[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5277-S5280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
        Klobuchar, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Durbin, and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 3522. A bill to protect children affected by immigration 
enforcement actions, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, on December 12, 2006, Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement staged raids on Swift & Company meatpacking plants 
in six states--Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, and my home State 
of Minnesota.
  Over 1,500 unauthorized immigrants were arrested in these raids. They 
also left countless children--most of them citizens and legal 
residents--without their parents and with no way of finding them. One 
second-grader in Worthington, MN--a U.S. citizen--came home that 
Tuesday night to find his 2-year-old brother alone and his mother and 
father missing.
  For the next week, this boy stayed at home caring for his 2-year-old 
brother while his grandmother traveled to Worthington to care for her 
grandchildren.
  On June 22, 2007, ICE agents staged another raid, this one in the 
Jackson Heights Manufactured Home Park in Shakopee, MN. Early that 
Friday morning, around 6 a.m., Federal agents seized a husband and his 
wife for suspected immigration violations. Somehow, they didn't even 
notice their daughter, who was sleeping. So later that morning, that 7-
year-old girl was found wandering the park, looking for her parents.
  Stories like these happen every day. They are happening to innocent 
children, most of them United States citizens. Children who have 
committed no crime, who have hurt no one, but who have had their lives 
torn apart because of the sins of their parents.
  According to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, over 100,000 
parents of U.S. citizen children were deported in the past 10 years. 
Four million U.S. citizen children in our country have at least one 
undocumented immigrant parent. Forty thousand of those children live in 
Minnesota.
  Our country is not doing enough to protect these innocent kids. That 
is why Senator Kohl and I have crafted a bill to fix that.
  So I am proud to stand today with Senators Kohl, Menendez, Klobuchar, 
Feingold, Durbin and Feinstein to introduce the Humane Enforcement and 
Legal Protections for Separated Children Act, or the HELP Separated 
Children Act. This is a simple but strong bill to protect our Nation's 
kids from unnecessary harm from immigration enforcement actions.
  I want to take a few moments to talk about what this bill does--the 
problems it solves, and how it solves them.
  But before I do that, I want to take a second to talk about what this 
bill does not do. This bill is strictly about protecting children. It 
doesn't change our laws on immigrant admission, exclusion, or removal. 
No one is going to get in or stay in this country because of this bill. 
It has nothing to do with so-called amnesty or any decisions about 
deportation.
  So what does this bill actually do?
  This bill fixes four problems in our immigration enforcement system.
  The first problem is notice to State authorities. Invariably, in 
almost all immigration enforcement actions, it is our local communities 
that have to clean up after the government's dirty work.
  It's state and child welfare services that take in kids who have lost 
their mom or dad in a raid. It's local shelters and churches that feed 
those kids--again, most of whom are citizens--when their family 
breadwinner is taken away. And it's local schools that have to take 
care of kids when no one picks them up after soccer practice.
  After the Swift raids, the Bush administration finally understood 
this. And so in 2007, it put in place humanitarian guidelines that call 
upon ICE to reach out to state authorities and child welfare services 
before major enforcement actions. Again, that is the Bush 
administration. President Obama expanded these guidelines in 2009 so 
that they would cover more worksite actions.
  But it still isn't enough. Local authorities still don't find out 
about actions until way too late--and when they are notified, they 
aren't given enough time to help. In 2008, after these guidelines were 
put into place, the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department 
testified before the House of Representatives that they still did not 
receive notice of enforcement actions before they happened.
  State authorities in Massachusetts were notified months ahead of a 
raid in New Bedford. But almost immediately after it happened, the 
detainees were transferred to Texas, leaving state agencies unable to 
help. Governor Deval Patrick called it a ``race to the airport.''
  Our bill makes sure that whenever possible, the Governor, local and 
state law enforcement, and child welfare agencies find out about raids 
ahead of time. It also makes sure that schools and community centers 
are notified after these actions so that they too can help.
  That brings me to the second problem. If they want to help, state 
child welfare agencies and community organizations must be allowed to 
help identify detainees who have children at home. Mothers and fathers 
detained in enforcement actions often don't tell ICE agents that they 
have children at home--because they are afraid that ICE will detain 
them, too.
  As Troy Tucker, the sheriff of Clark County, Arkansas said after an 
action there, ICE is ``not doing their job by simply questioning 
[people] and asking them whether they have children and not contacting 
anyone locally.''
  Even though the Bush administration guidelines allow state 
authorities and local non-profits to help screen detainees, this is not 
happening often enough. So our bill requires ICE and State agencies 
enforcing immigration laws to allow these groups to confidentially 
screen detainees and identify those who have kids at home.
  Our bill makes another critical fix in our immigration enforcement 
system. The Bush and ICE detention guidelines require authorities to 
give detainees free emergency phone calls. But again, it isn't being 
done enough, and it isn't being done right.
  In the Swift raid in Worthington, one mother told ICE agents that she 
had kids at home, but still wasn't allowed to call them or let anyone 
know what had happened until later the next day. In Iowa, after a raid 
in Postville, some children went 72 hours without seeing their parents 
or knowing what happened to them.
  Any parent knows how scared kids get just when you come home late. 
Can you imagine how scared they would get if you went missing for a 
whole day? For 3 days? Can you imagine what would happen if they didn't 
know who to call? Can you imagine what would

