By Bryant Daniels, Director of Public Affairs, Office of Congressman Eliot L. Engel

Editor's note: Representative Eliot L. Engel represents the 16th Congressional District, which comprises the northern Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County, including Bronxville.

Jun. 13, 2018: Congressman Eliot Engel joined Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and 106 of his Democratic colleagues in urging the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security to restrict the Department of Homeland Security's ability to separate families at the border.

The letter urges appropriators to make it clear that no funds for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may be used to support family separation as a means of deterring future migration. The letter also urges appropriators to restore funding for the Family Case Management Program, which provided asylum-seeking parents and their children with legal counsel and connected them to community resources. The letter can be found here.

"These families come to the U.S. seeking refuge, often from violence and environmental disaster in their home countries," Engel said. "Tearing families apart is cruel, unnecessary, and contradicts the most basic American values. If the Administration won't do the right thing, then Congress must act to force their hand. Our country is better than this."

Pictured here: Congressman Eliot L. Engel.

Photo courtesy Office of Congressman Eliot L. Engel

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