Here’s a collection of statements we gathered from around the community.
Response to Dreamer Committee’s annual report February 22, 2017
..."Your report does an excellent job of showcasing the comprehensive commitment that Loyola University Chicago has made to undocumented students throughout the years."
Click the link above to read the full letter.
..."Your report does an excellent job of showcasing the comprehensive commitment that Loyola University Chicago has made to undocumented students throughout the years."
Click the link above to read the full letter.
STATEMENT FROM THE CENTER FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF CHILDREN at LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO IN RESPONSE TO RECENT EXECUTIVE ORDER AFFECTING REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
February 1, 2017
As an interdisciplinary children’s rights center with a mission to promote and advance the rights of children, Loyola University Chicago’s Center for the Human Rights of Children denounces the Executive Orders affecting immigrants and refugees signed last week by President Trump. Among other provisions, these orders suspend entry of Syrian refugees and immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries, limit entry of refugees to historic lows, and expand immigration enforcement and detention within the United States.
These executive actions flout our nation’s historical protection of immigrant and refugee families and ignore that the failure to extend this protection has resulted in some of the darkest moments in our history. We share the sentiments of Nobel Peace laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai who said these orders’ effect is to “turn your back on the world’s most defenseless children and families.”
The number of children around the world who can no longer live safely and freely in their country of origin has reached a historic high. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 65.3 million displaced persons globally, half of whom are children. Furthermore, the Department of State reports that a majority (60 percent) of the Syrian refugees admitted to the United States are under the age of 20, and nearly half (47 percent) are under the age of 14. Many of the children who will be most affected by these executive orders, such as those fleeing Syria, are the victims of unspeakable violence and trauma. Similarly, many Central American children who seek refuge in the United States have experienced unprecedented levels of violence and crime. For immigrant children who are already in the U.S., many of whom are members of families who have contributed to our communities and economy for years, the impact of increased enforcement measures will only exacerbate fear, trauma, and mistrust, impeding their healthy development.
We cannot ignore the detrimental effects these orders will have on children. The Center for the Human Rights of Children upholds its commitment to defend universally recognized laws and principles, such as the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
Contact: Katherine Kaufka Walts, JD, Director
773.508.8051 p. [email protected]
__________________________________________
Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago, Expert Advisory Board Reflections:
“America has always been about making choices: between human affirmation and racism, between fearing foreigners and welcoming them, between looking to lead the world and isolationism, between the light and the darkness. The Trump executive orders regarding refugees bring us back to all the wrong choices we have made in the past, whether it be importing Africans as slave labor in the 18th century, excluding Chinese in the 19th century, or rejecting Jews fleeing Hitler in the 20th century. And, as always, the psychological burden falls most heavily in children. Which ’American’ and ‘un-American’ values will it be this time?”
Dr. James Garbarino, PhD, Professor; Maude C. Clarke Chair in Humanistic Psychology; Founding Director, Center for the Human Rights of Children
Contact: [email protected]
“As harmful and heartbreaking as this executive order is for adults who are refugees, what often gets overlooked is the impact on children. My research speaks to the importance and power of student voice, the very same voices that are missing in the national and international dialogue related to immigration. I am getting more requests from educators than ever before, with the recurring theme that children are coming to school fearful about their safety and their families’ safety. I wish that all who take a very tough and dehumanizing stand towards adults who are refugees had to directly confront the children of these adults and explain why these children do not have a right to live in the U.S. without fear.”
David Shriberg, PhD is a professor of education and the lead editor of School Psychology and Social Justice: Conceptual Foundations and Tools for Practice, as well as the founder of a national network of school psychologists focused on social justice.
Contact: [email protected]
“In fulfillment of its mission to ensure justice for all children, Loyola’s Civitas ChildLaw Center joins with other child advocates in the United States and around the world in condemning actions that undermine the best interests of children without regard to their religion, nationality, or legal status. “
Diane Gerarghty, JD, Professor and Director, Civitas ChildLaw Institute
Contact: [email protected]
“Based on the UNHCR Global Strategy for Public Health, refugee populations are exposed to overcrowding, harsh climate, poor shelter and the lack of adequate resources to address the morbidity burden that such conditions generate. These are individuals who have been made vulnerable by war, persecution and forced displacement from their homeland, 51 percent of whom are under the age of 18. The executive action on immigration and refugees imposes an unacceptable burden on those already heavily distressed and in need of basic requirements for life - shelter, safety and stable opportunities for well-being and growth, in particular children. The United States is a country of immigrants. Closing its doors to refugees is an[KWK1] immediate harm to the many directly affected by this action, and I can only see it being harmful to all of us.”
