GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland) and Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) said on Friday that they were denied access from seeing where immigrant children separated from their parents are being kept.
The two talked about this outside Bethany Christian Services, and Huizenga said the Office of Refugee Resettlement turned them away from a facility in West Michigan that is providing temporary foster services to children who have been separated from their parents at the border.
"The federal government denied us access to that, and that was something we had been told wouldn't happen" said Huizenga.
Bethany Christian Services has taken in 81 children who were separated from their parents at the border by ICE. Those children are currently in Bethany's foster care until they are reunited with their parents. The two representatives were turned away from visiting these children by a federal office and not the non-profit organization.
Walberg said they were given the opportunity to see a "premiere organization—that being Bethany," before they were denied access. "We know that we would find positive care given to these young people. There wouldn't have been a reason why there would be a concern," said Walberg.
Huizenga has previously spoken out about the immigration crisis and called on the federal government to end the practice of separating families at the border. This was before President Trump signed an executive order putting an end to the separations.
"Why we were turned away? I don't know, and that's one thing we're going to ask," said Walberg.
Typically, the Office of Refugee Resettlement requires a two-week notice before allowing anyone to visit one of these sites. This policy has been in effect prior to the Trump administration, but the congressmen were told last week that they would be able to visit a site sooner.
Both Huizenga and Walberg also sat down with leaders of Bethany Christian to discuss what the reunification process will look like for the children in their care.
Bethany Christian Services issued a statement in response to the visit from the representatives:
As we continue to work diligently to ensure that children separated from asylum seeking families are reunified with their families, we are in conversations with a number of elected officials to further inform them of how our 20 plus years of work in this space has provided us with the know how required to support children and families in crisis. Collectively we hope to continue to partner with churches, community organizations and elected officials to advocate for legislative change so this crisis doesn’t happen again. It is by working together that we can truly make a difference in the lives of these children.”
Michigan Senator Gary Peters also met with Bethany Christian Services, Friday. He said he was not able to visit one of their sites due to the Office of Refugee Resettlement's policy.
But, Peters said Bethany remains committed to returning these children to their families.
“I was encouraged to hear that the children are able to call their parents," Peters said.
"What I was disturbed to hear was that, that doesn't necessarily mean everyday. There are some facilities where these parents are being held that simply don’t let their children talk to them -- for as long as a week. That’s simply unacceptable. Children should be able to talk to their parents at least on a daily basis.”
Current numbers estimate that over 2,300 children were separated from their parents following the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement did not immediately return request for comment.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.