Official Statement from Mormon Women for Ethical Government on New Revelations About the Separation of Children from Their Families at the Border

January 17, 2019

This morning the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report indicating that “thousands” more children had been taken away from their families and guardians at the border than previously reported. This news is horrifying and completely unacceptable. It underscores the inescapable moral responsibility that we have as a nation to fix our broken immigration system. This kind of thing—the separation of children from their families—must never again happen on American soil.

We echo the statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asserting that “immigration reform should strengthen families and keep them together. The forced separation of children from their parents now occurring at the U.S.-Mexico border is harmful to families, especially to young children. We are deeply troubled by the aggressive and insensitive treatment of these families.” And, along with the Church, “we encourage our national leaders to take swift action to correct this situation and seek for rational, compassionate solutions.”

The time is now to re-open our government and then to focus on rational, bipartisan, compassionate immigration reform that will prevent travesties like this in the future. It will require compromise of the type we have proposed here, and all sides will need to be willing to make concessions, but we must find a way to fulfill this moral obligation. Compassionate and concerned citizens everywhere must become engaged and demand that Congress work together on a permanent solution.

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Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) is a nonpartisan group of over 7,000 women dedicated to the ideals of decency, honor, accountability, transparency, and justice in governing. MWEG is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We do, however, fully sustain the leaders and doctrines of the Church.