Fight All Forms of Family Separations

We still don’t know the true extent of Trump’s Family Separation Policy. We know that several thousand children were separated from their parents through Trump’s family separation policy. But we still don’t know just how many were separated, or whether all will be reunited. Outside partners, led by the ACLU, are fighting Trump in the courts to make sure that every child separated is reunited with their parents. While litigation makes its way through courts, Democrats in the House are doing their jobs scheduling investigations into one of the Trump Administration’s most horrific policies.

Family separations don’t just happen at the border. It’s important to remember that family separations happen every day in the U.S. as a result of raids and detention at the hands of ICE. It also happens through Trump’s unconstitutional Muslim and asylum bans that are preventing families from entering the U.S., and in many cases reuniting with loved ones who are already living in the U.S. Additionally, Dreamers and TPS holders remain at risk of deportation due to Trump’ elimination of protections for these groups. Below is more information on a few of the immigrant communities currently at risk under Trump.

• Dreamers. Trump eliminated the DACA program in 2017, putting nearly a million DACA recipients at risk of deportation. The courts have allowed DACA renewals to continue, but not new applications. That means that many more young immigrants who would otherwise be able to seek relief from deportation are stuck in the shadows—or worse, getting deported.

• TPS holders. Individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are those who have been allowed to say in the U.S. because it is too dangerous for them to return home. Many have been here with TPS for decades, under both Republican and Democratic presidents. However, Trump has ended TPS for about 300,000 immigrants (from Sudan, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador), meaning they may have to leave their families in the U.S. and return to their native countries, where they risk death or persecution.

• DED holders. Individuals with Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) have gotten less attention than those with DACA or TPS, but they are also at risk of being forced to return to their native country even though many have lived in the U.S. for decades. DED is a form of protection from deportation and has been used by both Democratic and Republican presidents to provide relief to Liberians.

• Muslims and asylum seekers. One of Trump’s first acts when he took office was to issue a Muslim Ban preventing individuals from 7 predominantly Muslim countries. In response to court challenges, the ban has gone through several iterations, and the latest version was allowed to stay in place by the Supreme Court (though no decision on its merits has been made). Trump has since imposed a separate “asylum ban” that would prevent asylum seekers from claiming their legal right at the U.S. border.

New bills in Congress would provide permanent relief to those affected by Trump’s policies

Trump will continue to attack immigrants. And the biggest fights we’ll see over the next two years will likely be over the funding levels for those agencies implementing Trump’s out-of-control deportation machine. However, House Democrats have introduced a series of bills that would undo some of the damage to immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities and provide relief for those at risk of deportation.

Tell your MoC to cosponsor both of these bills, and demand that the House pass them.

• The Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6). This bill would provide permanent relief to Dreamers, TPS holders, and DED holders. The lead sponsors of this effort are Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), and Yvette Clarke (NY-09). The House will likely pass this bill the week of June 3 unless Republicans derail it with a "motion to recommit," so Democrats need to hold strong. Tell your representative to pass the Dream and Promise Act and reject any Republican motion to recommit using our call script.

• Muslim Ban and Asylum Ban Repeal (S. 1123 / H.R. 2214). This bill would fully repeal Trump’s Muslim and Asylum Bans, ensuring that families from affected countries and asylum seekers from Central America won’t continue to face unconstitutional discrimination. It would allow people from affected communities to reunite with their families in the U.S. The lead sponsors are Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) in the House and Sen. Chris Coons (DE) in the Senate. Tell your MoC to co-sponsor the No Ban Act using our call script.