Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva is hosting a hearing this Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in Room 215 of the House Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., on how immigration enforcement can be more humane and how law enforcement officials can reduce family separations. While it is official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy to preserve “the unity of families during repatriation… taking into consideration administrative parameters,” multiple recent studies show that DHS and the Border Patrol have failed to meet this goal.

Members of Congress, border policy experts and human rights leaders will discuss new evidence that current deportation practices, plagued by inadequate accountability and oversight, continue to undermine DHS’s commitment to preserve family unity. Witnesses will describe the reality of life at the border and call on DHS to stop breaking families apart. 

Research indicates that immigration enforcement programs intended to discourage immigrants from entering the U.S. have contributed to needless and widespread family separation, often driving further irregular migration and threatening the safety of recently deported women, men and children. You can read more at http://bit.ly/12ByoBo (Jesuit Conference and Kino Border Initiative) and http://bit.ly/Z3X5qd (University of Arizona).

WHAT: Ad-Hoc Hearing on How Current Deportation Practices Unnecessarily Pull Families Apart

WHO: Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva, Jared Polis, Sheila Jackson Lee, Juan Vargas