Jailing Children Does Not Make Us Safer or Stronger

WASHINGTON –  Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services announced a proposal to withdraw from the Flores Settlement Agreement. The Flores Agreement is a set of protections for underage migrant children in government custody:

“One year ago, the Trump administration sent a clear xenophobic message by announcing the end of DACA. The drumbeat continues with the proposal to replace the disastrous ‘family separation’ policy with an expansion of cruel ‘family detention’ policy. Instilling fear in immigrant communities and locking up children does not make us safer or stronger. Keeping innocent children jailed in terrible conditions for even longer periods is a direct affront to our nation’s core values and we demand that this administration end these callous and cruel policies immediately. There are proven, humane, and inexpensive alternatives to detention that the administration could use, but today’s proposal shows the administration is not interested in effective policy solutions.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.