"The Department of Homeland Security considers some children and mothers from the [Central American] Northern Triangle to be enforcement priorities simply based on the timing of their arrival at our [US] southern border," the group of lawmakers wrote. "This is a flawed policy. A surge in violence in the Northern Triangle in recent months and years has led people to flee and seek protection."
The letter explained that some of the women and unaccompanied children targeted in the raids were ordered to be deported by a US immigration judge, and were not represented by a legal counsel in violation of the due process.
Furthermore, the lawmakers stated that immigration raids "create fear and insecurity among immigrant communities" and deter immigrants from attending school or seeking medical care.
An October 2015 report found that at least 83 people, deported to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador from the United States since January 2014, have been killed, according to the letter.
Between 2008 and 2014, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) documented a 1,185 percent increase in asylum applications from those three countries to other Central and South American nations.
