Press Release
Published on February 14, 2019
New York City—Following reports that the first children have been returned to Mexico under the Trump Administration’s plan to illegally force asylum seekers to wait in the country during their asylum proceedings, Human Rights First’s Eleanor Acer, who observed the first returns in Tijuana last week, issued the following statement:
It is bad enough that the administration is implementing this scheme that illegally returns vulnerable people to Mexico while their asylum cases are pending. But forcing children back to one of the most dangerous and deadly places in the world, where they could fall victim to violence and human trafficking, is a new low. This administration’s policies and actions—from family separation, to detention, to blocking people from protection—show a blatant disregard for the well-being of children. It must end now.
This nation was founded as a haven for those fleeing violence and persecution. But under the Trump Administration this guiding principle is being supplanted by fear, discrimination, and hate. The president is traumatizing and victimizing innocent children to score political points.
For more information see Human Rights First’s new report: “A Sordid Scheme: The Trump Administration’s Illegal Return of Asylum Seekers to Mexico.”