[[Page S5278]]

happen if they didn't have anything to eat?
  Our bill requires Federal and State authorities to allow parents, 
legal guardians, or primary caregivers to make free phone calls to 
their family, to lawyers, and to child welfare agencies to make sure 
that their kids aren't abandoned.
  Finally, our bill averts one other major problem.
  When a parent is detained, even if their kids know where they are, it 
is still extremely difficult for kids and parents to stay in contact. 
And it is extremely difficult for parents to participate in legal 
proceedings that affect their kids.
  This means that parents can't tell a family court judge about a 
brother or sister or neighbor that could take care of their child. 
Children have actually been adopted by well-meaning families or put 
into foster care because their parents were unable to participate in 
custody proceedings.
  Our bill makes sure that after they're detained, parents can continue 
to have access to phones to call their kids, their lawyers, and family 
courts. Our bill also requires ICE to consider the best interests of 
children in decisions to transfer detainees between facilities, or put 
them into reliable and cost-effective supervised release programs.
  Our immigration system isn't broken. It is in shambles. And while our 
bill doesn't fix 99.9 percent of those problems, it takes a small but 
important step to make sure our kids don't suffer any more than they 
have to already.
  I am proud to say that because this is such a critical, albeit 
narrowly targeted measure, our bill has gained the support of the top 
faith, child welfare, and immigrant advocacy organizations in the 
country.
  I'm also proud to say that it has won the support of faith leaders 
across Minnesota, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Chief Tom Smith of 
the St. Paul Police Department, and countless immigrant advocacy groups 
in the State.
  While immigration may be complicated, protecting our kids isn't. It's 
something we can all agree on.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and 
a list of supporters be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3522

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Humane Enforcement and Legal 
     Protections for Separated Children Act'' or the ``HELP 
     Separated Children Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Apprehension.--The term ``apprehension'' means the 
     detention, arrest, or custody by officials of the Department 
     of Homeland Security or cooperating entities.
       (2) Child.--The term ``child'' has the meaning given to the 
     term in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)).
       (3) Child welfare agency.--The term ``child welfare 
     agency'' means the State or local agency responsible for 
     child welfare services under subtitles B and E of title IV of 
     the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
       (4) Cooperating entity.--The term ``cooperating entity'' 
     means a State or local entity acting under agreement with, or 
     at the request of, the Department of Homeland Security.
       (5) Detention facility.--The term ``detention facility'' 
     means a Federal, State, or local government facility, or a 
     privately owned and operated facility, that is used to hold 
     individuals suspected or found to be in violation of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
       (6) Immigration enforcement action.--The term ``immigration 
     enforcement action'' means the apprehension of, detention of, 
     or request for or issuance of a detainer for, 1 or more 
     individuals for suspected or confirmed violations of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) by 
     the Department of Homeland Security or cooperating entities.
       (7) Local education agency.--The term ``local education 
     agency'' has the meaning given to the term in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801).
       (8) NGO.--The term ``NGO'' means a nongovernmental 
     organization that provides social services or humanitarian 
     assistance to the immigrant community.

