Congress siding with the Senate version of the DHS supplemental are wrong. Kids are dying and in need. The House amended version provides the care they deserve – and the oversight and transparency to make it happen; the Senate bill does not go far enough in child protection and instead could advance harmful, anti-family, life-threatening treatment of asylum-seekers. There is no way to “compromise” with that.
“The time for radical compassion is now,” said Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of CWS. “Amid recent tragedies – like the recent death of a father who drowned with his 23-month-old daughter as they tried to seek safety in the United States – the faith community looks to Congress to reject the expansion of adult or family detention and to adequately fund critical services for unaccompanied children, and all populations who are in the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s care, that recognize the God-given humanity of all people. People of faith across the country are shocked by the cruelty carried out in their name. In this moment, we will be judged by how we treat children, asylum seekers and immigrants at our doorstep.”
“This is an opportunity for Congress to put some real humanitarian solutions in place by passing the House amended version of the supplemental. We urge all members of the House to stand strong in their support of funding that will actually be used to protect kids and families at the border and resist efforts to continue the same pattern of trying to enforce our way out of a humanitarian situation. This moment calls us to a bold and faithful response. We are asking Congress to answer that call,” said Rebecca Eastwood, Advocacy Coordinator, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach.
“For communities of faith who remember Jesus’ invitation to ‘Let the little children come unto me,’ (Mt. 19:14), our souls must focus in this moment to urge that Congress take the best care we can of children seeking protection in our nation from grave tragedies that have caused them to flee their homelands. Instead of denying children toothbrushes, we must strengthen the teeth of our nation’s love, and pass legislation immediately that protects children and their families, resists the cruelty of additional enforcement, and welcomes the stranger among us with non-profit led and much less expensive alternatives to detention,” said Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries.
FOR MORE: See this memo for expert sources and materials on what should and should not be funded, as well as this fuller set of border policy recommendations from faith communities.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 52 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
###