PRINTER'S NO. 2536
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
512
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY HOWARD, SAPPEY, FRANKEL, WEBSTER, SANCHEZ,
YOUNGBLOOD, KINSEY, HANBIDGE, SHUSTERMAN, CALTAGIRONE,
DONATUCCI, OTTEN, SCHLOSSBERG, HOHENSTEIN, FREEMAN, HILL-
EVANS AND ROEBUCK, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Condemning the inhumane treatment and detention of migrant
children at our country's southern border and urging the
Federal Government to end the practice of child detention.
WHEREAS, The American immigration system is in the midst of a
humanitarian crisis at our country's southern border; and
WHEREAS, The president has knowingly and wrongfully attempted
to assassinate the character of migrant individuals to
dehumanize them and justify his administration's morally
repugnant treatment of migrants who come to America seeking
asylum; and
WHEREAS, The Trump Administration has failed to fully cease
the family separation policy it established in 2018, which
ripped thousands of migrant children from the care of their
parents and placed them in shelters scattered throughout several
states; and
WHEREAS, Thousands of migrant children are being held against
their will by our Federal Government for weeks on end without
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proper care; and
WHEREAS, The extended length of time that these children are
being held is a direct violation of the 1997 Flores Settlement
Agreement, in which Federal courts set limits on the length of
time and conditions under which children can be incarcerated in
immigration detention; and
WHEREAS, The Flores Settlement Agreement requires the
government to promptly release children to sponsors or relatives
or transfer them to a nonrestrictive, licensed facility that is
appropriate for their age and any special needs; and
WHEREAS, Under the Flores Settlement Agreement, the release
of a child is typically required to happen within 20 days of the
child's arrival at a Federal Government facility; and
WHEREAS, The Trump Administration has sought to terminate the
Flores Settlement Agreement's legal safeguards to allow the
government to incarcerate more families for significantly longer
periods of time; and
WHEREAS, The United States Border Patrol and the United
States Department of Health and Human Services should be
releasing unaccompanied children to relatives and sponsors as
expeditiously as possible; and
WHEREAS, Some children have been held at the nation's largest
detention center in Homestead, Florida, for up to six months,
due to poor case management; and
WHEREAS, An information-sharing agreement between the United
States Department of Health and Human Services and the United
States Department of Homeland Security has added to the number
of unaccompanied children in custody, as the agreement places
the fear of detention and deportation on potential sponsors; and
WHEREAS, It was reported in June that the Homestead facility
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housed more than 3,000 unaccompanied children between 13 and 17
years of age, a figure that was more than double the facility's
capacity; and
WHEREAS, The facility in Homestead is not licensed for child
care by Florida authorities due to its location on Federal
ground and is therefore not subject to Florida's child welfare
standards; and
WHEREAS, The children kept in the Homestead facility are
alienated, denied physical contact and are emotionally
distraught, some to the point of inflicting harm upon
themselves; and
WHEREAS, The conditions of an overcrowded facility in Clint,
Texas, have been described as degrading and inhumane, as
children held there lack access to basic sanitary products,
clean clothes, adequate food and water and medical care; and
WHEREAS, Despite lacking the basic necessities to care for
the large amount of children being held in Clint, Border Patrol
agents have refused to accept donations of toiletries, diapers
and other supplies from concerned citizens; and
WHEREAS, Clinical psychologists believe the trauma endured in
facilities such as those in Homestead and Clint will have long-
lasting mental and physical health repercussions on the affected
children; and
WHEREAS, Facilities holding adult migrants are no better than
those housing children; and
WHEREAS, An internal report issued in May by the Department
of Homeland Security's Inspector General found one facility in
El Paso, Texas, to have such poor and unsanitary conditions that
Border Patrol agents have feared riots and hunger strikes; and
WHEREAS, Cells designed to hold a maximum of 35 individuals
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were severely overcrowded, housing 155 adult males, with only
one toilet and sink, high temperatures and no room to lie down
to sleep; and
WHEREAS, The lack of transparency and oversight of these and
other similar facilities has led to egregious human rights
abuses and has resulted in the death of several children in
custody; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives condemn the
inhumane treatment and detention of migrant children at our
country's southern border and urge the Federal Government to end
the practice of child detention.
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