Congresswoman Cori Bush Demands Answers on Family Separation in First Committee on Oversight and Reform Hearing
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) took part in her first hearing on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, entitled “Accountability and Lessons Learned from the Trump administration’s Child Separation Policy.” Between April and June 2018, the Trump administration separated more than 3,000 children from their parents at the southern border as a result of the “zero tolerance policy” instituted by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The hearing examined the Department of Justice Inspector General’s report on the Trump administration’s family separation policy, which revealed that DOJ officials knew its implementation of the zero tolerance policy would lead to the forced separation of thousands of children and their families. The Congresswoman’s remarks focused on how DOJ’s ramping up of felony and misdemeanor charges was used to forcibly separate immigrant families.
“I can never know the heartache of spending months, years without knowing if my child was in danger, hurt, or sick,” said Congresswoman Cori Bush in the hearing. “But I do know that almost any parent would do anything to see their child again. It’s essential that we reunite these families. But it’s also essential that we fully redress the harms from this unspeakable tragedy. I strongly believe we must remove the threat of criminalization, provide these families with full amnesty, and clear their records. That is the absolute least we can do.”
To watch the Congresswoman’s full exchange with the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, Michael E. Horowitz, click here. To download the exchange, click here.
The Congresswoman’s opening remarks as prepared are below:
St. Louis and I thank you, Madam Chair, for convening this important hearing. As I sit here today, I am reminded of a time as a young mother when I lost sight of my daughter in a clothing store - it was only a matter of seconds. I felt a feeling of doom, of absolute dread, thinking, where is my child? Is she hurt? Is she calling out for me? I felt like the world was crashing down on me. Now imagine feeling that feeling for one thousand and thirty four days. That’s how long it’s been since this policy was first announced. Since mothers, fathers, and families first feared never seeing their child again. I am also thinking about St. Louis and the many years I spent in our streets as an organizer, in our hospitals as a nurse, and in our faith houses as a pastor - counseling families who’ve experienced trauma and violence. Family separation is rooted in our nation’s history harking back to Black children being torn from their mother’s arms at a slave auction block - including at the very courthouse that now forms part of the iconic St. Louis skyline. But these historic crimes against humanity didn’t only happen in St. Louis. Our country has forcibly removed Native children from their families. We separated Japanese children from their parents in internment camps. The scars of white supremacy are a trauma in our nation’s DNA. It's a lasting trauma that will stay with these children and their families forever.
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Congresswoman Cori Bush represents Missouri’s First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She is also a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus. She is a registered nurse, single mother, and an ordained pastor. Following the murder of Michael Brown Jr. by a now-terminated Ferguson police officer, she became a civil rights activist and community organizer fighting for justice for Black lives on the streets of Missouri and across the country.