The National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and at least seven major medical and health-care-related associations representing hundreds of thousands of doctors have strongly condemned the Trump administration's stepped up immigration enforcement resulting in the separation of more than 2,000 children from their parents.

Perhaps the strongest statement, for its deep and personal outrage, came from NAM CEO Jay Timmons. While the NAM has allied itself for years with immigrant rights groups, the association's members also have benefited from President Trump's economic policies with the exception of proposed tariffs, which the NAM also has strongly opposed. But in general, the NAM and other business groups, including the Chamber, have been muted in criticism of the president, even when he has turned his wrath on individual members.

In a statement posted Monday on the NAM site, and excerpted in tweets he sent Tuesday morning, Timmons called the new policy "a horrifying injustice" that Trump could end with "a stroke of a pen."

"It is a child's worst nightmare to be taken away from a parent, and nothing strikes fear into the hearts of parents like the idea of their children being taken from them. On this very core issue of humanity, nearly all Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, agree.

"The images we're seeing and the stories that are being reported from the border are horrifying ... This is not what America stands for. This two-month-old policy destroys America's credibility as a beacon of freedom, liberty, opportunity and compassion in the world.

"Today in America children are being held hostage by political partisans. Manufacturers demand that Congress and the administration fix this horrifying injustice now. There are no excuses and no one else to blame. It can be accomplished in a few days—or even hours. The administration can change this policy with a stroke of a pen. Congress can pass a clean bill prohibiting the separation of immigrant children from their parents and send it to the President for his signature," Timmons said in the statement.

Chamber CEO Tom Donohue said in a blog post Monday morning that "this is not who we are."

"Thousands of children are being forcibly removed from their parents by our government. There is no other way to say it, this is not who we are and it must end now.

"[S]ince our (nation's) founding we have embraced certain core values. One of those values is that children should not be punished for the crimes of their parents. Yet, today, government policy is running in direct contradiction to that value," Donohue said.

Medical groups pointed to a strong body of research showing damage to children who are separated from parents or suffering from major stress.

"The (American Academy of Pediatrics) urges the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice to immediately end the policy of family separation, APA said in a statement. "Separating children from their parents contradicts everything we stand for as pediatricians—protecting and promoting children's health. We know that family separation causes irreparable harm to children.

AAP board President Dr. Colleen Kraft told CNN how she was "shaken" by the cries of an "inconsolable" toddler at a detention facility, separated from her mother. https://cnn.it/2sVBkOE

"I've never been in this situation where I've felt so needlessly helpless," she told CNN. "This is something that was inflicted on this child by the government, and really is nothing less than government-sanctioned child abuse."

The American Public Health Association called the separation policy "inhumane."

"As public health professionals we know that children living without their parents face immediate and long-term health consequences," APHA said in a statement. "Risks include the acute mental trauma of separation, the loss of critical health information that only parents would know about their children's health status, and in the case of breastfeeding children, the significant loss of maternal child bonding essential for normal development."

In a letter to Trump, the American Psychological Association expressed "deep concern and strong opposition."

"Based on empirical evidence of the psychological harm that children and parents experience when separated, we implore you to reconsider this policy and commit to the more humane practice of housing families together pending immigration proceedings to protect them from further trauma," the letter states.

The American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association also condemn the policy.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that thousands of mental-health practitioners and more than 140 organizations also have signed a petition against the administration's actions. https://wapo.st/2I3EkwP

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