Ruth Kafensztok, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences, Center for Translational Research and Education
Contact: [email protected]
“Social services organizations in the United States have developed profound scientific expertise in enabling refugee families and orphaned children heal, thrive, and become productive members of our society. The Trump Administration should be working in concert with these experts, and draw from decades of well-tested scientific evidence about optimal social policies and services to serve immigrant and refugee families and orphans. You would not choose to have a surgeon operate on you who knew nothing about the best science of human anatomy and surgical interventions. Our government needs to ground it’s policies in sound social science practices and policies so that the United States can set an example of how its citizenry can work together to build a great democracy. “
Katherine Tyson McCrea, Ph.D., M.Div., L.C.S.W., Professor, School of Social Work
Contact: [email protected]
“It is unconscionable for a country as wealthy and powerful as ours to turn our backs on the suffering of the world, especially because our military interventions helped to create this suffering. The fear and rejection of these people is unfounded[CS2] but abandoning them may very well foment genuine resistance to Western democracies. Moreover, we, as a nation, stand to gain from welcoming immigrants and refugees. The main undergraduate campus of Loyola University Chicago is located in one of the most diverse areas of the United States and our students benefit daily from this situation.”
Dr. Bren Ortega-Murphy, PhD, School of Communication
Contact: [email protected]
The Catholic and Jesuit Response the Executive Orders:
Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich issued a powerful statement, noting that “The world is watching as we abandon our commitments to American values. These actions give aid and comfort to those who would destroy our way of life. They lower our estimation in the eyes of the many peoples who want to know America as a defender of human rights and religious liberty, not a nation that targets religious populations and then shuts its doors on them.”
https://www.archchicago.org/statements/-/asset_publisher/a2jOvEeHcvDT/content/statement-statement-of-cardinal-blase-j-cupich-archbishop-of-chicago-on-the-executive-order-on-refugees-and-migrants?inher
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration, chaired by Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, issued a statement opposing the Executive Order. He said, “We strongly disagree with the Executive Order's halting refugee admissions. We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope.”
http://www.usccb.org/news/2017/17-026.cfm
See the Statement issued by the Jesuits of Canada and the United States
http://jesuits.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20170126032723
Jesuit Refugee Services
http://jrsusa.org/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20170127033703
February 1, 2017
As an interdisciplinary children’s rights center with a mission to promote and advance the rights of children, Loyola University Chicago’s Center for the Human Rights of Children denounces the Executive Orders affecting immigrants and refugees signed last week by President Trump. Among other provisions, these orders suspend entry of Syrian refugees and immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries, limit entry of refugees to historic lows, and expand immigration enforcement and detention within the United States.
These executive actions flout our nation’s historical protection of immigrant and refugee families and ignore that the failure to extend this protection has resulted in some of the darkest moments in our history. We share the sentiments of Nobel Peace laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai who said these orders’ effect is to “turn your back on the world’s most defenseless children and families.”
The number of children around the world who can no longer live safely and freely in their country of origin has reached a historic high. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 65.3 million displaced persons globally, half of whom are children. Furthermore, the Department of State reports that a majority (60 percent) of the Syrian refugees admitted to the United States are under the age of 20, and nearly half (47 percent) are under the age of 14. Many of the children who will be most affected by these executive orders, such as those fleeing Syria, are the victims of unspeakable violence and trauma. Similarly, many Central American children who seek refuge in the United States have experienced unprecedented levels of violence and crime. For immigrant children who are already in the U.S., many of whom are members of families who have contributed to our communities and economy for years, the impact of increased enforcement measures will only exacerbate fear, trauma, and mistrust, impeding their healthy development.
We cannot ignore the detrimental effects these orders will have on children. The Center for the Human Rights of Children upholds its commitment to defend universally recognized laws and principles, such as the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
Contact: Katherine Kaufka Walts, JD, Director
773.508.8051 p. [email protected]
__________________________________________
Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago, Expert Advisory Board Reflections:
“America has always been about making choices: between human affirmation and racism, between fearing foreigners and welcoming them, between looking to lead the world and isolationism, between the light and the darkness. The Trump executive orders regarding refugees bring us back to all the wrong choices we have made in the past, whether it be importing Africans as slave labor in the 18th century, excluding Chinese in the 19th century, or rejecting Jews fleeing Hitler in the 20th century. And, as always, the psychological burden falls most heavily in children. Which ’American’ and ‘un-American’ values will it be this time?”
