The federal administration’s attacks on immigrant families and children have been relentless. An entire generation of children is being traumatized.
As the daughter of immigrants and the president of a children’s advocacy organization that advocates for the healthy development and wellbeing of all children, this period of crisis is both personal and professional.
As our nation continues to see no activity on immigration reform, we also see the lives of countless families on hold. While we applaud the Obama administration’s executive actions, we also wait on a divided Supreme Court to determine the fate of the DACA expansion, a change to the current program that will offer protection to thousands more people living in the US who were brought here as children, and DAPA, a new program providing protection from deportation and work authorization for certain undocumented parents with US citizen or lawful permanent resident children.
As the nation observes National Minority Health Month, April will be a good time to reflect on the progress we have made addressing disparities in health. It’s also time to recommit to furthering our efforts to achieve health equity, especially for our children.