SEATTLE—Led by members of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, and including other well known Buddhist teachers such as Bhikkhu Bodhi and Sharon Salzberg, several hundred American Buddhist teachers issued a statement on Monday condemning the current US policy of separating children from families at the US-Mexico border.

In doing so, they join leaders of numerous other faiths, and members of both major political parties in the United States. The petition has been made publicly available on Change.org, where it had gained more than 9,300 signatures at the time of going to press.

The policy being protested is the current US administration’s so-called “zero tolerance” policy, enacted in April, which is aimed at prosecuting as many border-crossing offenses as possible. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, this has resulted in nearly 2,000 immigrant children being separated from their parents in April and May alone.

Faith leaders across the US have condemned the policy. Catholic Bishop Richard J. Malone said this week: “We can all recognize that children are inherently vulnerable and thus should not be separated from their parents unless there are valid concerns about abuse or trafficking. Family unity is a foundational element of Catholic teaching and must also be a cornerstone of our US immigration system.” (Western New York Catholic)

Meanwhile, more than 600 United Methodist clergy and laypeople signed a formal complaint against US Attorney General Jeff Sessions (himself a Methodist practitioner), accusing him of child abuse, immorality, racial discrimination, and “dissemination of doctrines contrary to the standards of doctrine of the United Methodist Church.” (USA Today)

The strongly worded statement issued by American Buddhists draws from Buddhist practice of compassion and the belief that a parent-child bond is the ground upon which all further development is built. “As people of faith and conscience, we feel that it is important that we speak out clearly in defense of basic human rights at this time, calling for an immediate end to this heartless practice.”