WASHINGTON, D. C. – Today, Attorney General Karl A. Racine called on United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to end the cruel and illegal attacks on children and families lawfully seeking asylum in the United States as they seek protection from domestic, sexual and gang violence. In recent weeks, the federal government has separated thousands of asylum-seeking children from their parents, and reclassified the protective status of international domestic violence survivors. The letter from Attorney General Racine and 20 attorneys general demands that United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions immediately stop putting children in danger by separating them from their families.
“The Trump administration’s cruel ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy is tearing apart families and does not make us safer,” said Attorney General Racine. “When my parents left Haiti to build us a better life in the states, I was left in the care of loving relatives; the kids at the border are alone and suffering psychological and emotional trauma. The Justice Department must uphold our American values, stop playing politics, and stop this harmful policy immediately.”
“Put simply, the deliberate separation of children and their parents who seek lawful asylum in America is wrong. This practice is contrary to American values and must be stopped. We demand that you immediately reverse these harmful policies in the best interests of the children and families affected,” the attorneys general write in the letter to Sessions.
The coalition of attorneys general argues that in addition to being cruel and dangerous, these policies are, at their core violations of international, federal and state law, as well as of judicial precedent. Almost universally, those laws and precedents state that children’s best interests are in remaining with their parents, absent a rigorous judicial inquiry. The Department of Justice is ignoring those best interests, putting politics ahead of children.
The letter also reads, “These practices directly interfere with the efforts of our offices and other law enforcement officials---locally, nationally, and internationally---to prevent and prosecute crime. In most states, Attorneys General are responsible for enforcing laws that include human trafficking, drug trafficking, and gang violence offenses. As you are keenly aware, these issues are rarely local in context, rather they require the efforts and collaboration of law enforcement officials across both state and international borders to prevent the widespread and syndicated perpetration of these crimes.”
Attorney General Racine is joined by the attorneys general of New Mexico, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington in demanding an immediate change in policy.
A copy of the letter can be found here.