“As the numbers of children that continue to be apart from their families continues to grow, accountability for the people that separated them becomes all the more pressing. These families must be reunited as quickly as possible, and deported parents who were separated from their children must be paroled into the United States.
“A criminal investigation is a critical and necessary step to ensure that such wrongs are never repeated. There must be an effective investigation of, and where there is sufficient evidence, prosecution of all government officials, personnel, and contractors who are responsible for the abuses committed during this shameful period of our history — no matter their current or former level of office. To redress the harms wrought by family separation, the U.S. government must provide a pathway to lawful status for separated families who suffered serious harm at the hands of its officials, as well as monetary compensation and access to medical, legal, mental health, and other social services as needed.”
Read more: Catastrophic immigration policies resulted in more family separations than previously disclosed (report, October 11, 2018)