     SEC. 3. APPREHENSION PROCEDURES FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT-
                   RELATED ACTIVITIES.

       (a) Notification.--
       (1) Advance notification.--Subject to paragraph (2), when 
     conducting any immigration enforcement action, the Department 
     of Homeland Security and cooperating entities shall notify 
     the Governor of the State, the local child welfare agency, 
     and relevant State and local law enforcement before 
     commencing the action, or, if advance notification is not 
     possible, immediately after commencing such action, of--
       (A) the approximate number of individuals to be targeted in 
     the immigration enforcement action; and
       (B) the primary language or languages believed to be spoken 
     by individuals at the targeted site.
       (2) Hours of notification.--Whenever possible, advance 
     notification should occur during business hours and allow the 
     notified entities sufficient time to identify resources to 
     conduct the interviews described in subsection (b)(1).
       (3) Other notification.--When conducting any immigration 
     action, the Department of Homeland Security and cooperating 
     entities shall notify the relevant local education agency and 
     local NGOs of the information described in paragraph (1) 
     immediately after commencing the action.
       (b) Apprehension Procedures.--In any immigration 
     enforcement action, the Department of Homeland Security and 
     cooperating entities shall--
       (1) as soon as possible and not later than 6 hours after an 
     immigration enforcement action, provide licensed social 
     workers or case managers employed or contracted by the child 
     welfare agency or local NGOs with confidential access to 
     screen and interview individuals apprehended in such 
     immigration enforcement action to assist the Department of 
     Homeland Security or cooperating entity in determining if 
     such individuals are parents, legal guardians, or primary 
     caregivers of a child in the United States;
       (2) as soon as possible and not later than 8 hours after an 
     immigration enforcement action, provide any apprehended 
     individual believed to be a parent, legal guardian, or 
     primary caregiver of a child in the United States with--
       (A) free, confidential telephone calls, including calls to 
     child welfare agencies, attorneys, and legal services 
     providers, to arrange for the care of children or wards, 
     unless the Department of Homeland Security has reasonable 
     grounds to believe that providing confidential phone calls to 
     the individual would endanger public safety or national 
     security; and
       (B) contact information for--
       (i) child welfare agencies in all 50 States, the District 
     of Columbia, all United States territories, counties, and 
     local jurisdictions; and
       (ii) attorneys and legal service providers capable of 
     providing free legal advice or free legal representation 
     regarding child welfare, child custody determinations, and 
     immigration matters;
       (3) ensure that personnel of the Department of Homeland 
     Security and cooperating entities do not--
       (A) interview individuals in the immediate presence of 
     children; or
       (B) compel or request children to translate for interviews 
     of other individuals who are encountered as part of an 
     immigration enforcement action; and
       (4) ensure that any parent, legal guardian, or primary 
     caregiver of a child in the United States--
       (A) receives due consideration of the best interests of his 
     or her children or wards in any decision or action relating 
     to his or her detention, release, or transfer between 
     detention facilities; and
       (B) is not transferred from his or her initial detention 
     facility or to the custody of the Department of Homeland 
     Security until the individual--
       (i) has made arrangements for the care of his or her 
     children or wards; or
       (ii) if such arrangements are impossible, is informed of 
     the care arrangements made for the children and of a means to 
     maintain communication with the children.
       (c) Nondisclosure and Retention of Information About 
     Apprehended Individuals and Their Children.--
       (1) In general.--Information collected by child welfare 
     agencies and NGOs in the course of the screenings and 
     interviews described in subsection (b)(1) about an individual 
     apprehended in an immigration enforcement action may not be 
     disclosed to Federal, State, or local government entities or 
     to any person, except pursuant to written authorization from 
     the individual or his or her legal counsel.
       (2) Child welfare agency or ngo recommendation.--
     Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a child welfare agency or NGO 
     may--
       (A) submit a recommendation to the Department of Homeland 
     Security or cooperating entities regarding whether an 
     apprehended individual is a parent, legal guardian, or 
     primary caregiver who is eligible for the protections 
     provided under this Act; and
       (B) disclose information that is necessary to protect the 
     safety of the child, to allow for the application of 
     subsection (b)(4)(A), or to prevent reasonably certain death 
     or substantial bodily harm.

