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IMMIGRATION ACTION ALERT – Tell Congress to Protect Migrant Families – 1/27/14

From the U.S. Jesuit Conference Social & International Ministries Office

Please take a moment today to urge the Administration and Congress to protect the lives and dignity of migrants along the U.S-Mexico border.

The Protect Family Values at the Border Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, protects the lives of vulnerable migrants in line with the principles of Catholic social teaching which honor the dignity of all persons. Specifically, the Protect Family Values at the Border Act limits nighttime deportations, prevents families from being needlessly separated and imperiled during the deportation process, and creates long overdue standards for Custom and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) short-term custody facilities.

As Jesuit organizations have highlighted before, the U.S. government currently uses several programs which run contrary to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) stated commitment to “safe, orderly, dignified and humane” repatriations and to “preserve the unity of families…during repatriation.” Too often, migrants are separated from the family member with whom they were traveling, and are deported at night to unfamiliar and unsafe border towns after most shelters have closed their doors, a situation which forces them to spend the night without shelter or protection. Additionally, DHS fails to take the precarious security situation of northern Mexico into account when making decisions about where and how to repatriate people. Together, these practices endanger the safety and welfare of recently deported migrants.

Additionally, migrants held in CBP custody regularly report substandard conditions including extreme temperatures, lack of food and emergency medical care, and failure to allow contact with their consulates or legal service providers. The lack of access for non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations and attorneys to CBP facilities limits external oversight of conditions and leaves migrants unaware of their right to seek certain legal remedies or report abuse. Without this kind of information, many legitimate asylum seekers or trafficking victims, who have already endured violence and trauma, unknowingly sign away their right to humanitarian review.

Protecting and promoting the dignity of human life requires us to eliminate dangerous deportation practices that endanger the lives of migrants. Please take a moment to tell your Representative to support the Protect Family Values at the Border Act by clicking below.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION-Send an email to Congress!

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