{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://ramirez.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-ramirez-castro-senators-blumenthal-merkley-hirono-markey-introduce-bill", "Reps Ramirez, Castro & Senators Blumenthal, Merkley, Hirono, Markey Introduce Bill to Reunite Separated Families & Prevent Future Separation", "2024-12-18", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Delia C. Ramirez", "R000617", "ramirez.house.gov", "ramirez", "https://ramirez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC\u2013 Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, along with Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (CT-D), Jeff Merkley (OR-D), Mazie Hirono (HI-D), and Edward Markey (MA-D)introduced the bicameral Family Reunification Task Force Act. The legislation authorizes the Family Reunification Task Force to continue its work to reunite the thousands of families torn apart by Trump\u2019s Zero Tolerance policy that inhumanely separated children from their parents.\n\nEstablished by President Biden\u2019s Executive Order in 2021, the task force is at risk of getting disbanded despite more than 1,300 children still needing to be reunited with family.\n\n\u201cTrump\u2019s cruel zero tolerance policy of ripping families apart intentionally inflicted irreparable trauma on immigrant parents, children, and communities. It's a practice we will never \u2013 and should never \u2013 forget or repeat,\u201d said Congresswoman Ramirez. \u201cWhile we can never fully right those wrongs, the Family Reunification Task Force Act is a critical means to address the harm inflicted on the families separated at our border. Our legislation aims to urgently reunite families, and to affirm that families should never be separated by our government at our borders.\u201d\n\nSenator Blumenthal stated, \u201cThe first Trump Administration\u2019s family separation policy was a catastrophic failing, and still, six years later, hundreds of children remain apart from their parents. The Family Reunification Task Force has done important work to identify and reunite families traumatized by this cruel policy and that work is not yet done. This bill is a necessary step to continue to right the wrongs of family separation, no matter who is in office.\u201d\n\n\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s family separation policy was one of the worst episodes of moral failure in our country\u2019s history. I was glad to see the Biden-Harris administration create the Family Reunification Task Force to help identify and reunify families impacted by this horrific abuse of human rights,\u201d said Congressman Castro. \u201cAs the next Trump administration approaches, this bill will protect the Task Force and ensure that the United States remains committed to reuniting more than a thousand children who are still separated from their parents. Continuing the work of this Task Force is the bare minimum we owe to these families.\u201d\n\nThe bill is cosponsored by Reps. Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Ra\u00fal Grijalva (AZ-07), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Al Green (TX-09), Andr\u00e9 Carson (IN-07), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), James McGovern (MA-02), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Nanette Barrag\u00e1n (CA-44), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Shri Thanedar (MI-13).\n\nEndorsers include Kids in Need of Defense, National Immigration Law Center, Human Rights First, Young Center for Immigrant Children\u2019s Rights, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Human Rights Watch, Justice in Motion, Prevention Institute, Women's Refugee Commission, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Amnesty International USA, American Civil Liberties Union, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Save the Children, Acacia Center for Justice, National Immigrant Justice Center, Immigrant Defenders Law Center (\"ImmDef\"), National Center for Youth Law, National Immigration Project, Latin America Working Group, Tahirih Justice Center, Refugees International, ASISTA Immigration Assistance, and American Immigration Council.\n\n\u201cMy family and I thank the Members of Congress who support the Family Reunification Task Force so that children that are still separated from their families can be reunited at last,\u201d said Kseniia M., an asylum seeker from Russia and member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. \u201cThe months we were separated from our then three-year-old daughter were incredibly painful, and as a family, we will live with the repercussions of that separation for the rest of our lives. We urge the U.S. government to continue to prioritize reunification and justice for all families affected by family separation policies.\u201d\n\n\u201cKIND has witnessed firsthand the lasting harm of family separation on our child clients. In partnership with the Family Reunification Task Force, our organization has been part of the ongoing work to identify parents and children who are still separated and to bring them back together. Through its leadership of this effort, the Task Force has proved essential to reunifying families and ensuring the enduring impacts of separation are addressed. But the work is not finished,\u201d Jennifer Podkul, Chief of Global Policy and Advocacy for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), stated. \u201cKIND is proud to support the Family Reunification Task Force Act and commends Representative Ramirez, Representative Castro, and Senator Blumenthal for this vital measure to ensure that the Task Force can continue its critical mission to make families whole and prevent future unwarranted separations.