First Focus on Children sent this letter signed by 73 child welfare organizations to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urging him to safeguard the health, safety, and well-being of unaccompanied children by continuing to license shelters that care for them, regardless of whether or not the state has an agreement with the federal government.
Excerpt from the letter:
We share your concern about the particular vulnerability of unaccompanied children, as do the American people. In a poll published in April, the majority of Americans agreed that the federal government’s highest immigration priority should be to provide safe treatment for unaccompanied children at the border. The American people also agree that every policy should be governed by a “best interest of the child” standard. Yet, your policy on unaccompanied children misapprehends who these children are and how they come to live in the state, and crudely asserts that unaccompanied children should bear higher risks of harm.