Citizens must call for reversal of ‘zerotolerance’ family separation policy

As the leader of a trauma-focused behavioral health clinic dedicated to promoting health and wellness for children and families, I can no longer stay silent regarding the irreparable psychological damage being inflicted on the undocumented children who are forcibly separated from their families in Texas and, indeed, across the nation.

At Clifford Beers (New Haven) every year we help thousands of children who suffer from trauma due to chronic abuse, traumatic loss, or being a victim of or witness to violence. It is well understood that, left untreated, childhood trauma often leads to serious longterm physical, mental and social problems including substance abuse, violence, social and learning difficulties, and disease inclusive of heart disease and even cancer. Yes, cancer.

One of the most painful and prevalent childhood traumas we see at Clifford Beers is traumatic loss — the death, divorce, disappearance, or incarceration of a parent or caregiver. This is precisely what is being experienced by many of the children currently in detainment; they are being separated from their parents, the adults in whom they most trust. Moreover, their trauma is being compounded by threatening circumstances inclusive of caging and an environment that includes the constant presence of uniformed adults with weapons. Although evidencebased interventions could help these children, given their circumstances I suspect nearly all of these children will not receive treatment. As a result, their long-term well-being is in serious jeopardy.

For these reasons, I believe all citizens — regardless of ideology — can and must call for the immediate reversal of the “zero tolerance” family separation policy. The children being separated from their parents and detained in cages have done nothing wrong. Many have been traumatized during their journey to the United States. Tragically, they are now being traumatized again, by us.

This isn’t about immigration. This is about recognizing that the family unit — the bedrock of child development - must always be preserved. There is no reason why we cannot keep families together and address immigration reform simultaneously. These two things are not mutually exclusive.

As stated in a nationwide petition calling for the immediate halt to the current policy of separating undocumented children and caregivers at the border, “To pretend that separated children do not grow up with the shrapnel of this traumatic experience embedded in their minds is to disregard everything we know about child development, the brain and trauma.”

The damage being done to these children is sweeping and must be acknowledged and addressed. Only then will we be able to stem the public health crisis that is guaranteed to follow in the wake of untreated childhood trauma — in Texas, and well beyond