Hoyer, Lujan Grisham Statement on the Failure of the Trump Administration to Respond to Request for Information on the Family Separation Crisis

Statement

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01) released the following statement today on the failure of the Trump Administration to respond to a letter sent this week demanding answers about the status of migrant children separated from their families:

"On Tuesday, we sent a letter, also signed by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, to the Attorney General and Secretaries of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services requesting answers to a series of critical questions about the status of separated children in their custody. We asked them to provide Congress with this information within twenty-four hours. That deadline has now passed, and Congress has not received answers. Meanwhile, we have been prohibited from making unannounced visits to inspect these facilities -- to conduct our necessary oversight role over the executive branch.

"The withholding of information from Congress will do nothing to reassure the American people that their tax dollars are not being spent on detaining innocent children in unsuitable conditions nor that the Administration is doing anything to reunite children with their parents. We demand answers from this Administration and want to know what plan it has to ensure the safe and expeditious return of children to their parents. This crisis was created by President Trump's noxious "zero tolerance' policy and now this administration must right this horrible wrong. Punishing these vulnerable children because of a manufactured crisis and agency mismanagement should never have taken place, and we will continue to call for this information for as long as it takes to end this inhumane and cruel treatment."

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