Van Hollen Joins Butler, Schatz in Introducing Legislation to Keep Families Together

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) in introducing the Keep Families Together Act, legislation that would mandate the prioritization of family unity in immigration enforcement and provide guidelines to ensure that families are kept together throughout the legal process.

In 2018, the Trump Administration announced a policy of family separations, beginning one of the darkest chapters of state-inflicted trauma in recent memory. The Trump Administration’s deliberate policy decision resulted in more than 5,000 children being separated from their parents. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of separated families, Ms. L v. U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement, which ultimately resulted in a settlement agreement with the Biden Administration. Despite the Biden Administration’s Family Reunification Task Forces’ efforts, 2,000 children still have not been reunited with their parents. The Keep Families Together Act, led by Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), was updated from the 116th Congress in consultation with ACLU litigators of the Ms. L settlement to preserve the agreement’s protections and extend them in perpetuity.

“Separating children from their families at the border was an inhumane and shameful stain on our nation’s immigrant history.  This legislation will help ensure we never again have a policy of ripping children apart from their parents at our borders – and that we continue to prioritize reunification where separation has occurred,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen.

“Under the Trump Administration, more than 5,000 children were separated from their families at the border. It was heartbreaking, inhumane, and traumatic,” said Senator Butler. “The Keep Families Together Act would ensure that that our nation promotes family unity, rather than tearing them apart.”

“It’s unconscionable and inhumane to separate children from their families, regardless of the circumstance,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill would ensure it is the policy of the United States – under any administration – to keep migrant families together and ensure the welfare of children at the border.”

The Keep Families Together Act also explicitly prohibits the separation of children from their parents at the U.S. border, except in extraordinary circumstances. Specifically, the legislation would:

• Mandate that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) create policies enabling parents and children to locate and reunite with each other if they have been separated. These procedures must be publicly accessible and available in an accessible language. In cases of separation, DHS is required to provide parents with a monthly report containing information about their child.
• Mandate that DHS consult with immigrant advocacy organizations, child welfare organizations, and State child welfare agencies when developing procedures.
• Require an annual report to Congress describing each instance in which a child was separated from a parent or legal guardian.

In addition to Senators Van Hollen, Butler and Schatz, the Keep Families Together Act is cosponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-N.Y.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Angus King (D-Maine), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

“The separation of children from their families at the border is beyond cruel and unconscionable. This critical legislation can prevent such barbaric separations and ensure that immigrant families have the opportunity to rebuild in safety. They deserve this hope and stability,” said Senator Blumenthal.

“When families seek refuge in our country, the last thing they should be worried about is being forcibly separated,” said Senator Hirono. “This legislation will help to keep immigrant families together as they apply for asylum and other forms of relief in our country. As the only immigrant currently serving in the Senate, I’ll keep working to support immigrant families and move us toward comprehensive immigration reform to ensure the wellbeing and safety of our immigrant communities.”

“Separating children from their parents is inhumane and goes against everything we stand for as a country,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “The Trump administration’s family separation policy is a moral stain in our nation’s history that can never happen again.”

“Separating families and harming vulnerable children for political gain ranks among the most morally abhorrent policies ever enacted by any American presidential administration,” said Senator Merkley. “We must learn from these mistakes and do all we can to keep families together and safe. This legislation would ensure that no future administration can separate children from their parents at our borders.”

The Keep Families Together Act is endorsed by:

Afghans for a Better Tomorrow, Al Otro Lado, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA), Central American Resource Center of Northern California (CARECEN SF), Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), East Bay Refugee and Immigrant Forum, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Human Rights First, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Immigration Equality Fund, Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service (IRIS), Jesuit Refugee Service, Jewish Family and Children Services of Long Beach and Orange County, Jewish Family and Children Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Kino Border Initiative, La Raza Community Resource Center (SF), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), National United Church of Christ, Oasis Legal Services, Pacific Presbytery, Presbytery of San Gabriel, PC (USA), Santa Cruz Welcoming Network, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Union for Reform Judaism, Unidos.US, United We Dream, and Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC).

“One of the darkest stains on American history is how our immigration system tears families apart. It continues to happen to this day, and the Keep Families Together Act is a promising sign of transparency and change seeking to track these cases, reunite separated families, and prevent these horrors for future migrant families,” said Margaret Cargioli, Directing Attorney of Policy & Advocacy at Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). “We are thankful to Sen. Butler and Sen. Schatz for moving this legislation forward so that immigrant families have a greater chance of staying united. We look to Congress to support this bill and recommit to an immigration system rooted in dignity and justice.”

“The Women’s Refugee Commission applauds the reintroduction of the Keep Families Together Act,” said Mario Bruzzone, Senior Policy Advisor at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “As a member of the court-appointed Ms. L Steering Committee, we know the lasting harm of the Family Separation policy under the last Administration. More than 5000 children were separated from their parents. The Keep Families Together Act is vital to protecting children and families, and to preventing family separation from ever occurring again.”

“The Trump administration’s cruel family separation policy left a lasting stain on our country’s history, inflicting lifelong trauma on vulnerable children and their parents,” said Kate Jastram, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). “Six years later, thousands remain separated, and far too many families continue to face separation under our callous immigration policies. By passing the Keeping Families Together Act, Congress has a critical opportunity to hold the executive branch accountable and ensure families can seek safety and navigate the legal process together, without fear of separation.”

“The Keep Families Together Act centers family unity and child protection and ensures that the United States never resorts to unnecessary family separation, which remains an indelible stain on our nation’s history,” said KIND Chief of Global Policy and Advocacy Jennifer Podkul. “Forcibly separating a child from their parent imposes lifelong trauma upon the child. KIND greatly appreciates the leadership of Senators Laphonza Butler and Brian Schatz in recognizing the vital need to create guardrails to prevent immigrant families from facing the horror of needless family separation ever again.”

“In 2018, the Trump Administration weaponized family separation to dissuade individuals from migrating. It was the cruelest component of the anti-immigrant agenda. About 5,000 children were separated from their families. 2,000 of whom remain separated to this day,” said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). “Organizations like CHIRLA saw the horrible aftermath of that particular policy, and its lingering memory guides our openness every day as we receive families who have sacrificed everything to seek safety and a better life. Today, with the introduction of the Keep Families Together Act, we are proud to support legislation that prioritizes migrant families, safeguards them from even more harms, and puts together guidelines and protections for the most vulnerable.”  

A one-pager text of the bill is available HERE.

Full text of the bill is available HERE.