More than 250 Organizations Urge the House to Prioritize Children’s Safety in FY26 DHS Appropriations Vote
March 5, 2026
Putting the Spotlight on Child Poverty
Sarah Morrison,
June 14, 2019
As we approach the upcoming months of summer vacation, it’s easy to imagine the flurry of excitement for students awaiting long days of snow cones and playing at the pool. However, this is often not the case. For many children, this time of year means losing access to school meal programs and facing the threat of hunger. This was a major point of conversation at the Spotlight on Child Poverty event at the Capitol on June 12, part of First Focus’ Children’s Week 2019.
New details reveal dangerous, dismal conditions in migrant detention facilities
David Elliot,
June 11, 2019
A trove of new information reveals how dangerous and dismal conditions are for both adult and children migrants held in facilities stretching from El Paso, Texas to South Miami-Dade, Florida.The leak of new information began on Thursday, May 30, when CNN obtained a confidential report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General. The report revealed “dangerous overcrowding” and unsanitary conditions at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center. The facility has a maximum capacity of 125 migrants; however, on May 7 and 8, logs indicated that there were “approximately 750 and 900 detainees, respectively.”
Finally: Disaster Assistance Bill Signed into Law, Offering Help to Many States and Territories
Deborah Weinstein,
June 6, 2019
Finally: people in disaster-struck communities across America should see more help soon. Members of the Coalition on Human Needs stand with them in welcoming this aid. We congratulate the House of Representatives and Senate for overwhelming votes to enact $19.1 billion to help states and territories recover from hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, tropical storms, flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption, and wildfires.
Why are migrant children dying? And what can we do about it?
David Elliot,
June 6, 2019
The deaths of migrant children at our southern border continue. In the past nine months, six have died -- Darlyn Valle, 10, in September; Jakelin Caal Maquin, 7, and Felipe Gomez Alonzo, 8, in December; Juan de Leon Gutierrez, in April; and Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, 16, in May. (In addition to those five, an unnamed 2 ½ year-old boy died last month.) To put all of these deaths in context, before September, the last time a migrant child died in federal custody was in 2010; yet in the past nine months of the Trump Administration, half a dozen children have lost their lives.
CHN praises House passage of American Dream and Promise Act
Deborah Weinstein,
June 5, 2019
Members of the Coalition on Human Needs congratulate the 237 members of the House of Representatives whose votes to enact the American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) took us forward, towards the more just and inclusive nation Americans want and need.
