Washington, D.C. -Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held an emergency hearing entitled “The Administration’s Apparent Revocation of Medical Deferred Action for Critically Ill Children" focused on the Trump Administration’s decision to end consideration of requests to defer deportation, including for children with critical illnesses.
TAKEAWAYS
* Witnesses with critical illnesses testified that the Trump Administration’s new policy is a death sentence if they are forced to leave the country and end life-saving treatment.
* Experts denounced the Trump Administration’s decision to deport critically ill children and testified that the Administration’s partial “reversal" of this policy does not end the harm it will cause or resolve the life and death consequences faced by many more families.
* Members demanded that the officials responsible for this action be held accountable for their incompetence and their failure to take even the most basic steps to prevent the harm that would be caused by this policy.
* Daniel Renaud, the witness representing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), refused to say why the Trump Administration decided to deport critically ill children, and refused to even clarify what the current policy is.
* The Administration’s partial “reversal" of this policy does not end the harm it will cause or resolve the life and death consequences faced by many more families.
* Congresswoman Pressley demanded answers from USCIS to several outstanding questions by Friday. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez warned that the Committee would otherwise be forced to consider alternative means to seek this information.
WITNESSES
Panel One
Ms. Maria Isabel Bueso
Concord, CA
Jonathan Sanchez
Boston, MA
Ms. Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
Clinical Professor of Law
Director, Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic
Penn State Law School
Dr. Fiona S. Danaher, MD, MPH
Pediatrician, MGH Chelsea Pediatrics and MGH Child Protection Program
Co-Chair, MGH Immigrant Health Coalition
Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Mr. Anthony Marino
Director, Immigration Legal Services
Irish International Immigrant Center
Mr. Thomas Homan
Former Director
U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement
Panel Two
Mr. Timothy Robbins
Acting Executive Associate Director, Enforcement and Removal Operation
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security
Mr. Daniel Renaud
Associate Director, Field Operations Directorate
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Department of Homeland Security
