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300+ Faith Groups Urge President and Congress to Protect Central American Children and Families

unaccompanied children

BY ISN STAFFJuly 24, 2014

Urgent faith letter delivered as Congress considers rolling back critical legal protections for children

unaccompanied childrenWASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the Ignatian Solidarity Network joined more than 300 faith-based organizations delivered a letter to President Barack Obama and Members of Congress urging protection, care and legal counsel for the thousands of Central American children who have fled escalating violence, conflict and exploitation in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Read the letter: http://bit.ly/uac-faith-letter

Forty national faith organizations  alongside 269 regional and local groups from 42 states wrote:

We strongly object to proposals to detain families with children and any move to roll back the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) in order to effect expeditious deportations. Forcibly and hurriedly returning people in need of international protection back to the dangerous situations they fled without adequate due process would undermine our obligations under international law and our position as a global humanitarian leader and would be a moral disgrace.

The letter articulates clear policy recommendations for Congress and the Administration and calls for:

  • Strengthening the humanitarian response in the U.S.
  • Legal counsel for all unaccompanied children
  • No roll backs to the provisions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 relating to unaccompanied children
  • Cost-effective community-based alternatives to detention
  • Adequate services for children, refugees and all groups under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement

In addition, the faith groups urge that the U.S. government must also address the root causes of the crisis faced by children in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The letter calls for increased regional programs to reduce poverty, lack of opportunity, and violence so that children and families can live free from fear in their home countries.

Read the letter: http://bit.ly/uac-faith-letter

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The Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) is a national social justice network inspired by the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola. ISN was founded in 2004 and is a lay-led 501(c)(3) organization working in partnership with universities, high schools, and parishes sponsored by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) along with many other Catholic institutions and social justice partners. More information can be found at: www.www.ignatiansolidarity.net

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