{"id":19247,"date":"2018-07-04T16:59:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T20:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=19247"},"modified":"2020-04-01T01:35:22","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T05:35:22","slug":"familiesbelongtogether-stop-detaining-children-and-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/familiesbelongtogether-stop-detaining-children-and-families\/","title":{"rendered":"#FamiliesBelongTogether &#8211; Stop Detaining Children and Families"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a name=\"top\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: right;\"><\/h4>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">Action Alert: Urge Senators to stop family separation and detention<\/h2>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-19252 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether-420x420.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether-420x420.png 420w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether-250x250.png 250w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/familiesbelongtogether.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On June 30, we marched. Now we must take the next step and act.\u00a0#FamiliesBelongTogether has become a rallying cry against forcible family separation and President Trump\u2019s \u201czero-tolerance\u201d immigration policy. Members of Congress need to continue to hear that detaining families together is not a solution to family separation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Contact Your U.S. Senators<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Write letters,\u00a0submit online message on the Senator&#8217;s website, Tweet, and\/or call your Senators<\/strong>\u00a0by using the\u00a0U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. See details below.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Page<\/strong><\/span><strong>\u00a0C<\/strong><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; color: #000000;\">ontents <\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; color: #000000;\">(click on a title to go to that section)<\/span><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; color: #000000;\">:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#action\">Action Needed NOW: What You Can Do<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#happening\">Wha<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"#happening\">t You Shou<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"#happening\">ld Know<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#spiritual\">Our UU Spiritual Grounding<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#resources\">Resources and Relevant News Media Coverage Links<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a name=\"action-needed\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"action\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Action Needed NOW: <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>4 Things You Can Do<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>1 &#8211; Write letters &#8211; organize members of your congregation to Write Here! Write Now! letters that the Advocacy Corps will deliver July 10 and later in the month.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Organize a<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/salsa4.salsalabs.com\/o\/50780\/p\/salsa\/web\/common\/public\/signup?signup_page_KEY=8693\"> <em>Write Here! Write Now!<\/em> <\/a><\/span>letter-writing table in your congregation for letters to be delivered to Capitol Hill offices in Washington, DC by the UUSJ Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps. Scan and email letters to <a href=\"mailto:advocacy@uusj.org\">advocacy@uusj.org<\/a> by Monday, July 9 by noon ET for delivery on July 10. Contact us if you are organizing a letter-writing campaign later in the month.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/salsa4.salsalabs.com\/o\/50780\/p\/salsa\/web\/common\/public\/signup?signup_page_KEY=8693\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download the letter-writing toolkit for organizers.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/2018-07-10-WHWN-Immigration.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download WHWN two-page handout<\/a> \u00a0(sample message and talking points).<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Ask your Senators to &#8211;<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>reject proposals to expand family detention,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>push the Administration to end its \u201czero-tolerance\u201d immigration policy that separates children from their parents at the border and detains children away from their parents,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold immediate hearings on the administration\u2019s treatment of children along the southern border.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>2 &#8211; Make phone calls or send online message: s<b>uggested message &#8211; adapt for your personal message<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>Hello, my name is [your name]. I\u2019m a constituent from [city, state].\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>I am a Unitarian Universalist from [name of congregation and location]. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>My faith leads me to believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people. The Administration&#8217;s \u201czero-tolerance\u201d policy does not treat families with dignity and puts children at physical and emotional risk. I\u2019m upset with how our country is treating families seeking refuge and a better life. I urge the Senator to reject any legislation that expands family detention or allows children to be detained indefinitely with their parents, or undermines protections for children in detention. There are better community-based alternatives to detention that are more humane for families and asylum seekers.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>I would like the Senator to do everything possible to protect asylum seekers, young children, and other vulnerable populations from being harmfully detained. Children especially should not be incarcerated or needlessly separated from a parent.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>Thank you for your consideration of my concerns.