The League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa absolutely opposes any plan or proposal to place child detainees that have been apprehended at the southern border into the State of Iowa.
It was reported in the Des Moines Register that Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) was working on a grant proposal to house the child detainees. Due to recent community pressure LSI ended up pulling their initial plan but also stated that they are still looking into alternative housing to large-scale shelter facilities.
LULAC Iowa applauds the efforts these organizations and community leaders have already undertaken toward preventing the establishment of placing child detainees in our communities.
No corporation in the state, including Lutheran Services in Iowa, has the resources or staff to take in these children and adequately meet all their needs. In addition, the broken foster care system in the State of Iowa has a history of abuse and is currently ran by an embattled Department of Human Services where the director recently resigned at the governor’s request.
Furthermore, under no circumstance should we be supporting inhumane government policies or the business of detaining people and building an industry around it. The solution is not to further subsidize the problem but to reject the entire premise of detaining children altogether.
Which is why LULAC Iowa demands the federal government to start the process of releasing all the children to their parents, relatives, or places of sanctuary, immediately. The federal government is already in legal violation of the 1997 Flores Agreement which set the basic child welfare standards and housing requirements for all children who are apprehended at the border.
LULAC Iowa supports the efforts taken by these organizations and will stand against every attempt to place the child detainees in Iowa and any alternative to supporting inhumane government policies or the industry of detaining people.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the United States. LULAC advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population.
Facebook Comments