     SEC. 4. ACCESS TO CHILDREN, LOCAL AND STATE COURTS, CHILD 
                   WELFARE AGENCIES, AND CONSULAR OFFICIALS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
     ensure that all detention facilities operated by or under 
     agreement with the Department of Homeland Security

[[Page S5279]]

     implement procedures to ensure that the best interest of the 
     child, including the best outcome for the family of the 
     child, can be considered in any decision and action relating 
     to the custody of children whose parent, legal guardian, or 
     primary caregiver is detained as the result of an immigration 
     enforcement action.
       (b) Access to Children, State and Local Courts, Child 
     Welfare Agencies, and Consular Officials.--At all detention 
     facilities operated by, or under agreement with, the 
     Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security shall--
       (1) ensure that individuals who are detained by reason of 
     their immigration status may receive the screenings and 
     interviews described in section 3(b)(1) not later than 6 
     hours after their arrival at the detention facility;
       (2) ensure that individuals who are detained by reason of 
     their immigration status and are believed to be parents, 
     legal guardians, or primary caregivers of children in the 
     United States are--
       (A) permitted daily phone calls and regular contact visits 
     with their children or wards;
       (B) able to participate fully, and to the extent possible 
     in-person, in all family court proceedings and any other 
     proceeding impacting upon custody of their children or wards;
       (C) able to fully comply with all family court or child 
     welfare agency orders impacting upon custody of their 
     children or wards;
       (D) provided with contact information for family courts in 
     all 50 States, the District of Columbia, all United States 
     territories, counties, and local jurisdictions;
       (E) granted free and confidential telephone calls to child 
     welfare agencies and family courts;
       (F) granted free and confidential telephone calls and 
     confidential in-person visits with attorneys, legal 
     representatives, and consular officials;
       (G) provided United States passport applications for the 
     purpose of obtaining travel documents for their children or 
     wards;
       (H) granted adequate time before removal to obtain 
     passports and other necessary travel documents on behalf of 
     their children or wards if such children or wards will 
     accompany them on their return to their country of origin or 
     join them in their country of origin; and
       (I) provided with the access necessary to obtain birth 
     records or other documents required to obtain passports for 
     their children or wards; and
       (3) facilitate the ability of detained parents, legal 
     guardians, and primary caregivers to share information 
     regarding travel arrangements with their children or wards, 
     child welfare agencies, or other caregivers well in advance 
     of the detained individual's departure from the United 
     States.

     SEC. 5. MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.

       The Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop and 
     implement memoranda of understanding or protocols with child 
     welfare agencies and NGOs regarding the best ways to 
     cooperate and facilitate ongoing communication between all 
     relevant entities in cases involving a child whose parent, 
     legal guardian, or primary caregiver has been apprehended or 
     detained in an immigration enforcement action to protect the 
     best interests of the child and the best outcome for the 
     family of the child.

     SEC. 6. MANDATORY TRAINING.

       The Secretary of Homeland Security , in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services and independent 
     child welfare experts, shall require and provide in-person 
     training on the protections required under sections 3 and 4 
     to all personnel of the Department of Homeland Security and 
     of States and local entities acting under agreement with the 
     Department of Homeland Security who regularly come into 
     contact with children or parents in the course of conducting 
     immigration enforcement actions.

     SEC. 7. RULEMAKING.

       Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall promulgate 
     regulations to implement this Act.

     SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.

