Name: Faith-based groups cheer, share hopes for Biden's family reunification task force
Brand: religionnews.com
SKU: religionnews-com-3
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Faith-based groups cheer, share hopes for Biden's family reunification task force

preview

(RNS) — Faith-based organizations are celebrating the creation of a task force to help reunite separated children with their families.Those same organizations had been involved in caring for children separated from their parents at the United States-Mexico border under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.President Joe Biden issued an executive order creating the task force Tuesday (Feb. 2), one of several immigration-related executive actions he signed that afternoon.“As my grandfather would say, by the grace of God and goodwill of neighbors, we’ll reunite these children and reestablish our reputation as being a haven for people in need,” as he signed the orders at his desk in the Oval Office.The newly created task force will work “across the U.S. government, with key stakeholders and representatives of impacted families, and with partners across the hemisphere to find parents and children separated by the Trump Administration,” from the White House.In a written statement, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service President and CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah called it “a monumental first step in addressing the imperative question of how we make these families whole again.”LIRS was one of two faith-based organizations that assisted the government in&nbsp;reuniting more than 1,100 families&nbsp;over about five weeks at the height of the 2018 family separation crisis, according to LIRS. The other was the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.The two did that work pro bono — “on a charitable basis,” they released in October 2018.Both organizations have assisted the government in caring for unaccompanied immigrant children for years, even before former President Donald Trump’s policy — though during the crisis that it had never seen so many unaccompanied immigrant children at one time, or ones so young.While LIRS and the USCCB both have reunited all the children who were in their care with family members, lawyers still have not been able to reach the parents of 666 children who were separated from their families, .“Our child welfare experts saw both the irreparable damage of separation, as well as the unbridled joy of reunification throughout our work reuniting more than 1,100 children with their parents.&nbsp;We hope and pray to witness once again the relief and comfort of 600 more reunions that should have happened years ago,” Vignarajah said.“This undertaking will require hard work, but a high-profile interagency taskforce demonstrates the Biden administration’s commitment to righting this egregious wrong.”That work will include making recommendations to the president and federal agencies on steps they can take to reunify families and to prevent such tragedies from occurring again, according to the statement.LIRS does not expect to be part of that task force, according to Timothy Young, a spokesperson for the organization.However, one of its affiliates, Bethany Christian Services, has been part of with the Biden transition team, according to Nathan Bult, Bethany’s senior vice president of public and government affairs. Those conversations have included the importance of — and Bethany’s support for — reunifying families, Bult said.One thing the Biden administration can do to prevent something like this from happening again is to employ child protection social workers at the border, he said.Bethany also hopes the Biden administration will consider legal status for those families, including the kind of legal representation and case management services the organization provided to some during the family separation crisis, he said.“To make these families whole again, it’s not just about reunifying families or, you know, providing relief from deportation, but it’s also about righting the wrongs and making sure that they can start a new life on the right foot,” Bult said.Ashley Feasley, director of policy for the USCCB’s Migration Refugee Services, added mental health services to that wish list.“These people have severe trauma — adults and children alike. We really, really are hopeful to see legal services, social services, mental health services, to ensure that they are able to deal with a lot of this,” Feasley said.Feasley also hopes the task force will investigate what happened and put systems in place to prevent any unnecessary separation for the health and welfare of a child, she said. She hopes it will partner with organizations both in the U.S. and in Central America that are working to find the families of these children.And, she said, she hopes it will put resources behind organizations, such as the USCCB, that have been doing that work without any federal funding.“We welcome the creation of a task force on the family separation issue, particularly because there still are families who are separated, and then for those families who’ve been reunited the damage and the trauma lingers and persists,” she said.Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Nathan Bult’s current title at Bethany Christian Services.Posted inMost PopularYou've read 0 of 5 of today’s most popular posts.Everything RNS© Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our and , and . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Religion News Service.This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.NecessaryNecessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.CookieDurationDescriptioncookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

(RNS) — Faith-based organizations are celebrating the creation of a task force to help reunite separated children with their families.Those same organizations had been involved in caring for children separated from their parents at the United States-Mexico border under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.President Joe Biden issued an executive order creating the task force Tuesday (Feb. 2), one of several immigration-related executive actions he signed that afternoon.“As my grandfather would say, by the grace of God and goodwill of neighbors, we’ll reunite these children and...

public

Writing about the spiritual and supernatural. Covering mainline Christianity, Indigenous spirituality and alternative faiths for @RNS. Sometimes curling.

Emily McFarlan Miller

Driving essential conversation about how religion and beliefs shape us and our world.

Faith-based groups cheer, share hopes for Biden's family reunification task force

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS