In response to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling this week in favor of the Trump Administration’s policy to end Temporary Protected Status for some countries, First Focus on Children President Bruce Lesley issued the following statement:

“We are deeply troubled that the court has upheld the Trump Administration’s cruel and misguided crusade to strip TPS protection from the parents of hundreds of thousands of children, including nearly 275,000 U.S. citizen children. This decision foists a cruel choice on these children: leave with their families for a country they’ve never been to or remain in here without their parents. Forcing the separation of families or the deportation of children to a country they do not know is cruel, unnecessary, and un-American.”