Washington, DC – The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) expressed concern today that the House of Representatives’ emergency spending package, currently projected at $4.5 billion, could be used to enhance enforcement and detention rather than humanitarian assistance. Recent reports from border detention facilities have documented cases of children without diapers, soap, medical supplies, and access to showers. In several cases, it was up to older children to take care of the younger children, all without proper adult supervision.
Contact: Tim McHugh, Friends Committee on National Legislation, media@fcnl.org; 202-903-2515
“Everyone now knows just what is at stake along our southern border. This is a humanitarian crisis that gets worse and worse each day we choose to ignore it,” said Diane Randall, FCNL executive secretary. “Quakers see the light of God in every person. This includes the children suffering unjustly in our border detention centers, their parents from whom they have been separated, and the government officials enforcing these immoral policies. We need to fund emergency assistance that ends family separation and assures community-based care for children and their families immediately.”
In recent days, the Trump administration threatened to begin raids across the country to arrest and deport immigrants. The raids were subsequently called off for two weeks to allow more time for negotiations between Congress and the administration over the emergency spending package.
“The Trump administration is seeking more funding for more jails, more deportations, and more stepped-up enforcement, but it can’t be bothered funding soap and diapers for migrant children,” explained Hannah Graf Evans, FCNL immigration and refugee policy legislative representative. “Humanitarian assistance for migrant children is desperately needed. Congress should hold the line and remain committed to purely humanitarian funding with rigorous accountability and transparency measures.”
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
