Underwood Statement on Inspector General Report Detailing Post-Traumatic Stress and Mental Health Problems Incurred by Migrant Children Separated from Parents

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Vice Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on a new report released today from the inspector general's office in the Department of Health and Human Services that details the post-traumatic stress and other mental health problems incurred by migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The report is the first substantial accounting by a government agency on how the Administration's family separation policies have affected the mental health of migrant children.

"In March, when I asked Secretary Nielsen how family separation impacted the health of children, she seemed unaware of the most basic facts and was completely unprepared. The trauma was undeniable when I went to see the conditions at the border first-hand, where I saw sad, sick children in obvious distress. Today the Office of the Inspector General has confirmed what we have long said and what experts told the Homeland Security Committee: the Administration's family separation policies caused lasting trauma, manifesting in both mental and physical symptoms in children.

"I've said it over and over--this is unacceptable, it's un-American, and it's not making us safer, but, it's more than that. We are better than this. In the last few weeks, many of our kids have gone back to school, and while they learn new skills and make new friends, other children are telling doctors 'every heartbeat hurts,' or 'I can't feel my heart,' or they are uncontrollably crying because of what this Administration's policies have done. Even though some of the policies have been changed, it is not enough, and as Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Committee I will continue holding the Administration accountable until the health of every child in our country's care is protected."

Underwood, a public health nurse, has been vocal about the health impact of the Administration's family separation policy on children separated at the border, including toxic stress. Video of Underwood questioning Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in March on this issue can be found here.

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