Battle over family separations flares anew in D.C.

WASHINGTON — Congress’ fight over President Donald Trump’s now abandoned policy of separating migrant families stirred anew Wednesday.

Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee batted down Democratic proposals that undercut the administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy of prosecuting and detaining migrants caught entering the U.S. One plan would have blocked money for tent cities to house unaccompanied children.

But the Republican-controlled committee accepted other proposals, including one requiring a government plan for tracking and reuniting children separated from their families and imposing a $100,000-a-day fine if it doesn’t produce one.

With roughly two dozen Democratic amendments in play, Republicans fired back with one of their own.

They won party-line approval of language letting federal officials hold children for more than 20 days when their parents face legal action for unauthorized entry to the U.S.

The Trump administration wants to eliminate that court-imposed 20-day limit so it can detain entire families as it enforces its zero-tolerance policy.

“All it does is keep families together while we’re in the process of adjudication,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-okla., the measure’s sponsor.

The House committee fight was over amendments to a massive spending bill financing health, education and labor programs, a measure that gets delayed every year.

Senators have been talking behind the scenes in hopes of producing a bipartisan measure aimed at family separation, but so far they’ve not reported an agreement. House Republicans have been trying to produce a family separation measure they can push through their chamber but also have been unable to so far.