Letter to Secretary Kelly Opposing Plan to Separate Migrant Families at the Border

On March 22, 2017, nearly 200 national, state and local organizations sent this letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly expressing opposition to the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed plan to separate migrant families at the US border. Secretary Kelly has now twice remarked that he is considering such a move in order to deter families from seeking protection at our borders. The letter calls on Secretary Kelly to “reverse course on any policy proposal that would seek to tear apart families or otherwise inflict trauma and harm.” It also notes that separating families undermines their ability to seek asylum, a right protected by both U.S. and international law.