• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: Border Officials Forcibly Separate Families (USA: UA 256.17)

November 27, 2017

US border agency officials forcibly separated four Central American asylum-seeking fathers from their children after their arrival to the US, in violation of US standards on family unity during immigration detention. The parents are subsequently suffering from emotional distress, and the whereabouts of two of the children are still unknown.

US border agency officials forcibly separated four Central American asylum-seeking fathers from their children after their arrival to the US, in violation of US standards on family unity during immigration detention. The parents are subsequently suffering from emotional distress, and the whereabouts of two of the children are still unknown. 1) TAKE ACTION Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
  • Calling on CBP authorities to follow US national detention standards that require them to process family members together and maintain family unity;
  • Calling on ICE to immediately reunite the four families in family detention; expedite the families’ parole; and, whenever possible, provide alternatives to detention for all families as their asylum claims are considered;
  • Urging the DHS Inspector General to investigate CBP and ICE practices, to ensure DHS agency officials are not separating asylum-seeking parents from their children in detention in violation of US polices on family unity.  Contact these two officials by 3 January, 2018: Border Community Liaison Toby Don Sosbee US Customs and Border Protection San Diego Field Office 610 W. Ash Street Suite 1200 San Diego, CA 92101 USA Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Mr. Sosbee ICE San Diego Field Office Director Gregory J. Archambeault ICE San Diego Field Office 880 Front Street #2232 San Diego, CA 92101 USA Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Mr. Archambeault
2) LET US KNOW YOU TOOK ACTION Click here to let us know if you took action on this case! This is Urgent Action 256.17 Here’s why it is so important to report your actions: we record the actions taken on each case—letters, emails, calls and tweets—and use that information in our advocacy. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES