Teacher And Civil Rights Groups File Complaint Over Family Separation
“We believe in helping children thrive, not in confining them to heinous, abusive situations,” said the president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Teachers unions and civil rights groups filed a human rights complaint at the United Nations Wednesday morning over the Trump administration’s policy of separating families caught illegally crossing the border.
The zero tolerance policy designed to deter illegal border-crossing puts parents in jail while their children are placed in detention centers. It resulted in nearly 2,000 children being separated from their parents from mid-April through May.
Education and civil rights groups have decried the policy as inhumane. In filing a formal complaint with the U.N. Human Rights Council, the nation’s two teachers unions, as well as civil rights groups like the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, are claiming that the policy violates international treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Notably, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that the U.S. was leaving the Human Rights Council, saying that the body has failed to hold abusers of human rights accountable.
“The trauma caused by family separation is heinous under any circumstances, particularly in a civil society centered on family values,” the groups say in the complaint. “It is intolerable and unlawful to separate families who have sacrificed everything to escape the toxic circumstances of their home countries.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told HuffPost that this issue especially resonates with the teachers she represents.
“We love children. These kids should actually be in schools and with their parents and with their families, not separated from them,” Weingarten said. “We believe in helping children thrive, not in confining them to heinous, abusive situations.” Read more: Teacher And Civil Rights Groups File Complaint Over Family Separation | HuffPost
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Randi Weingarten serves as president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the groups that filed a human rights complaint at the United Nations over the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the border.
AFT President Randi Weingarten Responds to Trump Executive Order
American Federation of Teachers - https://www.aft.org/node/12598
American Federation of Teachers - https://www.aft.org/node/12598
AFT President Randi Weingarten Responds to Trump Executive Order
American Federation of Teachers - https://www.aft.org/node/12598
WASHINGTON—Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten responding to President Trump’s executive order following universal condemnation of his policy of ripping children from their families:
“Thank God President Trump caved under the universal public condemnation and outrage over his administration's unconscionable policy of ripping children from families and caging them. To be real, the first step is not tweeting, but reuniting these children who have suffered irreparable harm and trauma along with their parents.
“This struggle for basic humanity is not over—family unification cannot be traded for indefinite family internment or imprisonment. The families seeking asylum are not criminals, they are fleeing near-certain death in their own country and seeking refuge and compassion from our nation.
“The complaint we delivered to the United Nations this morning still stands. These actions still violate basic human rights and have caused deep and traumatic harm. The nations of the world must take action against these immoral and hateful acts by this administration. It has been heartening to see that while Donald Trump’s government may be motivated by a polarizing and dehumanizing ideology, the American people—through their condemnations and outrage—spoke out in ways that could not be ignored. We must continue to speak out and act to protect the values and principles of this nation of immigrants and on which our nation was founded.”
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The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.
