Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union) joined with other elected and appointed Latino officials from throughout the country this week in appealing to the Obama administration to take urgent action to deal with the burgeoning humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied children from Central America flooding U.S. borders seeking refuge.
In doing so, Quijano joined with thousands of other members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in sending a letter to President Obama detailing a number of urgent issues they would like the President to work with Congress to address in order to protect the welfare and rights of these children who are showing up unaccompanied without a parent or guardian in a desperate effort to escape violence in their home countries.
“It is critical that the Administration and Congress work to find bipartisan policy solutions -both short- and long-term – to protect the safety and well-being of the thousands of unaccompanied children who have arrived at our door seeking refuge,” Quijano noted in her letter. “We urge you to move forward swiftly to provide fair and humane treatment for these immigrant children, and the support that border communities need. We must tackle this issue together as a nation, and we look forward to working with you to address this issue in a manner that upholds our nation’s values and ideals.”
Ensuring the safety and well-being of these children, protecting their right to due process, addressing the root causes of violence and poverty in their sending countries, were among the many issues Quijano stressed in order to address the crisis in a comprehensive manner.
A full copy of her letter to President Obama can be viewed here.