New York, NY – The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) strongly condemns the Administration’s policy of separating children from their migrant families at the US’s southern border. This policy is cruel and inhumane, and only adds to the suffering of these families, who are often fleeing violence and oppression in their home countries. Children are particularly likely to suffer emotionally and psychologically from separation from their parents.

In addition, we are extremely concerned that more than 1,400 children, who entered the U.S. on their own and were placed with adult sponsors in the US, are now unaccounted for, evidence of, at best, negligence on the part of the responsible government officials. JCPA calls for a swift and thorough investigation and implementation of appropriate corrective measures. Of particular concern is that some of these “missing” children may be vulnerable to human traffickers and others that prey on the most vulnerable in society.

The US is a nation of immigrants and how we treat immigrants, even those who come to this country as migrants or asylum-seekers, should reflect our values of respect and fair treatment for all human beings. We call on the Administration and Congress to put an immediate end to the policy of separating families when they present themselves or are apprehended at the border.