June 19, 2018 (New York, NY) – Hispanic Federation President José Calderón has issued the following statement regarding the Trump administration’s inhumane family separation policy. “It is difficult to find new ways to describe the damage the Trump Administration has done to America through its relentless attacks on non-white immigrants, refugees fleeing oppression, and dreamers who long ago made our nation home. Yet, despite these outrages, we struggle to convey the sheer inhumanity of forcibly separating children from their parents at the border. It is one thing to intercept undocumented immigrants, process them in accordance with international norms, and return them to their country of origin; it is entirely another to criminally prosecute these immigrants, imprison them, and seize their children. The reports from our immigrant rights groups and advocates that have been made public over the last several weeks—reports of children desperate to be reunited with their parents and parents unable to locate their children within a Kafkaesque system of detention—are terrifying and shameful. Every American must speak out against this unconscionable violation of human rights.
“Hispanic Federation and its network of more than 100 Latino nonprofits call on members of both parties, but especially Republicans who continue to empower and give cover to the President’s noxious xenophobic agenda, to immediately and forcefully demand that this Administration end the policy of forced separations. We further encourage them to reject the two sham legislative attempts at immigration reform currently before the House of Representatives. Neither the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018 nor the Securing America’s Future Act being presented by Republican leadership provide a humane solution that honors our values as Americans. In fact, both pieces of legislation provide little in the way of compassion for immigrants and increase the power of the very institutions in our government that are most directly responsible for their suffering. These aren’t compromises, they’re calculated attempts to further President Trump’s extremist nativist policies.
“America is a nation fueled by the ambition and determination of immigrants. Instead of punishing immigrants, we must create structures to safely welcome and integrate them into our society. For all of the talk of “Making America Great Again,” the Trump Administration and its enablers in Congress are systematically undermining and diminishing the very values that have made America a prosperous nation, and a beacon of hope and inspiration the world over. It’s time for all Americans of good conscience to take action: join organized protests, get their companies and friends to speak out, donate to immigrant-rights groups and vote. Please connect with us. We’re here to help you do that. It’s time for us to say, “no more”.”