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>U.S. Capitol Switchboard:<\/b>\u00a0(202) 224-3121<\/p>\n<p><strong>To find<\/strong> <b>contact information<\/b><strong>\u00a0for your members of Congress<\/strong> (phone, fax number, online message form, mailing addresses for district and D.C. offices\u00a0) visit these websites:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.govtrack.us\/congress\/members\/map\">GovTrack<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to search by your address.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/contact_information\/senators_cfm.cfm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>U.S.\u00a0<\/strong><b>Senate<\/b><\/a>\u00a0to search by state or Senator&#8217;s name<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><a style=\"font-family: inherit; background-color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.house.gov\/representatives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>U.S.\u00a0<\/strong><b>House of Representatives<\/b><\/a>\u00a0to search by state or Representative&#8217;s name<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">3 \u2013\u00a0Ask y<\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">our friends a<\/span><\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19257 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dg9VvqGW4AAZdeD-420x315.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"222\" height=\"166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dg9VvqGW4AAZdeD-420x315.jpg 420w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dg9VvqGW4AAZdeD-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dg9VvqGW4AAZdeD.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px\" \/><strong style=\"color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">nd family members to contact their Senators, too.<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Send them the link to this page \u2013<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2NppO6F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/2NppO6F<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>4 \u2013<\/strong><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Spread the word &#8211; Post messages to social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Tweet your Senators \u00a0<\/strong>(click <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2vJpUw9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> <\/strong>to find Twitter handles). Here&#8217;s a sample Tweet:<\/p>\n<p>.<u>@(Senator&#8217;s Twitter Handle)<\/u>\u00a0 We have to be better than this. #FamiliesBelongTogether #ReuniteFamiliesNow #EndFamilySeparation #EndFamilyDetention #KeepFamiliesTogether<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"#top\">Go to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"happening\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b>What You Should Know<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>For more information, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/2018-07-10-WHWN-Immigration.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>UUSJ sample message for a letter to members of Congress and talking points<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On June 20, President Trump signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/affording-congress-opportunity-address-family-separation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Executive Order<\/a> that directed the Homeland Security Department to &#8220;maintain custody of alien families&#8221; while their cases move through the immigration system, &#8220;to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations.&#8221; <strong>The Executive Order did NOT end the \u201czero-tolerance\u201d policy or address how and when children will be reunited with their families.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In response to heated public anger about the Administration\u2019s \u201czero-tolerance\u201d immigration policy and the forcible separation of children from their parents at the border, <strong>newly-proposed bills narrowly focusing on extending family detention are gaining bipartisan momentum in the House and the Senate.<\/strong> These bills (see below) would allow for children to be detained indefinitely with their parents.\u00a0Currently, children cannot be kept in detention for more than 20 days. Congress should uphold that standard; passing legislation that undermines protections for children is no solution.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Administration does not need Congress to pass legislation for the administration to stop family separation.<\/strong> Congress should push the administration to end its zero-tolerance prosecution policy and return discretion to protect asylum seekers, especially young children, from being harmfully detained.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Non-restrictive, community-based alternatives to detention are the most appropriate response for families, children, and asylum seekers.<\/strong>\u00a0The Administration should utilize these options rather than expanding family detention. See explanation of alternatives <a href=\"https:\/\/justiceforimmigrants.org\/2016site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/The-Real-Alternatives-to-Detention-FINAL-06.27.17.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>S. 3093 (see below) and possibly other bills would allow for children to be detained indefinitely with their parents. Currently, children cannot be kept in detention for more than 20 days. Congress should uphold that standard; passing legislation that undermines protections for children is no solution.<\/p>\n<p>There are two competing bills in the Senate both not likely to move.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/115th-congress\/senate-bill\/3093\">S. 3093<\/a> Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act is a Republican sponsored bill &#8211; Sen. Tillis (R-NC).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/115th-congress\/senate-bill\/3036\">S. 3036<\/a> Keep Families Together Act is a Democrat sponsored bill &#8211; sponsor Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) to stop separating families.