DeLauro Holds Trump Administration Accountable for Family Separation Crisis in Labor-HHS-Defense Conference Committee Bill

WASHINGTON, DC (September 14, 2018) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement on victories she and her Democratic colleagues achieved that address the family separation crisis in the FY2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Defense Appropriations bill. The bill passed the House and Senate conference committee unanimously yesterday.

"I am proud that this funding bill takes action against the President's manufactured crisis at the border. The family separation crisis is child abuse—plain and simple—and more than 200 children are still in HHS custody. That is unacceptable."

"This bill maintains the bipartisan amendments that House Democrats introduced to condemn this policy, demand a reunification plan, fund mental health services to address the traumatic stress these children are enduring, ensure the Administration upholds the highest standards of care and privacy, and much more. It also removed a provision included by the Republican Majority that would have overturned the Flores Settlement Agreement, thereby authorizing the indefinite detention of these children in DHS custody."

"Nevertheless, our fight is not over. These children have been locked up for months, and we cannot ignore it. More than that, many parents may have been deported, and they may never be reunited. That is unconscionable. Congress must continue pushing this administration to act with a sense of urgency. We cannot give up until every single child is reunited with their family, and the Trump administration must be held accountable to that standard. This bill sends President Trump that message loudly and clearly, and I look forward to seeing it enacted into law."

In total, DeLauro and her colleagues added 15 family separation-related amendments to the bill on a bipartisan basis. Those include:

1. Demanding the Department of Health and Human Services report to Congress on a plan to swiftly reunify separated families and withholding funding from the HHS Secretary until the plan is submitted;
2. Funding mental health services for children separated from their parents;
3. Ensuring that siblings who have been separated from their parents are kept together;
4. Preventing the forced medication of separated children without a medical assessment, including a trauma assessment;
5. Expressing the sense of Congress that families should not be separated and that families should be reunited immediately;
6. Requiring an Inspector General report on the implementation of the family separation policy, the Executive Order ending the policy, and ongoing reunification efforts;
7. Reaffirming the Department of Health and Human Services' statutory and court-ordered responsibilities about the care of unaccompanied children;
8. Prohibiting the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and its contractors from asking questions about religion and religious practices for purposes of family reunification;
9. Requiring a report on the number of pre‐literate children in the custody of ORR, a list of languages spoken by those children, the number of translators needed for each language, and any additional resources needed to ensure children are able to communicate with staff;
10. Directing ORR to ensure protection of DNA and other personal data and prohibits use for criminal or immigration enforcement;
11. Mandating a report on guidance from ORR to shelters about the mental health needs of children separated from their parents, treatment resources available to them, and the average length of stay for separated children;
12. Requiring a monthly report on the number of separated children and additional details, including a plan for children and parents to remain contact and reunify;
13. Allowing HHS to accept in-kind donations for the care of unaccompanied children;
14. Requiring HHS to submit a report to the Committee on Office of Refugee Resettlement facility violations; and
15. Prohibiting funds to be used to prevent a Member of Congress from conducting oversight at facilities housing unaccompanied children

DeLauro serves as Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee.