Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions are turning our nation of immigrants into a country of cruelty. They have issued an edict to forcibly remove young children from the arms of their parents, as families seek refuge from dangerous conditions and lethal violence.   Children are being torn from their parents, shipped off to ‘foster’ families at the taxpayers expense and we have no idea if these families are licensed, speak Spanish or if these children are being labor or sex trafficked. There is no specific law, no regulation, no political consensus to support this obscene and unlawful policy. It is pure pandering to Donald Trump’s morally bankrupt political base. It is legally indefensible.

Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions would take a wrecking ball to the Statue of Liberty and replace it with barbed wire and guard dogs.

In addition to snatching children from their immigrant parents, AG Sessions has now doubled down on the politics of cruelty by undermining hard-won protections for immigrant women and girls fleeing domestic violence. He has single-handedly changed existing policies that protect tens of thousands of women seeking protection from unimaginable abuse, denying their legal right to apply for asylum in the U.S.

This afternoon at 2pm, in front of the Customs and Border Protection Building, NOW is joining other allies to protest the administration’s despicable actions. NOW calls on Congress to exercise its moral duty to protect immigrant families, particularly women and children. Hearings must be held and legislation drafted to end this reprehensible policy.  If judges and courts are overwhelmed, appoint more judges. If lawmakers refuse to act, then women will lead the charge to replace them at the ballot box. We must take action NOW to ensure these survivors are protected, not persecuted for seeking the inalienable right to safety and freedom.

Contact

Dee Donavanik, press@now.org, 951-547-1241