In June 2018, ECFC has signed onto a Statement with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and more than 30 local, state, regional, and national foundations from across the country in support of children and families seeking refuge in the United States. The signatories represent a wide range of grantmaking and geographic priorities, yet all believe the United States’ immigration and refugee policies should reflect our nation’s historic role as a beacon of hope and freedom for the world’s most vulnerable people.
In an effort to punish immigrants crossing the Southern border of the United States, the current administration adopted a so-called “zero-tolerance” policy against those seeking entry, resulting in the separation of children from their parents. As of this Statement’s publication, more than 2,300 children have been taken from their parents, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s own statistics.
ECFC’s Steering Committee voted unanimously in support of the Statement that separating families, as well as detaining them together indefinitely, is morally unacceptable and traumatic for parents and children. ECFC will continue to seek and provide opportunities for early childhood funders to more directly engage in efforts to mitigate the trauma faced by these families.