Refugee child detainees are being flown to U.S. family sponsors ONLY if their family can afford to pay for the one-way flight of the child and a round trip flight of an escort.
In the New York Times article "To Retrieve Detainee, Enter Mess of Red Tape and Buy $2,500 Flight," from 07/01/2018, reporter Miriam Jordan writes,
"Under the policy manual of the Office of Refugee Settlement, sponsors are responsible for paying transportation costs for both the child and any escort along with fees charged by airlines for handling transport of unaccompanied minors."
This means that families stay divided when these fees can't be paid. Tell the airlines: Comp these flights! Reunite these children, now!
Update #45 years ago
07/13/18: Judge Sabraw ruled that the U.S. government must pay! At a hearing in San Diego, he stated, "It doesn't make any sense for any of the parents who have been separated to pay for anything.” The article: https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-weigh-rules-u-works-reunite-migrant-families-100459600.html.
Thank you to the ACLU and Judge Sabraw for holding our government responsible for its actions. Thank you to every one of you for being a part of this. May history stop repeating itself.
-Erin
Update #35 years ago
Delta Airlines' response:
Dear Erin,
Thank you for submitting your sponsorship proposal to Delta Air Lines. Unfortunately, your event is less than 90 days from your submission date. Due to budget constraints and planning we require no less than 90 days to review.
We appreciate you thinking of Delta and wish you great success.
Sincerely,
Delta Marketing Team
Update #25 years ago
Thank you for signing this petition! To date, I have contacted the public relations department of United, American, Delta, and Southwest alerting them of this petition, informing them of the growing support behind it, and asking them for the opportunity to discuss it with an individual directly. I have also contacted my local television and radio stations.
Please consider posting this petition to your Facebook pages. Let's keep this momentum going!
Update #15 years ago
Thank you very much for signing my petition to the major airlines to comp the flights of child detainees. Can I ask you to go one step further and post this to your Facebook page and/or Twitter account? Together, we can get these children back in the arms of family without financial ruin! Thank you in advance for your help,
Erin