       If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, 
     or the application of a provision or amendment to any person 
     or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the 
     remainder of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and 
     the application of the provisions and amendment to any person 
     or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding.
                                  ____


   National Organizations Supporting the HELP Separated Children Act

       AFL-CIO; America's Promise Alliance; American Humane 
     Association; American Immigration Lawyers Association; 
     American Muslim Voice; American Nursery & Landscape 
     Association; Amnesty International USA; Arizona Council of 
     Human Service Providers; Asian & Pacific Islander American 
     Health Forum; Asian American Justice Center; Asian Pacific 
     American Labor Alliance; Bridging Group; Catholic Charities 
     USA; Center for Asian Pacific Islander; Center for Farmworker 
     Families; Child Welfare League of America; Church World 
     Service, Immigration and Refugee Program; The Episcopal 
     Church; Every Child Matters Education Fund; Family Violence 
     Prevention Fund; First Focus Campaign for Children; Foster 
     Care Alumni of America; Foster Family-based Treatment 
     Association; Friends Committee on National Legislation; 
     Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS); Human Rights Watch; 
     Immigrant Legal Resource Center; Immigration Equality; 
     Juvenile Law Center; Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); Latino 
     Commission on AIDS; Legal Momentum; Lutheran Immigrant and 
     Refugee Service (LIRS); Lutheran Immigration and Refugee 
     Service (LIRS); Mennonite Central Committee U.S.--Washington 
     Office; Midwest Coalition for Human Rights; Moms Rising; 
     National Association for the Education of Homeless Children 
     and Youth; National Association of Social Workers; National 
     Consumers League; National Council of Jewish Women; National 
     Council of La Raza; National Federation of Filipino American 
     Associations; National Foster Care Coalition; National 
     Immigrant Justice Center; National Immigration Forum; 
     National Immigration Law Center; National Korean American 
     Service & Education Consortium; National Latino AIDS Action 
     Network; National Policy Partnership; OCA; Physicians for 
     Human Rights; Saavedra Law Firm; Sargent Shriver National 
     Center on Poverty Law; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 
     South Central Community; Sojourners; South Asian Americans 
     Leading Together (SAALT); Southeast Asia Resource Action 
     Center; U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants; Union for 
     Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Association of 
     Congregations; United Methodist Church, General Board of 
     Church and Society; Voices for America's Children; Women's 
     Refugee Commission; Youth Build USA; Zero to Three.

 State and Local Organizations Supporting the HELP Separated Children 
                                  Act


                                Arizona

       Arizona Council of Human Service Providers; Children's 
     Action Alliance; Florence Project; Global Family Legal 
     Services; MEChA Arizona Student Union; Tumbleweed, Center for 
     Youth Development.


                                Arkansas

       Arkansas Voices.


                               California

       Asian Law Alliance; California Immigrant Policy Center; 
     Children Now; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los 
     Angeles; East Bay Community Law Center; International 
     Institute of the Bay Area; Public Counsel.


                                Colorado

       Lutheran Advocacy Ministries; Rocky Mountain Immigrant 
     Advocacy Network.


                              Connecticut

       Connecticut Voices for Children.


                          District of Columbia

       Ayuda; The Episcopal Church.


                                Florida

       Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center; Florida Legal Services, 
     Inc.; Gulfcoast Legal Services, Inc.; Legal Aid Society of 
     the Orange County Bar Association, Inc.; Legal Ministry 
     H.E.L.P., Inc.


                                Georgia

       Asian American Legal Advocacy Center, Inc. (AALAC) of 
     Georgia; Georgia Rural Urban Summit; Latinos for Education & 
     Justice Organization.


                                Illinois

       Instituto del Progreso Latino; Maria Baldini-Potermin & 
     Associates.


                                  Iowa

       Child and Family Policy Center; Lutheran Services in Iowa; 
     National Association of Social Workers, Iowa Chapter.


                                Kentucky

       Kentucky Youth Advocates.


                               Louisiana

       New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.


                                 Maine

       Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project; Maine Children's 
     Alliance.


                                Maryland

       CASA de Maryland; Lutheran Office on Public Policy.


                                Michigan

       Bethany Children's Services; Immigrant Legal Advocacy 
     Project; Michigan's Children.


