Missing: America's Children. Last seen being ripped from their parents' arms by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The latest, inhumane attempt to crackdown on immigration by the Trump Administration shows a monstrous brand of authoritarianism all too familiar for our people. In the face of frightened families seeking asylum from violence in Central America, Uri L'Tzedek, the Orthodox Social Justice Movement, calls for an immediate reversal of the "zero tolerance" policy that allows ICE to act with impunity and the return of vulnerable children to their parents.
As a nation of conscience, we must stand united against the callous treatment of children. The Jewish people have always understood that there are unique responsibilities tied to children in our community. If a parent is unable or unwilling to complete a mitzvah for his or her child, it falls on to the community to provide the necessary facets of childhood. For the, over one thousand, missing children to the children found sleeping in cages, it is vital that we—no matter our politics, our religion, or our creed—fulfill our obligations to the children in our care and demand they be returned to their parents. There is no time to lose.
This new wave of immigrants, refugees, and those fleeing violence to seek freedom are owed the same safety as previous generations of new Americans who arrived on our shores. We must be their advocates. We must be their allies. These missing or detained children deserve to experience a land of milk and honey, from sea to shining sea. Or, at the very least, they deserve to remain with their parents! We, the undersigned, call upon Jeff Sessions and the Trump Administration to stop hardening their hearts and begin to listen to the desperate pleas coming from vulnerable refugees and immigrants.
