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US lawmakers, first lady call for end to migrant family separations
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Democratic and Republican lawmakers
upped the ante Sunday on the thorny issue of the separation of migrant
children from their parents at the US border, as First Lady Melania Trump
made a rare political plea to end the deeply controversial practice.
The “zero-tolerance” border security policy implemented by President
Donald Trump’s administration has sparked outrage on both sides of the
political aisle and took on particular resonance as America celebrated
Father’s Day.
Trump has said he wants the separations to end, but continues to blame
opposition Democrats for the crisis, which critics say is one of his own
making.
His wife, who does not often wade into the political arena, did not
denounce his administration’s policy, but instead called for bipartisan
immigration reform to fix the issue.
“Mrs Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes
both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful
immigration reform,” her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told CNN.
“She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a
country that governs with heart.”
Immigration is one of the most divisive, hot-button crises plaguing the
Trump administration.
During one recent six-week period, the government said nearly 2,000 minors
were separated from their parents or adult guardians — a figure that only
stoked the firestorm.
The number of separations has jumped since early May, when Attorney
General Jeff Sessions announced that all migrants illegally crossing the US
border with Mexico would be arrested, regardless of whether the adults were
seeking asylum.
Since children cannot be sent to the facilities where their parents are
held, they are separated.
Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans have said the policy must end.
“What the administration has decided to do is to separate children from
their parents to try to send a message that if you cross the border with
children, your children are going to be ripped away from you,” Senator Susan
Collins told CBS television’s “Face the Nation” news program.
“That’s traumatizing to the children who are innocent victims, and it is
contrary to our values in this country.”
Amid deep divisions, congressional Republicans have struggled to craft a
viable immigration plan.
The Republican-led House of Representatives may vote this week on two
immigration measures — a hardline bill and a compromise measure that would
limit legal immigration while also ending family separations.
After touring a processing center in McAllen, Texas on Sunday, a group of
Democratic lawmakers warned of the “irreparable harm” caused by the
separations, repeating a phrase used by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“This new policy of the Trump administration… is undermining the
founding values of this country,” said Representative David Cicilline.
“We saw the fear in the eyes of these children who are wondering when they
will see their parent ever again. It’s a disgrace, it’s shameful and it’s un-
American.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/1158 hrs