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Sen. Jeff Merkley and Senate Democratic Caucus hold a hearing on the 'Trump administration’s cruel treatment of children coming across the Southern border'

According to a press release from Oregon’s Sen. Jeff Merkley, the congressman who drew attention to the plight of immigrant children separated from their parents at the border, is holding a hearing with other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus “on the Trump administration’s cruel treatment of children coming across the Southern border.”

“Despite last week’s Executive Order, the administration has proven unwilling or unable to account for the thousands of children in its custody or provide a plan to reunite them with their families,” the release from Merkley’s office says. “Senators will examine the impact of the family separation policy’s ongoing trauma on children, hear parents’ stories, and look at the implications and chaos caused by the administration’s actions.”

A federal judge in California has ruled that the administration must return all of the more than 2,000 immigrant children to their parents within 30 days.

Witnesses at the hearing will include:

  • Mimi Marziani, president, Texas Civil Rights Project (via video conference)
  • Heidi Altman, director of Policy, National Immigrant Justice Center
  • Dawnya Underwood, director for Children and Family Services, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
  • Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, founder and CEO, Center for Youth Wellness
  • Reverend Dr. Carmelo Santos, senior pastor, Hope Lutheran Church

You can watch it live on Facebook.

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