Immigrant Treatment Must Improve

Statement by Ken Kimmell, President, Union of Concerned Scientists

Published Jul 1, 2019

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2019)—Recent news stories have revealed the United States has not stopped separating immigrant families at the border, and the conditions at Border Patrol facilities, especially where children are being held, are appalling. 

Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

“There are moments when all decent people of good faith must speak up, lest their silence be misinterpreted as acquiescence. 

“This is one of them. 

“The Union of Concerned Scientists condemns—in the strongest possible terms—the treatment of immigrants from the south, particularly children.  Separating children from parents, depriving them of basic necessities—such as a place to sleep, food and fresh air—relying upon children of elementary school age to care for babies, and allowing them to wallow in filth and squalor in detention centers is heinous and deplorable.  This is the inevitable consequence of the dehumanization of immigrants, which we saw in Donald Trump’s rhetoric before he took office and has continued to this day, as immigrants are used as tools to extract political victories.    

“We need to continue to use all of our voices to condemn these inhumane policies in no uncertain terms and demand our elected representatives do the same by publicly denouncing the Trump administration’s cruel policy of family separation.  

“In addition, the White House must quickly deploy the $4.6 billion that Congress appropriated last week to address the humanitarian crisis at the border. And, equally important, the administration must address the root causes of this border crisis—poverty, violence and oppression in the countries from which these immigrants seek to escape.”