Call To Action! Deadline July 15th
The Center of Excellence for Immigrant Child Health and Wellbeing is asking for your support in advocating for asylum seekers coming to the US or already in our community. As you already know many are our patients.
The current administration is proposing a new rule that would drastically restrict those legitimately coming to the US to seek help and safety, potentially including families with children and unaccompanied minors.
Some of these restrictions include:
- Ban all claims to asylum arising out of gender-based harm
- Ban all claims to asylum arising out of gang violence and recruitment
- Require applicants to show direct failure of their government to intervene
- Encourage judges to deny asylum claims based in their application alone (only available in English)
Your voice as a healthcare professional is important! You and anyone else whom you feel is interested can provide a comment expressing an opinion on this rule.
You may provide any comment you wish, but we and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are providing guidance with the intent of protecting children's human rights, wellbeing, and best interest.
WHAT: Submit a comment here to the Federal Register
- comments should be unique (personalized), each unique comment requires a response by the administration
- comments can be used in any future litigation
- comments get the attention of congress
- goal is to get as many participants as possible!
WHEN: Deadline: July 15, 2020 11:59 EST
RESOURCE: Click here for the AAP toolkit
If you want to dive deep, here is a list of other organization responses, toolkits, information and webinars.
TEMPLATE (comment should be <5,000 characters):
I am a {physician/nurse/social worker/health professional/concerned citizen} with expertise in {enter details about your expertise}. This proposed rule is dangerous and a violation of our international responsibilities to asylum seekers. I strongly urge that the rule not be adopted.
Specifically, {elaborate on one or more of the key messages, e.g.
a. Children deserve our compassion and assistance. Children do not immigrate, they flee. They are seeking safe haven in our country and they need our help and support.
b. Many of the children and families seeking asylum at our borders have been victims of unspeakable violence and have been exposed to trauma. They are fleeing countries with the highest rates of violence in the hemisphere, overlaid with high rates of poverty. The experiences of children seeking asylum in the U.S. demand our compassion and we should do everything in our power to promote their health and safety.}
[optional, but effective] In my {practice/experience} I work with patients that would be directly affected by this proposed rule. {share a narrative explaining how patient/family/child would be harmed or how asylum has helped}.
{concluding paragraph}
Click here to see the Center's official comment.
For more information, please contact Aura Aparicio, Project Coordinator at the Center of Excellence for Immigrant Child Health and Wellbeing at [email protected].
