Nonprofit leaders added to the nationwide outrage over the separation of migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexican border in the days and hours leading up to President Trump’s reversal Wednesday of his administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
More than 2,300 children have been taken from their parents at the border since the White House announced the now-scrapped policy in early May. Images of children in cages and audio of children screaming for their parents, uncovered by the nonprofit news organization ProPublica, have been met with fury.
California Endowment President Robert Ross said in a Tuesday blog post, “This is America. The cradle of democracy literally and forcibly taking children from their parents.”
Independent Sector CEO Dan Cardinali called the separation “unconscionable.” In a statement, he said: “As I read, watch, and listen to the news of what is happening at our southern border, I cannot help but think that these events are antithetical to the values we hold as leaders in civil society.”
With many of the detention centers located in Texas, a number of local groups have voiced concern.
“Punishing people for fleeing violence to send a message is not only cruel but also a violation of the international rights and conventions to which the United States is a party,” said Efrén Olivares, a director at the Texas Civil Rights Project in a statement earlier this month.
Wednesday also marks World Refugee Day, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been criticized for the timing of his department’s statement that “we will continue to help the world’s most vulnerable refugees, reflecting the deeply held values of the American people.”.
Policy Reversal
In February, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal class-action lawsuit in San Diego over similar issues of separation of asylum-seeking parents and children.
On Wednesday, President Trump signed an order to end the family separations. He previously said only Congress could do so. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the House will vote Thursday on legislation to overhaul immigration policy.
Amid the outrage leading up to Trump’s decision Wednesday to backtrack on his controversial policy, money poured in to help the families who were separated after crossing the border.
Notably, Dave and Charlotte Willner, a Silicon Valley couple, raised $11 million on Facebook in less than a week for the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
“Thanks is inadequate for the work these funds will make possible. We know it will change lives,” said Roya Winner, communications manager at Facebook, in a statement.
The Irvine Foundation announced $1 million in rapid-response funding for California-based efforts to reunite and advocate for families that have been separated. That’s in addition to funds for its ongoing grant making to protect immigrants’ rights, which have totaled $6 million so far this year.
“Separating families is wrong,” said Don Howard, CEO of the foundation, in a statement. “It irreparably harms children, and it goes against our nation’s values. We’re enormously grateful to be in a position to support innovative and passionate community-based organizations operating in a very difficult climate.”
The Rappaport Family Foundation chipped in and issued a call for support. In a statement, Vice President Catalina Ruiz-Healy said: “As part of our pledge to support efforts to protect our democracy and beat back the forces that threaten our deeply held values of equity, opportunity and inclusion, we are committing $400,000 in organizations that are mobilizing to keep families together. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. All of us must stand up to say we can’t let this happen again in our country and do our part to stop this gross injustice.”
The commitment came from a rapid-response fund the grant maker created in November 2017. Other money in the fund has gone to develop student leadership and to organizations addressing gun violence.
Also, a group of grant makers is working to show donors how to develop long-term solutions to the refugee crisis. Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees has compiled a set of case studies on how 10 foundations fashioned their support of some of the world’s most vulnerable migrants. The resulting report was released to coincide with today’s World Refugee Day.
The question of how to protect and serve vulnerable migrant children as they enter the United States is one that nonprofits have labored over for years. In 2014, the Chronicle reported on how some groups were dealing with a surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border, triggered by a fresh wave of violence in countries including El Salvador and Guatemala.
Alex Daniels contributed to this article.