                               Minnesota

       Advocates for Human Rights; American Immigration Lawyers 
     Association, Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter; Ascension Church; 
     Benedictine-Franciscan Immigrant Justice Commission (St. 
     Joseph & Little Falls, MN); Casa Guadalupana; Catholic 
     Charities of St. Paul & Minneapolis; Center for Asian Pacific 
     Islanders; Center for Mission, Archdiocese of St. Paul and 
     Minneapolis; Children's Defense Fund Minnesota; Children's 
     Law Center of Minnesota; Chinese Social Service Center; 
     Church World Service; Congregational Council, the Miracle 
     Lutheran Church; Department of Social Concerns, Catholic 
     Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud; Family & Children's 
     Service; Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls; Great River 
     Interfaith Partnership; Hmong American Partnership; 
     Hospitality Minnesota; Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota; 
     Immigration Task Force, Minnesota Conference United Church of 
     Christ; Interfaith Coalition on Immigration; ISAIAH; Jewish 
     Community Action; Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. 
     Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates; Latin America

[[Page S5280]]

     & Haiti Focus Group, St. Luke's Presbyterian Church; Legal 
     Rights Center; Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in 
     Minnesota; Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota; 
     Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers; Mid-
     Minnesota Legal Assistance; Midwest Food Processors 
     Association; Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights; 
     Minnesota AFL-CIO; Minnesota Agri-Growth Council; 
     Minnesota Alliance With Youth; Minnesota Business 
     Immigration Coalition; Minnesota Catholic Conference; 
     Minnesota Chamber of Commerce; Minnesota Fathers & 
     Families Network; Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association; 
     Minnesota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Minnesota Lodging 
     Association; Minnesota Milk Producers Association; 
     Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association; Minnesota 
     Restaurant Association; Minnesota School Social Workers 
     Association; Minnesota Strengthening Our Lives (SOL); No 
     More Children Left Behind; Office of Justice, Peace & 
     Integrity of Creation, School Sisters of Notre Dame, 
     Mankato; Project for Pride in Living; Service Employees 
     International Union (SEIU), Local 26--Minneapolis; Service 
     Employees International Union (SEIU), Minnesota State 
     Council; Sisters Online; Social Concerns & Family Office, 
     Diocese of New Ulm; Sowers Leadership Team, Guardian 
     Angels Catholic Church; St. John Neumann Catholic Church; 
     The Minneapolis Foundation; UFCW Local 1161--Worthington; 
     UFCW Local 789--South St. Paul; UNITE Here, Minnesota 
     State Council; United Cambodian Association of Minnesota; 
     United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 1161--
     Worthington; United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), 
     Local 789--South St. Paul; Willmar Area Comprehensive 
     Immigration Reform; YWCA of Minneapolis.

   Minnesota Faith Leaders, Elected Officials & Community Advocates 
               Supporting the HELP Separated Children Act

