#67: The Plight of Immigrant Children (and What We Can Do About It)

Washington Indivisible Podcast

Anyone monitoring the recent developments with immigrant children knows the situation right now is dire: a recently announced policy from the Department of Justice is resulting in children being forcibly separated from their parents at the Mexico border. And HHS is reportedly unable to account for nearly 1500 immigrant minors who came to the US unaccompanied. We're joined this week by international human rights lawyer and director of policy for the DC-based nonprofit, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Jennifer Podkul, to help us understand what's going on and what we can do about it. We also speak with Gilda Blanco, an organizer for the Seattle Domestic Workers Alliance, about the National Day of Children protest event happening at the US Attorney's office in Seattle on Friday, June 1st. Info and Links: National Day of Action for Children Start: June 01, 2018 • 12:00 PM U.S. Attorney's Office • 700 Stewart Street, Seattle, WA https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/families-belong-together KIND's webpage: https://supportkind.org/media/family-separation-at-the-border/ Jennifer Podkul's FAQ on family separation at the border: https://supportkind.org/media/family-separation-at-the-border/ What the legal process looks like for an immigrant child taken away from his parents: https://supportkind.org/media/what-the-legal-process-looks-like-for-an-immigrant-child-taken-away-from-his-parents/ Legislation: H.R. 2572 – Protect Family Values at the Border Act H.R. 5950/S.2937 – the HELP Separated Children Act H.R. 2043/S. 2468 – Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2018 ICE Tukwila office: 206-835-0650 ICE Tacoma office: 253-779-6000 (To bypass the message, press 2 and ask for the Community Relations office.) IMoveon petition directed at Department of Homeland Security director Kirstjen Nielsen to end the separation of parents from their children: https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/tell-secretary-nielsen?source=n.em.mt.p