Keep Families Together: Pass the HELP-Act
More than 5,000 children of immigrants are languishing in state foster care nationwide because their parents were living in the U.S. illegally and were detained or deported. These children can spend years in foster homes, and some are put up for adoption when their detained parents are unable to attend family court hearings.
Detained parents often aren't aware that they can request that their children be returned to their home countries or placed with relatives in the United States. Parents, especially those unable to speak or read English, are often uninformed of their legal rights and may not even know where their children have been sent.
The Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act (HELP-Act), recently introduced in both chambers of Congress, would establish nationwide protocols to help keep children with their parents during immigration proceedings. Act now to tell Congress to pass the HELP-Act to ensure the well-being of all children in the United States.
We the undersigned urge you to pass the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act (HELP-Act). The bill would establish nationwide protocols to help keep children with their parents during immigration proceedings.
Currently, more than 5,000 children of immigrants are in foster care in the U.S. because their parents were detained or deported. These children can spend years in foster homes, and some are put up for adoption when their detained parents are unable to attend family court hearings.
Detained parents often are not aware that they can request that their children be returned to their home countries or placed with relatives in the United States. Parents, especially those who are unable to speak or read English, are often uninformed of their legal rights and may not even know where their children have been sent.
We therefore call on you to pass the HELP-Act immediately to ensure the well-being of all children in the United States. We thank you for your attention to this important matter.