       Rabbi Morris J. Allen, Beth Jacob Congregation; Rabbi Renee 
     Bauer, Mayim Rabim Congregation; Rev. Ralph Baumgartner, 
     Galilee Lutheran Church, Roseville, MN; Rev. Chris Becker, 
     Peace Lutheran Church, Inver Grove Heights, MN; Pastor Chris 
     Berthelsen, First Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN; Rev. Mariann 
     Budde, St. John's Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, MN; Pastor 
     Sarah Campbell, Mayflower Community Congregational Church, 
     Minnapolis, MN; Mayor Chris Coleman, City of St. Paul; Rev. 
     Doug Donley, University Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN; 
     Rabbi Amy Eilberg, Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian 
     Learning; Pastor Paul Erickson, Evangelical Lutheran Church 
     of America, St. Paul, MN; Rev. James Erlandson, Lutheran 
     Church of the Redeemer, St. Paul, MN; Rev. G. Allen Foster, 
     Citadel of Hope Church, Brooklyn Park, MN; Pastor Pam 
     Fickenscher, Edina Community Lutheran Church, Edina, MN; Luz 
     Maria Frias, Human Rights & Equal Economic Opportunity Dept., 
     City of St. Paul; Pastor Dan Garnaas, Grace University 
     Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN; Rev. Chad Gilbertson, 
     Willmar, MN; Revs. Patrick & Luisa Cabello Hansel, 
     Minneapolis Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
     America, Minneapolis, MN; Rev. Richard Headen, Presbyterian 
     Church USA, Plymouth, MN; Allan D. Henden, Lay Leader, United 
     Church of Christ, Minneapolis, MN; Rev. Karen Hering, Unity 
     Unitarian Church, St. Paul, MN; Rev. Anita C. Hill, St. Paul, 
     MN; Loan T. Huynh, Attorney at Law; Bishop Craig E. Johnson, 
     Minneapolis Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
     America, Minneapolis, MN; Elder Karen Larson, St. Luke 
     Presbyterian Church, Minnetonka, MN; Rabbi Michael Latz, Shir 
     Tikvah Congregation; Charles & Hertha Lutz, Peace and Justice 
     Advocates, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 
     Minneapolis, MN; Miguel Lucas Lindgren, DFL Latino Caucus 
     Treasurer, Roseville, MN; Brianna MacPhee, Executive Board, 
     Minnesota Latino Caucus, Minneapolis, MN; Pastor Rod Maeker, 
     Faculty (ret.), Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Rev. Naomi 
     Mahler, Paz y Esperanza Lutheran Church, Willmar, MN; Pastor 
     Susan Maetzold Moss, Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota; Sen. Mee 
     Moua (Dist. 67), Chair, Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee, 
     St. Paul, MN; Lauren Morse-Wendt, Mission and Ministry 
     Developer, Edina, MN; Pastor Richard Mork, Evangelical 
     Lutheran Church in America, St. Paul, MN; Rev. Jen Nagel, 
     Salem English Lutheran, Minneapolis, MN; Rev. Karsten Nelson, 
     Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN; Rev. Keith H. 
     Olstad, St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN; 
     Rafael Ortega, Ramsey County Commissioner; Pastor Paul Slack, 
     New Creation Community Church, Brooklyn Park, MN; Rev. Dr. 
     Karen Smith Sellers, Minnesota Conference United Church of 
     Christ; Roxanne Smith, Social Justice Dir., St. Joseph the 
     Worker Church, Maple Grove, MN; Chief Tom Smith, St. Paul 
     Police Department; Pastor Grant Stevensen, St. Matthew's 
     Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN; Rabbi Adam Stock Spilke, Mount 
     Zion Temple; Pastor Eric Strand, Edina Community Church, 
     Edina, MN; Rev. Dale Stuepfert, Director of Chaplaincy 
     (ret.), Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN; 
     Pastor Steve Sylvester, Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Circle 
     Pines, MN; Linda Thompson, Lay Leader, St. Luke Presbyterian 
     Church, Plymouth, MN; Sen. Patricia Torres Ray (District 62); 
     Rev. Jill Tollefson, La Mision San Jose Obrero de Episcopal, 
     Montgomery, MN; Rev. Susan Tjornehoj, Minneapolis Area Synod, 
     Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Minneapolis, MN; 
     Pastor Jason Van Hunnik, Westwood Lutheran Church, St. Louis 
     Park, MN; Pastor Mark Vinge, House of Hope Lutheran Church, 
     New Hope, MN; Rev. David Wangaard, Minneapolis Area Synod, 
     Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Minneapolis, MN; 
     Pastor Mark Wegener, Woodlake Lutheran Church, Richfield, MN; 
     Rev. Bruce M. Westphal, Westwood Lutheran Church, St. Louis 
     Park, MN; Rev. Jonathan Zielske, Hope Lutheran Church..


                               New Jersey

       Association for Children of New Jersey; Casa Esperanza; 
     IRATE & First Friends; Statewide Parent Advocacy Network.


                               New Mexico

       For Families, LLC.; Lutheran Advocacy Ministry; New Mexico 
     Children, Youth and Families Protective Services Division; 
     New Mexico Women's Justice Project; PBJ Family Services, Inc.


                                New York

       Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Make 
     the Road New York; The Osborne Association; Schuyler Center 
     for Analysis and Advocacy.


                             North Carolina

       Action for Children North Carolina; The Exceptional 
     Children's Assistance Center.


                                Oklahoma

       Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.


                                 Oregon

       Immigration Counseling Services (Portland, OR).


                             South Carolina

       South Carolina Appleseed.


                                 Texas

       Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc., Immigration & Legal 
     Services; Center for Public Policy Priorities; Daya Inc.; 
     Wilco Justice Alliance.


                                Virginia

       Voices for Virginia's Children.


                               Washington

       Children's Home Society of Washington; Northwest Immigrant 
     and Refugee Rights Project.

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