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/115th-congress\/house-bill\/6135\">H.R.6135<\/a> Companion bill to S. 3026 Keep Families Together Act &#8211; sponsor Rep. Nadler (D-NY-10)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Rep. Pocan (D-WI-2) was quoted in Politico to say \u201cIn the House there is discussion about ending ICE within six months and create a commission to further examine the country\u2019s immigration policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"#top\">Go to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"spiritual\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b>Our UU Spiritual Grounding<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>UUs have passed a Statement of Conscience, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uua.org\/action\/statements\/immigration-moral-issue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Immigration as a Moral Issue<\/a> (2013), and two Actions of Immediate Witness, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uua.org\/action\/statements\/end-immigrant-child-and-family-detention-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">End Immigrant Child and Family Detention Now<\/a> (2015), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uua.org\/action\/statements\/end-family-separation-and-detention-asylum-seekers-and-abolish-ice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">End Family Separation and Detention of Asylum Seekers and Abolish ICE<\/a> (2018) that are directly relevant to this issue.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"#top\">Go to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"resources\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b>Resources and Relevant News Media Coverage Links<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/justiceforimmigrants.org\">Justice for Immigrants:<\/a>\u00a0Excellent document from five partner organizations <a href=\"https:\/\/justiceforimmigrants.org\/2016site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/The-Real-Alternatives-to-Detention-FINAL-06.27.17.pdf\">&#8220;The Real\u00a0Alternatives to Detention.&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uua.org\/loveresists\/blog\/love-resists-family-separation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Love Resists<\/a>\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0The Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee are following the leadership of immigrant- and women-led movements. Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ConMijente\">@ConMijente<\/a> on Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/401815953659712\/\">Families Belong Together<\/a> on Facebook, and join in the conversation using #LoveResists to stay in the loop as events develop.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/press\/trump-order-ending-family-separation-may-not-be-the-end\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unitarian Universalist Service Committee;<\/a>\u00a0Action Alert: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/initiatives\/protect-children-end-family-separation-detention\/\">Protect Children and End Family Separation and Detention<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uua.org\/immigration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unitarian Universalist Association<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; general immigration action resources.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcnl.org\/updates\/stop-detaining-children-and-families-1536\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Friends Committee on National Legislation<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; action alert; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcnl.org\/updates\/trump-s-executive-order-on-family-separation-explained-1488\">Trump&#8217;s Executive Order Explained<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Politifact &#8211; <a style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.politifact.com\/truth-o-meter\/article\/2018\/jun\/25\/donald-trumps-executive-order-ending-his-administr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald Trump&#8217;s Executive Order ending his administration&#8217;s separation of immigrant families<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.interfaithimmigration.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Interfaith Immigration Coalition<\/a><\/li>\n<li>VOX &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2018\/6\/20\/17485488\/executive-order-immigration-trump-families-together\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Executive Order Trump claims will end family separation, explained<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2018\/6\/19\/17478656\/keep-families-together-act-dianne-feinstein-senate-democrats-republicans-family-separation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Democratic Senate bill that would stop family separations, explained<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"c-page-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2018\/6\/21\/17488458\/obama-immigration-policy-family-separation-border\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Obama did with migrant families vs. what Trump is doing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/the-big-idea\/2018\/7\/2\/17524908\/asylum-family-central-america-border-crisis-trump-family-detention-humane-reform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to fix the crisis caused by Central American asylum seekers \u2014 humanely<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2018\/6\/30\/17520820\/families-together-detention-separate-camp-military\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It\u2019s official: the Trump administration has replaced family separation with indefinite family detention<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"#top\">Go to the Top<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Action Alert: Urge Senators to stop family separation and detention &nbsp; On June 30, we marched. Now we must take the next step and act.\u00a0#FamiliesBelongTogether has become a rallying cry against forcible family separation and President Trump\u2019s \u201czero-tolerance\u201d immigration policy. Members of Congress need to continue to hear that detaining families together is not a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/familiesbelongtogether-stop-detaining-children-and-families\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">#FamiliesBelongTogether &#8211; Stop Detaining Children and Families<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-immigration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19307,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19247\/revisions\/19307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}