Open Discussion Forum

Expand all | Collapse all

Separating young children from families seeking asylum

National Association for the Education of Young Children

National Association for the Education of Young Children06-21-2018 12:34 PM

  • 1.  Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-18-2018 05:08 PM
    As a lifelong member of NAEYC, I am calling on all members to ask that our national organization join with others to demand a swift end to traumatizing young children at our borders. There is no law that says that families seeking asylum must be separated. If we don't defend and protect children, we don't deserve to exist as an organization.

    Ellen Cogan

    ------------------------------
    Ellen Cogan
    Hilltop Early Childhood Services
    Hartsdale NY
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 12:19 AM
    I agree in callling on our NAEYC organization to oppose separating children from parents at the border.  We care for all children in the world and what is happening will leave lifelong scars on these children.

    ------------------------------
    Judith Ripke
    Mrs.
    Faith Lutheran
    Seward NE
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 01:21 AM
    I strongly agree.    I am a life member, and I want to see NAEYC in the news, taking a stand, and citing the research that identifies why separating young children from their parents is damaging.  
    Why is NAEYC invisible whenever important national issues arise that impact young children?

    ------------------------------
    John Gunnarson
    Woodacre CA
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 02:18 AM

    NAEYC already issued statements against this cruel practice.  Now it is time for the members to write to representatives, protest and vote accordingly in November.  This is a moral issue that no ECE professional can condone. 


    ------------------------------

    Eliana Elias
    Albany CA
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 02:31 AM
    Who would we specifically call on to write a statement from NAEYC about this pressing issue?
    I am very new to the organization, so I do not know who to appeal to.


    ------------------------------
    Angelina Vargas
    Principal
    American International School Duhok
    Duhok, Kurdistan
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 06:39 AM

    This oped is going to be released on all of the Child Mind Institute social platforms as well as Ariana Huffington's Thrive.




  • 7.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 07:07 PM
    Thank you Ellen for suggesting that NAEYC should be a voice for children. My heart breaks for the families of immigrants.

    ------------------------------
    Patrice Carlisle
    Director
    Ms
    Sugarloaf CA
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-21-2018 07:32 AM
    No one flees their home unless conditions there are intolerable.  There is a legal way to enter the country--it takes a lot of money and can take years, even decades.  These families face brutal conditions in their own countries, often wrought by their own governments, governments that have been funded by our country. My family fled the progroms in Eastern Europe before WW1.  They would have been killed if they had stayed.  It is likely that they would have been denied entry to this country now.  I don't have a solution to immigration reform but I know it's not as simple as saying that people should come here legally and all will be well.

    As mandated reporters, we know child abuse when we see it.  Forcibly separating children from their parents and putting them in cages and tents is child abuse. These children, already with trauma histories (they've likely already witnessed violence in their countries), have been deeply, deeply traumatized by our government and the trauma will last for generations. Other countries are appalled at what we are doing now and I am very ashamed. I keep thinking our government can't go any lower and am unfortunately proved wrong over and over again.

    ------------------------------
    Aren Stone
    Child Development Specialist
    The Early Years Project
    Cambridge, MA
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 07:24 PM
    Iagree that as ECE professionals, we need to support the children and families inhunainly being separated. What information is ooavailabel to find out how to be more involved within my state?

    Margaret Dana-Conway
    Professor ECE
    NCC, Norwalk, CT

    ------------------------------
    margaret dana-conway
    professor
    Norwalk Community College
    Milford CT
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-19-2018 07:47 PM
    I too have been a long time member of NAEYC (since early 1980's). This is definitely a call to action for our Association. We must not only talk the talk but walk the walk.

    ------------------------------
    Ethel Davis-White
    Director/Training and Curriculum Spc.
    Dep't of Army CYSS (retired)
    Bogart GA
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 10:45 AM
    We, as the premier organization supporting the development of young children and the professionals who work with them, should have a petition stating loudly our protest against the inhumane treatment of the children who are accompanying their mothers or other family members seeking asylum. This is not about illegal versus legal immigration. This is about ethics and moral behavior, something we pride ourselves on possessing to distinguish us from dictatorships.

