In recent weeks, we have watched with growing concern the proliferation of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics specifically targeting children in California and in other parts of the country. According to press reports, children have been targeted by immigration agents in places such as parks, outdoor spaces, elementary schools, on school field trips, in school drop-off lines, and at school graduation ceremonies.
These aggressive enforcement tactics appear to be designed to traumatize and intimidate children and their families and make them feel afraid as they move through their daily lives in schools and in their communities.
In order to develop into healthy adults, children need to feel safe in the places where they learn and grow. This includes the outdoors. Numerous scientific studies demonstrate that providing children with healthy outdoor time positively contributes to their development and reduces the childhood anxiety currently plaguing younger generations.
When we ensure the safety of children in places like parks, forests, schools and community centers, we make a vital investment in our future. When families live in fear of immigration enforcement, children cannot fully participate in outdoor programs, environmental education becomes inaccessible, and outdoor spaces transform from healing sanctuaries into places of potential surveillance and threat.
Directing immigration enforcement actions at the environments in which children need to feel safe will have a profoundly negative effect on all children regardless of their immigration status. Targeting children during outdoor time will force children back indoors before they can even discover the connections to nature that are so beneficial to their development. Targeting kids in schools will transform safe spaces into places of fear and make it impossible for teachers and parents to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning.
The undersigned organizations are coming together to call upon the U.S. government to discontinue these aggressive enforcement tactics and stop targeting children in ways that traumatize them and undermine their growth.
The undersigned organizations call upon the U.S. government to:
- Immediately end immigration enforcement actions at schools, parks, and outdoor educational spaces
- Ensure safe passage for all families accessing educational and outdoor programs
- Protect schools and outdoor spaces as sanctuary environments where children can learn and grow without fear
- Commit to policies that guarantee children’s access to environmental education regardless of documentation status
The time to act is now—every day we delay action is another day children lose access to the outdoor experiences that are fundamental to their healthy development.
Signatories
350.org
350 Bay Area Action
Active San Gabriel Valley
Adventure Risk Challenge
Alianza Coachella Valley
Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance
Amado Khaya Initiative (AKI)
Amigos De Los Rios
Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement
Association of Chinese Americans for Social Justice
Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education
Audubon Canyon Ranch
AZ(LAND) Fund
Baltimore County Progressive Democrats Club
Bay Area Wilderness Training
Bike Maryland
Border Workers United
Brown People Camping
CactusToCloud Institute
CalWild
Camp Ocean Pines
CASA
Center for Biological Diversity
Central Coast State Parks Association
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
Children & Nature Network
Climate Communications Coalition
Climate Generation
Climate Justice Alliance
Clockshop
Cool Heron LLC
Community Nature Connection
Craig Strang Consulting
Day One
EPIC (Environmental Protection Information Center)
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
Fix Maryland Rail
Food & Water Watch
Fortaleza Familiar
Frederick Vigil For Palestine
Frontera de Cristo
GreenLatinos
GirlVentures
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Good Neighbor Steering Committee of Benicia
Great Basin Resource Watch
Groundwork Richmond
Harrisburg Inspiring Connections Outdoors, Sierra Club
Headwaters Science Institute
Healthy Contra Costa
Hearts For Sight Foundation
Hidden Villa
Inclusion Outdoors
Indivisible Central Maryland
Indivisible MoCo Women
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Inner City Bliss
Interfaith Coalition for Black Lives (IC4BL)
Justice Outside
KABOOM!
Kentucky Conservation Committee
Latino and Latina Roundtable
Latino Outdoors
Laurel Resist
Lopez Urban Farm
Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Los Padres ForestWatch
Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center
Maine Environmental Education Association
Maine Local Living School
Make the Road Nevada
Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club
Maryland Episcopal Public Policy Network
Maryland Latinos Unidos (MLU)
Maryland Legislative Coalition
Native Voters Alliance Nevada
Nature Detectives
Nature for All
Nature Forward
Nature Worthy
Next 100 Coalition
New Mexico Wild
Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project
Oakland Goes Outdoors
Outdoors Empowered Network
Outerlands Medics & Rescue
Outward Bound Adventures – OBA
Parks Now
Point Molate Alliance
Prince George’s Peace and Justice Coalition (PGPJC)
Progressive Harford County
Project Feed the Hood – Southwest Organizing Project
QUEER SURF
Refugee Women’s Network
Rhode Island Environmental Education Association
Richmond Outdoors Coalition
Rising Juntos
Salted Roots
San Pedro 100
Save Del Puerto Canyon
Sembrando Lab, LLC.
Sierra Club
Sierra Club Missouri Chapter
Sierra Nevada Alliance
South County Environmental Justice Coalition (SCEJC)
Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC)
Southern Maryland Sierra Club Group
Stand.earth
Standing Trees
Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI)
Ten Strands
Terra Cultura
Teton New Media, Inc.
The Little Blue Creche
The Mountaineers
The Ocean Project
The Stony Run Peace & Justice Committee of Stony Run Meeting
Three Oaks Outdoor Science School
Together for Brothers
TreePeople
Tuleyome
UCLA
Unbounded Associates
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
Washington Trails Association
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Wild Cumberland
Wilderness Workshop
Wildlife for All
Women’s Democratic Club of Montgomery County
World Ocean Day
Wyoming Wilderness Association