Following the horrific news that hundreds of children kidnapped at the southern border by the Trump administration in 2017 continue to remain without their parents, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro publicly called for the formation of a special commission to investigate this human rights disaster. In an interview with Vox this week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) chair expands on his call, saying it’s “the right thing to do and also, in many ways, necessary for our country.”
“I believe that, given the human rights abuses during the Trump administration, it would be appropriate for the United States to create either a human rights commission or for the Congress to create a select committee,” Castro told Vox’s Nicole Narea, “that investigates these abuses, makes recommendations for policy changes so that they don’t happen again in our country, and identifies individuals who should be held responsible and accountable for their actions.”
Castro initially called for the commission following advocates revealing in court documents that children kidnapped by administration when it “piloted” family separation in 2017 were still separated from their parents three years later. The U.S. had quickly deported their parents to Central America “with few records,” The Washington Post reported at the time, taking down “incomplete and often inaccurate data” with absolutely no plan in place on how to reunite them.
This has been a human rights disaster that necessitates the creation of an investigative body to both “prevent it from happening again,” and “identifying individuals who intentionally abused human rights and who may have violated department policy and also violated the law during the course of their actions,” Castro said.
“The commission itself would not necessarily have the authority to prosecute,” he continued. “But just as with other committees, information could be forwarded to the Department of Justice for consideration of legal proceedings. Ultimately, any decision to prosecute would be separate and apart from the commission itself.”
Castro had also previously called for families separated by the administration under the zero tolerance policy to be put on a path to legal status and U.S. citizenship, last year joining with Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal to introduce the Families Belong Together Act, which “seeks to bring a modicum of justice by helping parents and children.”
“[O]ne of the things I believe that we absolutely should do is make sure they’re reunited, and allow them a place in the United States,” Castro continued to Narea. “That’s why Sen. Blumenthal and I proposed that piece of legislation, because we believe that these families deserve that, after their treatment by the United States government. These are people that were seeking asylum, fleeing violence and oppression in their own homeland.”
Castro also importantly addressed the need for a comprehensive plan “to help address the underlying causes of migration,” Narea reported, an issue championed by his brother Julián Castro during his 2020 presidential run.
“I agree with the idea of a Marshall Plan for Central America,” the Hispanic Caucus chair said, adding that it’s important for the U.S. to assist in “build[ing] up the economic capacity and prosperity of the economies there. Because I don’t believe that people want to trek over 1000 miles to leave their home and go to someplace they’ve never been to before. It speaks to the urgent need to work with Central America in a holistic way, in a way that gives people a place within their own country where they feel safe and where they feel they have economic opportunity and, at the same time, doesn’t see these people simply as threats to Americans.”
