01.07.2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. — KIND strongly condemns President Trump’s request in a January 4, 2019 letter to Congress to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement and amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) as both changes will gravely harm children who come to the United States seeking safety.
KIND President Wendy Young:
“The changes to the TVPRA that the Administration is demanding will expose children to even more danger, including by human traffickers from whom the law was created to protect the children against,” said KIND President Wendy Young. “Changing the law to return all unaccompanied children quickly to the situations they fled with only a cursory screening of whether they are victims of trafficking or potentially eligible for U.S. protection will undoubtedly mean the United States will send children back to grave harm, including rape, trafficking, exploitation, and even death.
“Jettisoning the Flores Agreement will allow the Administration to hold children in jail-like settings for indefinite periods of time. Neither of these actions help secure our borders nor do they address the root causes of these children’s migration.
“There is no crisis at the border – all the issues we are facing at the border have been created by the Trump Administration and can be addressed effectively and in ways that maintain our integrity as a nation of values. Neither of these changes is remotely helpful in efforts to create an orderly and fair immigration system.”
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Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990