Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Global Human Rights, introduced H.R. 6236, the “Family Unity Rights and Protection Act,” which would require the federal government to reunite families that have been forcibly separated at the border.
“The separation of children at the border is a human rights violation. It’s government-sanctioned child abuse,” said Rep. Bass. “When the federal government is the one responsible for the separation, they should also be responsible for reunification. That responsibility was notably absent from Trump’s insufficient executive order that he issued last week. I hope Congress, as a body of moral men and women, can come together and pass this bill.”
- Require agencies to reunify children who were separated from their families as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance policy” as soon as possible.
- Require parental notification regarding process and procedure pertaining for the return of their children.
- Prohibit the termination of parental rights without actual notice to the parents, wherever they may be.
- Establish a family registry to aid in reuniting children separated from their parents.