    We need to very publicly protest the policies of the Trump administration on this issue, regardless of how some may feel about other policies of this administration. The leadership of NAEYC needs to express more publicly the outrage that we should all have toward this policy of separating young children from their families.  We need to do this because part of NAEYC's mission is to promote policies that ensure that young children are not permanently traumatized by the experiences that are inconsistent with what we know are necessary for optimal child development.

    ------------------------------
    Nora Krieger
    Associate Professor Emerita/ Chair NJEEPRE
    Bloomfield College/ New Jersey Educators Exploring the Practices of Reggio Emilia
    Highland Park NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 10:46 AM
    Yes!

    ------------------------------
    Nora Krieger
    Associate Professor Emerita/ Chair NJEEPRE
    Bloomfield College/ New Jersey Educators Exploring the Practices of Reggio Emilia
    Highland Park NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 11:13 AM
    There is a position statement from NAEYC as you can see, it was also posted here today.
    I still stand by what I said on Twitter this morning.  Anyone entering the US needs to respect our laws.  I watched an interview with Jeff Sessions done today. I was reminded that Obama's Executive Order changed immigration policies.  15,000 people were expected and 75,000 came in during one instance.  When you say asylum, it is exactly what Sessions said about families seeking asylum.  When they come in through appropriate avenues,  ICE has no problem and there is no separation.  When they come over the wall or river, that is illegal and they have to be accountable.  Sessions said that journey puts the children at risk.  Trump inherited the issue and is working on it.  JMVHO

    ------------------------------
    Patricia Jack
    Boulder City NV
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 12:48 AM
    I am shocked, although I guess I shouldn't be, that any early childhood professional would think for one second that there is any way that harming young children with this hateful ICE practice does anything but bring shame to our country. How anyone can possibly defend the actions of Jeff Sessions or condone separating parents seeking asylum from their children horrifies me.

    ------------------------------
    Rose Shannon
    San Francisco CA
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 01:19 AM
    I am against children being separated from their families as well. However it's important to remember that children are separated from their mother and or father every time they commit a crime while their kids are with them  and the parents go to jail. There is no difference here  since they are crossing the  border into our country illegally. There's a legal way to do it and they can choose to do that and keep their kids with them. Nobody's forcing the parents to make their bad decision when it's ultimately the kids that will suffer the most in the end. This is no different than someone breaking into your house and expecting to stay and you put up with their medical and dental and food and care and bills and give them a job when they should NOT be in your house in the first place. Our country is our house. Enter it but do it the legal way!

    ------------------------------
    Scott Burton
    Safety Play Inc
    St Petersburg FL
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 07:11 AM
    Separating young children from their families is difficult for the children. But if families enter our county legally there is no separation. We have many laws in our county that all citizens are required to follow. If one of our citizens breaks a law and goes to jail they are separated from their family/children. Why should people who have entered our county illegally, apparently showing no regard for our laws, be treated any differently than our own citizens. Any one attempting to enter our county illegally knows the risk of separation from their children/family. Perhaps they need to consider the consequences of breaking our laws instead of our country making concessions for law breakers.

    ------------------------------
    Diane Hendrick
    Coordinator
    WCCC Campus Children's Center
    Latrobe PA
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 08:13 AM
    Our own NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct sets as the underlying priority in our work with children to "first do no harm."  There is irrefutable evidence that tearing children away from their parents, especially with  no clear plan for reunification, let alone maintaining any kind of communication between the child and family, is one of the most traumatic acts that we can perpetrate on children. Applying for asylum is not against the law; the current zero tolerance policy has defined it as such.  Families applying for asylum are usually fleeing extreme danger, perhaps from issues of gang violence, domestic violence, etc. in their home countries.   

    There is a reason that Jeff Sessions is being disciplined by his own religious body, the United Methodist Church.  Among the charges is child abuse.

    I know that everyone who takes the time to participate in this list is deeply committed to working with young children and their families.  To me this is moral issue that can only be resolved through political action.  My members of congress are hearing from me almost every day.  Please stand up for children in anyway we can.

