Alexandria, Va. – Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, urged Kirstjen Nielsen, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, in a letter this week to stop separating migrant families at the border.
“It is deeply troubling that the administration has chosen to create a generation of traumatized children in the name of border security,” Sister Markham wrote. “Surely as a nation we can debate the best way to secure our border without resorting to creating life-long trauma for children, some of whom are mere toddlers.”
Sister Markham noted that the practice of separating families has other negative consequences. The foster care system, both private and public, is stretched to capacity and will worsen as more children are added to the system. The large number of unaccompanied minors strains the system’s accountability and increases tragic incidents of human trafficking.
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