Petition is successful with 35 signatures
To: Jeff Sessions, Attorney General of the United States, Department of Justice
Tell Jeff Sessions to stop family separation!
Jeff Sessions is no longer at the DOJ.
End your policy of separating children from their families and prosecuting migrants crossing the U.S. - Mexico border, many of whom are seeking asylum!
Why is this important?
Earlier this month, at the direction of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who serves under Trump, it became official US policy to routinely and intentionally separate children from their parents at our southern border. [1] Hundreds of children have been ripped from their families: 658 kids in the first 13 days of the program alone. [2]
And last week the ACLU released a report with horrifying details about the rampant abuse of children in custody at detention centers in our nation. [3]
The situation is critical. On May 23, Claudia Gonzalez, a young woman from Guatemala was murdered by a CBP officer at the US - Mexico border. [4] There are hundreds of stories like this, and thousands more of children and families torn apart by Trump’s deportation force.
Trump's facts are wrong, his name-calling is wrong, his policies are wrong, his callously hurting children is wrong... and we can't let his destructive actions become the final say that our possible future great grandchildren will read in their history books.
The unhinged and false narrative of Donald Trump is harming our children, hurting our nation, and damaging our economy:
FACT: There is no flood of immigrants coming north as Trump has said. In fact, there has been net negative migration at our southern border for years, in that more people are (and have been) going south across the border than have been coming north. [5]
FACT: There is no tide of murderers coming into the U.S. as Trump has said. In fact, research show that recent immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than anyone else. [6]
FACT: There is not a drain on our economy from immigrants as Trump has said. In fact, immigrants are a key economic engine in our nation, working in every field and paying taxes. Immigrants or the children of immigrants started 40 percent of our Fortune 500 companies, as well as many small and medium-sized businesses, employing many people and fueling our economy and lifting our communities and families. [7] And, as Money CNN reported: “The truth is that undocumented immigrants contribute more in payroll taxes than they will ever consume in public benefits.” [8]
FACT: It’s not a crime to apply for asylum. In fact, it’s a right protected by our national and international laws. Even the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, found that 88 percent of the mothers and children entering at our southern border had credible fear, including escaping extreme sexual and gender-based violence, that meets the threshold for qualifying for asylum, which is a protected international human right. [9] Yet most are being stopped from being able to exercise their legal right.
Jeff Sessions must lift his policy of separating children from their families and prosecuting migrants crossing the U.S. - Mexico border, many of whom are seeking asylum!
It's time to speak out, to stand for children, to spread the word around to your friends about what's happening so they can stand up, too, and to make your voice heard. Sign on now!
[1] “Jeff Sessions wants illegal immigrants to know they’ll be separated from their kids,” Vice News, May 7, 2018.
[2] “658 children separated from parents at the border over 13 days,” WBTW News13, May 29, 2018.
[3] “ACLU Report: Detained Immigrant Children Subjected To Widespread Abuse By Officials,” NPR, May 23, 2018.
[4] “She came to the US for a better life. Moments after arrival, she was killed,” CNN, May 29, 2018.
[5] “Yes, we are experiencing a net outflow of illegal, undocumented workers from America back to Mexico,” Politifact, April 26, 2017.
[6] “Contrary to Trump’s Claims, Immigrants Are Less Likely to Commit Crimes,” The New York Times, January 26, 2017.
[7] “40 Percent of Fortune 500 Companies Founded by Immigrants or Their Children,” Forbes, June 19, 2011.
[8] “5 immigration myths debunked,” CNN Money, November 20, 2014.
[9] “Trump administration drafts plan to raise asylum bar, speed deportations,” Reuters, February 18, 2017.
And last week the ACLU released a report with horrifying details about the rampant abuse of children in custody at detention centers in our nation. [3]
The situation is critical. On May 23, Claudia Gonzalez, a young woman from Guatemala was murdered by a CBP officer at the US - Mexico border. [4] There are hundreds of stories like this, and thousands more of children and families torn apart by Trump’s deportation force.
Trump's facts are wrong, his name-calling is wrong, his policies are wrong, his callously hurting children is wrong... and we can't let his destructive actions become the final say that our possible future great grandchildren will read in their history books.
The unhinged and false narrative of Donald Trump is harming our children, hurting our nation, and damaging our economy:
FACT: There is no flood of immigrants coming north as Trump has said. In fact, there has been net negative migration at our southern border for years, in that more people are (and have been) going south across the border than have been coming north. [5]
FACT: There is no tide of murderers coming into the U.S. as Trump has said. In fact, research show that recent immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than anyone else. [6]
FACT: There is not a drain on our economy from immigrants as Trump has said. In fact, immigrants are a key economic engine in our nation, working in every field and paying taxes. Immigrants or the children of immigrants started 40 percent of our Fortune 500 companies, as well as many small and medium-sized businesses, employing many people and fueling our economy and lifting our communities and families. [7] And, as Money CNN reported: “The truth is that undocumented immigrants contribute more in payroll taxes than they will ever consume in public benefits.” [8]
FACT: It’s not a crime to apply for asylum. In fact, it’s a right protected by our national and international laws. Even the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, found that 88 percent of the mothers and children entering at our southern border had credible fear, including escaping extreme sexual and gender-based violence, that meets the threshold for qualifying for asylum, which is a protected international human right. [9] Yet most are being stopped from being able to exercise their legal right.
Jeff Sessions must lift his policy of separating children from their families and prosecuting migrants crossing the U.S. - Mexico border, many of whom are seeking asylum!
It's time to speak out, to stand for children, to spread the word around to your friends about what's happening so they can stand up, too, and to make your voice heard. Sign on now!
[1] “Jeff Sessions wants illegal immigrants to know they’ll be separated from their kids,” Vice News, May 7, 2018.
[2] “658 children separated from parents at the border over 13 days,” WBTW News13, May 29, 2018.
[3] “ACLU Report: Detained Immigrant Children Subjected To Widespread Abuse By Officials,” NPR, May 23, 2018.
[4] “She came to the US for a better life. Moments after arrival, she was killed,” CNN, May 29, 2018.
[5] “Yes, we are experiencing a net outflow of illegal, undocumented workers from America back to Mexico,” Politifact, April 26, 2017.
[6] “Contrary to Trump’s Claims, Immigrants Are Less Likely to Commit Crimes,” The New York Times, January 26, 2017.
[7] “40 Percent of Fortune 500 Companies Founded by Immigrants or Their Children,” Forbes, June 19, 2011.
[8] “5 immigration myths debunked,” CNN Money, November 20, 2014.
[9] “Trump administration drafts plan to raise asylum bar, speed deportations,” Reuters, February 18, 2017.