By Nathalie Del Valle and Devin Dubon
Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has taken a stance on the controversial policy that separates children from their parents after they enter the country illegally. This change came after the widespread publicity of one of these holding facilities located in Homestead. On Twitter, Carvalho revealed that he had sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen discussing this policy.
I am adding my voice to the chorus of those from across the nation and around the world who are calling for the immediate end of the practice of separating minor children from their parents as part of #immigration enforcement. Please read full letter to Secretary Nielsen. pic.twitter.com/LraYhmVbhZ
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@LAUSDSup) June 20, 2018
People all around the nation, like Superintendent Carvalho, have been trying to bring what is considered a “zero tolerance” policy to an end. The policy includes placing these children in holding facilities “where they are caged by chain-link fences and sleep on mats with only Mylar sheets to keep them warm,” as stated in the Superintendent’s letter.
Carvalho expressed concern over the Homestead facility since M-DCPS had not been contacted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The facility could be holding up to 1,000 children, although the exact number is unknown due to the staff’s refusal to allow people inside. This includes Senator Bill Nelson who, along with Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz and a state representative, attempted to tour the facility but was turned down at the gate.
“Historically, M-DCPS has always provided educational services to unaccompanied immigrant minors,” says Carvalho in his letter. One of his main concerns being that it is unknown whether the children in these facilities were receiving any type of education while being detained.
The separations initiated earlier in the year after Jeff Sessions ordered that anyone caught entering the U.S. illegally would be held for criminal prosecution.
President Trump, after initially proclaiming that his administration had no choice in the matter, announced that he would be “signing something” in respect to the immigration policy and said that he would support a bill reversing the child separation policy. On Wednesday, he finally issued an executive order to stop separating families.
“I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated,” stated Trump while signing the order, “at the same time, we are keeping a very powerful border, but continue to be zero tolerance.”
Many questions remain, but at last, the right choice has been made, ending the separation of families at the border. We will never know the lasting impacts this unnecessary man-made crisis will have on the 2,000 minors affected by this #immigration policy.https://t.co/zg236yTbM8
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@LAUSDSup) June 20, 2018
Carvalho has repeatedly taken a supportive stance towards immigrants in the past. He has supported DACA kids and went against Miami Dade County when they rescinded their sanctuary city status.
“At one point in this community, I was not a documented immigrant. So, I know the journey. I know the peril. I know the threat. I know the challenge. I know the fear,” he told one of our reporters last year.
Whether Carvalho’s input led to the president’s decision, or if the executive order will lead to lasting change is unknown and as of now, children are still being held in the Homestead facility, and in similar facilities across the country.