    ------------------------------
    Kresha Warnock
    Marion IN
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 02:01 PM
    Today, Wednesday June 6, the following news has just been released:
    • There is no system in place to ever reunite the refugee families it has been separating under the "zero-tolerance" policy.
    • When parents and their children are split up at the border, they enter two completely separate legal processes run by different government agencies that never interact.


    ------------------------------
    Julie Edwards
    Soquel CA
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 09:26 AM
    Point of Clarification: There is no 'appropriate' way to apply for asylum. Under current U.S. law, you are unable to apply for asylum prior to entering the U.S. You must travel to the border. The law states that it does not matter whether you get here legally or illegally. You must go before a judge and discuss your case. The judge makes the decision and there are no guarantees regarding asylum (even when you meet all the criteria). Additionally, the vast majority of immigrants who are traveling to the U.S. are in fact children ages 5-13 without a parent or guardian. The majority of those children are traveling to the U.S. to find their mothers who are working as domestic care workers in the U.S. The domestic care workers are employed in states which allow this practice under 'states rights'. This has been documented for several years. 

    This is why it is important for NAEYC to not only issue statements about what is happening with young children at the border, but to provide accurate information for the membership to stay fully informed. This is not the first time we have dealt with issues regarding the well-being of children and it will not be the last. Recently, we have seen threats to the well-being of children such as cutting funding for afterschool programs, school lunch programs, Head Start, Even Start, and CHIP. It is our responsibility to write, make statements, and advocate what is best for children as a body.   

    As professionals, we need to be careful about quoting politicians who often make statements which are untrue in front of large platforms. I find that most politicians cite half-truths and they also tell lies of omission. One month ago, the Secretary of Education made a statement in the press about teachers 'reporting' undocumented students in their classrooms to ICE. I had to explain to several teachers and my preservice teachers about what it means to target students and weaponize private information about children and families in the U.S. This is unethical and illegal. It is also a violation of both the 1973 Privacy Act and FERPA. Please see additional statements released pertaining to protecting both children and families at the border you can use:

    ACLU Statement
    https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/fact-checking-family-separation

    LDS Statement

    http://www.ldsliving.com/LDS-Church-Issues-Statement-About-Children-Separated-from-Their-Families-on-U-S-Mexican-Border/s/77875

    AAPS
    https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/StatementOpposingSeparationofChildrenandParents.aspx

    As a new member, I am glad to see the passion for working in the best interests of children. 

    Take care. 



    ------------------------------
    Tiffany Flowers
    Assistant Professor of Education
    Georgia State University Perimeter College
    Clarkston GA
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 01:15 PM

    As life-time members and former members of  NAEYC's  Governing Board , and as  authors of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves , we applaud our organization's  excellent statement (see above), and the letter to Homeland Security with  over 500 early childhood organizations signing on. Now,  we need to be taking action in our Affiliates, at our work places, and as citizens.

    Taking children away from their parents violates our most basic ethics as a profession and profoundly harms everything we know about children's healthy development .  Take, for example, the most recent news from the Associated Press, that several hundred infants and are being held at "tender age shelters", which, says the AP,  are filled with distraught children who are "hysterical, crying and acting out"

     

    The horrified response across our country from most of the major religious groups, from Doctors, from Teachers, from politicians across the spectrum, and from all the living "First Ladies", all speak to the profound understanding that separating families is wrong. Adding to the rage and fear is knowing that there is no system in place to reunite these children even if the policy were to change tomorrow.  This is beyond specific party politics and beyond regional issues.

     

    As early childhood educators, we can, and must, speaks out. If you have never done this kind of activism before, now is the time to start!  Call, email, write the President and our Federal Congressional representatives to demand the immediate stop to the brutal actions of ripping children from their families.  You can go on-line for the names, phone numbers, addresses of all the people who represent you and are taking action in our names.  Send funds to national and local groups that are providing legal representation for the families.

