As of June 22, 2018, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) has stated that approximately 58 children, ranging in age from under 1 year old to 17 years old, are currently housed in Michigan after being separated from their families at the US/Mexico border.

Dr. Agustin Arbulu, executive director, MDCR, said he has been working to ascertain their whereabouts and well-being. “While I have every reason to believe these children are being cared for with integrity and compassion, when the health and well-being of children is at issue, we must have a system in place to confirm and verify their status.”

In April 2018, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a "zero tolerance" policy on undocumented immigrants that included prosecuting parents traveling with their children, as well as people who subsequently attempted to request asylum. President Trump announced in June he would reverse the policy of separating families, and a federal judge ordered a halt to separations and the reunification of families that have been separated.

It is estimated that 2,300 children had been separated before the President’s policy reversal. The number of those children sent to Michigan remains unclear. While MDCR references 58 children, it has also been reported that 81 children separated from their families at the border recently are now in foster care and group placements throughout the state. 

The MDCR has outlined a series of four steps they say, "must be implemented as soon as possible to ensure that while these children reside in Michigan, their human and civil rights under law are being protected.”

• Immediately re-establish contact between parents and children.

• Determine each child’s current health status.

• Provide all children with access to effective communication.

• Unite parents and children.

Governor Rick Snyder has remarked that there is little the state can do to help because foster agencies contract directly with the federal government.

One such agency is Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services. Samaritas, a faith-based nonprofit with programs in numerous Michigan cities, has reportedly submitted two proposals with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to reinstate a foster care program it ended in 2015 in order to take care of immigrant children separated from their parents.

Michelle Haskell, outreach team leader, Samaritas, told local media that typically, immigrant children who come to Michigan on their own stay in foster care for about 45 days, with the goal of reuniting them with family members already living in the U.S. and said that is the goal in this case, as well, though these cases could be different because the parents may be facing prosecution.

For CMF members interested in responding to the issue, a new resource from Urban Institute provides a fresh take on “rapid response philanthropy” - which co-authors Keely Hanson and Joi James explain may not come naturally for foundations that have strict due diligence processes and time-consuming policies for reviewing and approving requests. “They also might only offer restricted grants that limit what grantees can and can’t do with the funds they receive.”

They suggest that community foundations are well suited to receive large influxes of capital and then distribute this capital to diverse organizations responding to crises on the ground “to quickly support various organizations that can help these families in a rapidly shifting crisis with complex and urgent needs.”

Urban Institute has identified four key recommendations for funders on how to structure rapid response models:

• Promote access to less restrictive grants with open applications.

• Leverage collaboratives.

• Partner with experienced funder networks and institutions already connected with organizers on the ground.

• Don’t forget about the long term.

A new set of resources from Boston-based Associated Grant Makers has been developed specifically in response to this immigration issue. Funders looking to support the families can find links to organizations addressing both humanitarian and legal aspects of the effort.

CMF members have been granted access to view a related webinar recently led by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) in partnership with the Council on Foundations - “Where Are the Children? Family Separation Becomes U.S. Immigration Enforcement Policy.” Complete the webinar access form to view the session. 

More than 130 philanthropic institutions from across the country have signed onto a joint GCIR statement in support of children and families seeking refuge in the US. The Kresge Foundation and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation are among those who have signed the statement.

Want more?

Read the joint Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) statement.

Access the new Urban Institute resource on “rapid response philanthropy.”

Visit the resources from Associated Grant Makers.