Letter to Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee - Feinstein to Grassley: Hold Oversight Hearing on Trump Administration Treatment of Children

Letter

Dear Chairman Grassley,

I write to request that the Committee hold oversight hearings about family separation at the border and detention conditions, particularly for children.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) concluded today that DHS struggled to identify, track, and reunify families separated under the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy. Over 100 children remain in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement as a result of this policy, and their release has been delayed in part because Immigration and Customs Enforcement often arrests and deports their sponsors.

Even as many families remain separated, serious questions have arisen regarding immigration detention conditions. The DHS Inspector General concluded that many individuals were held for well over 72 hours in facilities that were not designed to accommodate them for extended periods of time.

Meanwhile, throughout September, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretly moved thousands of children from shelters throughout the country to a tent facility near Tornillo, Texas. It has been reported that children were moved abruptly, in the middle of the night. Serious questions remain regarding appropriate care for these children, including access to mental health providers and pediatricians, as well as schooling and access to legal counsel.

Due to these disturbing incidents and lack of transparency, we respectfully request an immediate oversight hearing to better understand the efforts by DHS and HHS to promote family reunification and ensure that detention is as humane and brief as possible. Our committee, unlike any other in Congress, is uniquely situated to examine these issues and in so doing, to keep children safe.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein

Source