     

    As an ECE professional write a litter to your local newspaper about the damage being done to children in our name. Speak out in the community and religious organization you attend. Call the State Health and Social Services offices in Texas and Arizona to find out who is providing services for these little ones. Ask how early childhood professionals around the country can provide aid to the children.  Inform everyone you know about NAEYC's opposition to the separating of families. This is beyond any discussion of what our immigration policies should be. This is about the most fundamental needs and rights of children.



    ------------------------------
    Julie Edwards & Louise Derman Sparks
    Soquel CA
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-20-2018 01:48 PM
    So the US government spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to inflict mental and psychological pain on CHILDREN!!!  These children will remember what the US Government did to them and their families. Doesn't matter if they are illegal or legal.  Unfortunately, what we reap - we shall sow!!!

    ------------------------------
    Rochelle Rabouin
    Lewisville TX
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-21-2018 08:16 AM
    Thank you to Tiffany and others who have made clarifying points. I would like to add another clarification for everyone who believes that what is happening at the border is the same as when an American citizen parent commits a crime. It is NOT the same. When a parent commits a crime within the states, the child is not also incarcerated. Most of these children are not ripped out of their parents' arms by a stranger. If they are taken from a parent's arms it is usually by their other parent or by a relative (such as a grandparent, aunt/uncle, sibling, etc.) and not by a stranger. They then either are able to stay in their home or at a familiar home of a familiar adult/family. They are not put in cages with countless other unfamiliar children with adults who are told they cannot touch the children or comfort them in any way.

    Whatever you believe about immigration and immigration laws, what people who agree with this administration's policies don't seem to get is they are punishing INNOCENT children for crimes they did not commit. The infant, 2 years old, 9 years old, and even 13 years old did not decide on their own to break a law. They are doing what all of us do, believing in those they love and trust to do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

    ------------------------------
    Deborah Abelman, M.Ed., Ph.D
    Director of Early Learning and Coaching
    The Dimock Center
    Roxbury, Massachusetts
    ------------------------------



  • 23.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-21-2018 12:34 PM
    Thank you all for engaging, not only with each <g class="gr_ gr_40 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="40" data-gr-id="40"><g class="gr_ gr_40 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="40" data-gr-id="40">other,</g></g> but also with your broader networks and elected officials, around the issues of family separation. Yesterday afternoon, responding to enormous pressure, President Trump signed an executive order to halt family separations - and while this disastrous and harmful practice should never have been started, your overwhelming response is part of the reason that it may now be stopped.


    To be clear, however, this isn't the end. We remain deeply concerned about what has and will happen to the more than 2,000 children who have already been separated from their families, as well as what has and will happen to the families yet to be detained. Research is clear that family detention also harms children; using it as a replacement for family separation is not a solution. 


    We ask you to recognize the power of your voice and your actions and to stay engaged and involved as we move forward to act, on this and the many other issues and opportunities facing our children, families, and educators. Our updated statement is here: https://bit.ly/2JVaaO8 

    Thank you for your continued and respectful engagement on these complex issues, and for <g class="gr_ gr_35 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="35" data-gr-id="35"><g class="gr_ gr_35 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="35" data-gr-id="35">all</g></g> you do for children and families, each and every day. 


    ------------------------------
    National Association for the Education of Young Children
    Washington DC
    ------------------------------



  • 24.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-22-2018 10:34 AM
    ​I am very disturbed about the whole situation of children being separated from their families. The USA is better than this - we are the model to the world regarding best practices. This has been a complete fail. I am calling my representatives, emailing business, and sharing on social media the NAEYC statement for keeping families together. I can only imagine the pain and suffering of these families. America - let's make this right!

    ------------------------------
    John Hayes
    Director
    York Technical College Child Development Center
    Rock Hill SC
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: Separating young children from families seeking asylum

    Posted 06-22-2018 04:52 PM
    Suggested ways to help:

    Organizations working on reuniting children with their families and providing legal aid to people seeking asylum the USA

    This list comes  from Representative Adam Schiff and Senator  Elizabeth Warren. You can look them up to help you make choices.



    ------------------------------
    [Julie] [Olsen Edwards]
    Soquel CA
    ------------------------------