Senate talks falter on separation bill

Treatment of those held in custody is a stumbling block

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan Senate talks on a bill to keep the government from separating undocumented immigrant families that enter the U.S. from Mexico have stalled, lawmakers said Wednesday, amid disagreements over the treatment of those held in custody.

Second-ranking Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, one of four senators in the negotiations, said “the whole thing kind of stopped” and that the group hasn’t met face to face in about a month. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican leader, said talks appear to be “dead” because Durbin and fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California are making demands that Republicans consider too broad.

“I think it’s dead, unfortunately,” Cornyn told reporters.

The snag threatens lawmakers’ efforts to respond after President Donald Trump’s administration established and then reversed a policy to split undocumented families at the border. Senators disagree over the protection immigrants should get from long detentions and standards for facilities holding them.

Right now, the matter is in court. The administration is struggling to comply with U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw’s order to reunite about 2,550 children over age 5 with their parents by July 26. Sabraw, in San Diego, has expressed frustration with the pace of the process and said last week the administration might be “acting in defiance” of his order.

On Monday, responding to a filing by the American Civil Liberties Union, Sabraw ordered the government not to deport families for at least the next week.

In Congress, the Senate has been more likely to move first on legislation to keep the families together. The House has no immediate plans to act before its members leave for a five-week August break. Instead, the House on Wednesday passed a symbolic GOP resolution showing support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a response to a call by some Democrats to “abolish ICE.”

Durbin said the bipartisan group hasn’t been able to agree on how to override a 1997 court settlement that barred minors from being held for more than 20 days and set quality standards for facilities and treatment of children in custody.