First Focus on Children submitted the following statement for the record to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.
Excerpt from the statement:
Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Rogers, and Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security, we thank you for the opportunity to submit this statement for the record. First Focus is a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. As an organization that advocates for the health and well-being of all children in the United States, we are deeply concerned with the Trump Administration’s enforcement only approach to border security and the broader immigration enforcement attacks on immigrant children and families.
Immigration policies that guide enforcement procedures including the arrest, detention, and removal of non-U.S. citizens have a significant impact on the lives of the children involved in these circumstances. Despite being directly affected, children are often an afterthought in policy efforts to curb legal and illegal immigration. Recent changes to immigration and asylum policies are already having a significant impact on the lives of children and families.