First Focus Campaign for Children submitted the following statement for the record to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Excerpt from the statement:
The First Focus Campaign for Children is a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. As an organization dedicated to promoting the safety and well-being of all children in the United States, we have been urging both Congress and the Administration to uphold the best interest of the children involved in all decisions regarding the long-term impact of forced family separation and detention due to immigration enforcement.
While we are grateful that court-ordered reunification efforts are underway, we remain concerned about the 711 children who have yet to be reunified with their parents, the treatment and standards that these children are subjected to while in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the lack of legal representation to ensure the best interest of the child in all immigration proceedings.