Congress Must Put an End to Administration’s Prosecution and Detention of Asylum Seekers

InterAction and over 80 member organizations issued the below statement to leaders of both parties in Congress on June 21 in response to the White House’s policy of prosecuting asylum seekers and detaining children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border:

“We write today to urge Congress to take immediate and decisive action to end the administration’s policy of prosecuting asylum seekers and detaining children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border.  Any such action should also immediately reunify children who were separated from their parents by previous Administration orders. Mass detention of families is unconscionable, regardless of the legal status of migrants, and prosecuting asylum seekers is a direct violation of their legal rights under U.S. law and treaties to which the U.S. is a ratified party.

InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based development and humanitarian nonprofits organizations and as organizations who have supported or directly delivered assistance to displaced persons and other vulnerable populations overseas, we know both the unique challenges and responsibilities that host governments and communities face. Based on our experience, we believe there is no challenge that could possibly justify mass detention of migrant families. The U.S. has spoken out against very similar practices by other countries. This cruel and inhumane practice undermines our moral standing internationally – particularly with other countries that are hosting refugees and asylum seekers.

The trauma caused to children and families seeking refuge in our nation by these policies will have ramifications for generations to come. On an individual level, children who undergo detention or have been forcibly separated from their families experience toxic stress that can profoundly and permanently impact their mental, physical, and emotional development. Any remedial action taken by the administration or Congress should also seek to address the psycho-social support needs of children and families traumatized by such separation and detention.

Over 2,000 families were forcibly torn apart in the past six weeks. Thousands of separated children are still being held in tent cities or other deplorable detention facilities by U.S. authorities. Asylum seekers have been prosecuted in direct violation of U.S. law and treaty commitments. Ending separation of new arrivals only addresses one aspect of this cruel and inhumane policy while allowing others to continue.  If the administration fails to immediately end and remediate its unacceptable policies, it is up to Congress to stop these injustices that undermine our identity as a nation.”

1. Lucy Martinez Sullivan, Executive Director, 1,000 Days
2. Andrea Tamburini, Chief Executive Officer, Action Against Hunger
3. Jonathan Duffy, President, ADRA International
4. Steven J. Smith, President and CEO, Airlink
5. Melanie Greenberg, President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding
6. Robert Bank, President and CEO, American Jewish World Service
7. Michael J. Nyenhuis, President and CEO, Americares
8. Robert Kelty, Executive Director, Amref Health Africa  US
9. Emily Arnold-Fernandez, Executive Director, Asylum Access
10. Elana Berger, Executive Director, Bank Information Center
11. Dan Stoner, Board Chair, Basic Education Coaltion
12. Chris Palusky, President and CEO, Bethany Christian Services
13. Rev. David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World
14. Debra Boudreaux, Executive Vice President, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
15. Elizabeth Hausler, Founder and CEO, Build Change
16. Amy Coughenour Betancourt, Chief Executive Officer, Cadasta Foundation
17. Michelle Nunn, President and CEO, CARE USA
18. Polly Byers, Executive Director, CDA Collaborative Learning
19. Serra Sippel, President, Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
20. J. Daryl Byler, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University
21. Nancy Press, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Child Aid
22. Anne Lynam Goddard, President and CEO, ChildFund International
23. Colleen Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Concern Worldwide US
24. Lisa Hilmi, Executive Director, CORE Group
25. Osman Dulgeroglu, Chief Executive Officer, Embrace Relief Foundation
26. Robert W. Radtke, President and CEO, Episcopal Relief & Development
27. Carol Miller, Founding Partner, Five Heads Strategic Communications
28. Gary Edmonds, President and CEO, Food for the Hungry
29. Andrew Albertson, Executive Director, Foreign Policy for America
30. Chris Collins, President, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
31. Karina Weinstein, Program Director, FXB USA
32. Sean Lawrence, Executive Director, Giving Children Hope
33. David A. Weiss, President and CEO, Global Communities
34. Dr. Rebecca S. Hage Thomley, Chief Executive Officer, Headwaters Relief Organization
35. James Mitchum, Chief Executive Officer, Heart to Heart International
36. Kathy Spahn, President and CEO, Helen Keller International
37. Raza Farrukh, Chief Executive Officer, Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD)
38. Mark Hetfield, President and CEO, HIAS
39. Jeff Meer, US Executive Director, Humanity & Inclusion
40. Thomas Dente, Chief Executive Officer, Humentum
41. Judith A. Hermanson, President and CEO, IHC Global
42. Dr. Linda Pfeiffer, President and CEO, INMED Partnerships for Children
43. Samuel A. Worthington, Chief Executive Officer, InterAction
44. Victoria M. Sheffield, President and CEO, International Eye Foundation
45. Daniel Wolf, Executive Director, International Lifeline Fund
46. Barry La Forgia, Executive Director, International Relief Teams
47. David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee
48. William S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer, International Youth Foundation
49. Sharif Aly, Chief Executive Officer, Islamic Relief USA
50. Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
51. Charles J. Hooker, IIII, President and CEO, Keystone Human Services
52. Amb. Daniel V. Speckhard (rt.), President and CEO, Lutheran World Relief
53. J. Ron Byler, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
54. Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Corps
55. Umar al-Qadi, President and CEO, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development
56. Joel R. Charny, Executive Director, Norwegian Refugee Council USA
57. Abby Maxman, President and CEO, Oxfam America
58. Steve Davis, President and CEO, PATH
59. Tessie San Martin, President and CEO, Plan International USA
60. Ester Neltrup, President and CEO, Planet Aid
61. Carrie Hessler-Radelet, President and CEO, PCI (Project Concern International)
62. Sara Pottschmidt Lisherness, Director, Compassion, Peace and Justice Minstry, Presbyterian Mission Agency
63. Dr. Tom Kenyon, CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Project HOPE
64. Eric Schwartz, President, Refugees International
65. Nancy E. Wilson, President and CEO, Relief International
66. Joanne Carter, Executive Director, RESULTS
67. Rod Brooks, President and CEO, Rise Against Hunger
68. Emily Vargas-Baron, Director, RISE Institute
69. Carolyn Miles, President and CEO, Save the Children
70. Shawna Bader-Blau, Executive Director, Solidarity Center
71. Mishelle Rudzinski, Executive Director, SPOON
72. Clint Borgen, President, The Borgen Project
73. Suzanne Mayo Frindt, President and CEO, The Hunger Project
74. Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken, Director, Transnational NGO Initiative, Syracuse University
75. Eskinder Negash, President and CEO, U.S.Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
76. Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO, UNICEF USA
77. Roland Fernandes, Treasurer, United Methodist Committee on Relief
78. Chris Whatley, Executive Director, United Nations Association of the United States
79. Anne-Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO, USA for UNHCR
80. Dianne Calvi, Chief Executive Officer, Village Enterprise
81. Michael Deal, President & CEO, Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA)
82. Lynn Malooly, Executive Director, Water for South Sudan
83. Sarina Prabasi, Chief Executive Officer, WaterAid
84. Elizabeth McGovern, Executive Director, WEEMA International
85. Diana DuBois, Executive Director, WellShare International
86. Emily Bove, Executive Director, Women Thrive Alliance
87. Sarah Costa, Executive Director, Women’s Refugee Commission
88. John Lyon, President, World Hope International
89. Anita Shafer Aaron, Executive Director and CEO, World Institute on Disability
90. Carol Bremer-Bennett, Executive Director, World Renew
91. Richard Stearns, President, World Vision U.S.
92. Halil Demir, Executive Director, Zakat Foundation of America