Dr. James Garbarino, PhD, Professor; Maude C. Clarke Chair in Humanistic Psychology; Founding Director, Center for the Human Rights of Children
Contact: [email protected]
“As harmful and heartbreaking as this executive order is for adults who are refugees, what often gets overlooked is the impact on children. My research speaks to the importance and power of student voice, the very same voices that are missing in the national and international dialogue related to immigration. I am getting more requests from educators than ever before, with the recurring theme that children are coming to school fearful about their safety and their families’ safety. I wish that all who take a very tough and dehumanizing stand towards adults who are refugees had to directly confront the children of these adults and explain why these children do not have a right to live in the U.S. without fear.”
David Shriberg, PhD is a professor of education and the lead editor of School Psychology and Social Justice: Conceptual Foundations and Tools for Practice, as well as the founder of a national network of school psychologists focused on social justice.
Contact: [email protected]
“In fulfillment of its mission to ensure justice for all children, Loyola’s Civitas ChildLaw Center joins with other child advocates in the United States and around the world in condemning actions that undermine the best interests of children without regard to their religion, nationality, or legal status. “
Diane Gerarghty, JD, Professor and Director, Civitas ChildLaw Institute
Contact: [email protected]
“Based on the UNHCR Global Strategy for Public Health, refugee populations are exposed to overcrowding, harsh climate, poor shelter and the lack of adequate resources to address the morbidity burden that such conditions generate. These are individuals who have been made vulnerable by war, persecution and forced displacement from their homeland, 51 percent of whom are under the age of 18. The executive action on immigration and refugees imposes an unacceptable burden on those already heavily distressed and in need of basic requirements for life - shelter, safety and stable opportunities for well-being and growth, in particular children. The United States is a country of immigrants. Closing its doors to refugees is an[KWK1] immediate harm to the many directly affected by this action, and I can only see it being harmful to all of us.”
Ruth Kafensztok, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences, Center for Translational Research and Education
Contact: [email protected]
“Social services organizations in the United States have developed profound scientific expertise in enabling refugee families and orphaned children heal, thrive, and become productive members of our society. The Trump Administration should be working in concert with these experts, and draw from decades of well-tested scientific evidence about optimal social policies and services to serve immigrant and refugee families and orphans. You would not choose to have a surgeon operate on you who knew nothing about the best science of human anatomy and surgical interventions. Our government needs to ground it’s policies in sound social science practices and policies so that the United States can set an example of how its citizenry can work together to build a great democracy. “
Katherine Tyson McCrea, Ph.D., M.Div., L.C.S.W., Professor, School of Social Work
Contact: [email protected]
“It is unconscionable for a country as wealthy and powerful as ours to turn our backs on the suffering of the world, especially because our military interventions helped to create this suffering. The fear and rejection of these people is unfounded[CS2] but abandoning them may very well foment genuine resistance to Western democracies. Moreover, we, as a nation, stand to gain from welcoming immigrants and refugees. The main undergraduate campus of Loyola University Chicago is located in one of the most diverse areas of the United States and our students benefit daily from this situation.”
Dr. Bren Ortega-Murphy, PhD, School of Communication
Contact: [email protected]
The Catholic and Jesuit Response the Executive Orders:
Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich issued a powerful statement, noting that “The world is watching as we abandon our commitments to American values. These actions give aid and comfort to those who would destroy our way of life. They lower our estimation in the eyes of the many peoples who want to know America as a defender of human rights and religious liberty, not a nation that targets religious populations and then shuts its doors on them.”
https://www.archchicago.org/statements/-/asset_publisher/a2jOvEeHcvDT/content/statement-statement-of-cardinal-blase-j-cupich-archbishop-of-chicago-on-the-executive-order-on-refugees-and-migrants?inher
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration, chaired by Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, issued a statement opposing the Executive Order. He said, “We strongly disagree with the Executive Order's halting refugee admissions. We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope.”
http://www.usccb.org/news/2017/17-026.cfm
See the Statement issued by the Jesuits of Canada and the United States
http://jesuits.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20170126032723
Jesuit Refugee Services
http://jrsusa.org/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20170127033703
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