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe commend the leaders and participants in this vital effort to ensure the work of the Family Reunification Task Force continues. The Task Force\u2019s unwavering efforts have successfully reunited thousands of families, but more than 1,300 children are still separated from loved ones due to policies implemented during the first Trump administration. The Task Force is a collaborative project bringing federal government, non-governmental organizations, and attorneys together to reunite families, working to close this reprehensible chapter of our nation\u2019s history,\u201d said Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.\n\nCathleen Caron, Founder and Executive Director of Justice in Motion, noted, \u201cAs an organization deeply involved in the critical work of reuniting families separated at the border, we have witnessed firsthand the profound devastation the separations cause. The impact of reuniting children with their families is immeasurable. It is crucial that Congress take swift and decisive action to ensure every family impact is made whole and that mass family separation never happens again.\u201d\n\n\"Over 1,300 children remain separated from their parents because of the harmful zero tolerance policy enacted under President Trump\u2019s first term. No child should ever be forcibly separated from their family, period. President Trump\u2019s zero tolerance policy separated thousands of children seeking safety with their parents as a cruel deterrence policy,\u201d said Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA. \u201cAt the beginning of his presidency, President Biden created a task force to find impacted families and children to reunite them, but because these separations were intentionally done without appropriate record keeping or coordination, over 1,000 children still remain separated today. Amnesty International USA proudly endorses Rep. Ramirez, Rep. Castro, and Senator Blumenthal\u2019s Family Reunification Task Force Act to ensure the work of reunification continues regardless of the administration. The United States has an obligation to reunite and provide redress to impacted families, and this important legislation ensures that this work continues.\"\n\n\u201cThe family separation policy was one of the darkest chapters of the previous Trump administration, with babies and toddlers taken from their parents\u2019 arms, and thousands of families ripped apart. For too many families, still awaiting reunification, this disastrous nightmare continues. We need legislation like the Family Reunification Task Force Act so that these children are not forgotten and can finally return to their loved ones,\u201d said Sarah Mehta, Senior Border Policy Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.\n\n\u201cThe National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) is grateful for champions in Congress showing they will fight for our communities and stand up to defend the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers,\u201d said Jesse Franzblau, Senior Policy Analyst with NIJC. \u201cAs an organization that has represented separated children and their parents, we have witnessed first-hand the long-lasting traumatic impact of this inhumane policy. Measures such as the Family Reunification Task Force Act are imperative to reunite families and defend against a repeat of the worst human rights abuse of the first Trump administration.\u201d\n\n\u201cFamily unity is essential to a humane immigration system that honors the rights and dignity of all people. Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is proud to endorse the Family Reunification Task Force Act and thanks Representatives Ramirez and Castro and Senator Blumenthal for standing with immigrant families. As first-hand witnesses to the trauma caused by the zero-tolerance policy, we implore Congress to prevent the tragedy of family separation by passing this important legislation,\u201d Marion (\"Mickey\") Donovan-Kaloust, Director of Legal Services at ImmDef said. \u201cNo child should ever have to pay the price of our broken immigration system. Separating families undermines the moral values that define the United States. By passing the Family Reunification Task Force Act, Congress will reaffirm our fundamental values of compassion and justice for all.\u201d\n\nKelly Albinak Kribs, Attorney and Co-Director of the Technical Assistance Program at the Young Center for Immigrant Children\u2019s Rights stated, \u201cSeparated children and families deserve support and a path toward justice. Young Center child advocates have over the years worked with and accompanied hundreds of children torn unnecessarily from their parents, bearing witness to their fear, trauma, and uncertainty about the future. The Family Reunification Task Force is one tool in the kit to help families with reunification. We are grateful to Rep. Ramirez, Rep. Castro, and Senator Blumenthal for highlighting families navigating reunification, and we urge Congress to stand up for family unity and reject any future family separation policies.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://ramirez.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-ramirez-castro-senators-blumenthal-merkley-hirono-markey-introduce-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9764935821294785, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}