WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cruel, inhumane and un-American: Influential conservatives are criticizing a new Justice Department policy that increases family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to deter immigrants.
The critiques highlight the deeply troubling impact of policies that separate children from their parents.
Conservative blogger and radio host Erick Erickson expressed grave concern about the “potential abuse of children separated from their parents” and urged the Trump administration to reconsider the policy, while conservative columnists Jennifer Rubin and Michael Gerson characterized the policy as “cruel” and a “betrayal of American values,” respectively.
Faith leaders also have denounced the policy, with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops highlighting the economic and social costs of forcibly separating families and warning that “unnecessarily separating families would be extremely detrimental to basic child welfare principles, contrary to our Catholic values, and ineffective to the goals of deterrence and safety.”
Other prominent voices in the faith community have decried the policy’s shortsightedness and opposition to Christian values of family unity. “Until we address the issues of violence and poverty, this is going to be cyclical,” said National Latino Evangelical Coalition president Gabe Salguero. And Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, stated that the Justice Department’s practices could “inadvertently [incentivize] a family to break apart.”
Conservative influencers’ and faith groups’ concern echoes that of child welfare experts and advocates. Experts from more than 200 national and state organizations have pointed out that parental absence compounds the trauma and developmental delays many migrant children face, and studies have shown that immigration policies that separate families are deeply detrimental to children’s well-being, including many U.S. citizens.
“Separating parents and children in an attempt to deter people who are fleeing violence from legally seeking asylum is cruel to families, harmful to children and wholly contrary to American values,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. “Family unity is an integral American value. Separating families is not just bad policy, it’s an affront to the ideals on which our nation is built.”
“The growing concerns and unease from conservative voices raise an important question for all of us: Is this the America we want for our children?”