Chuck eyes fed chief to reunite fams
The Trump administration should appoint an immigration czar to cut through bureaucratic red tape to ensure that children separated from their parents at the southern border are reunited, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday.
“Right now there are thousands of kids lost in limbo waiting for reunification with their parents, and there are various agencies that are in charge,” said the Senate minority leader. “They’re under the jurisdiction of Health and Human Services, the parents are under the Justice Department.”
People stuck in between two federal agencies often get lost in the bureaucratic system, he added.
“What we found out of over the years is when there are separate agencies trying to solve a single problem it works slowly at best, and sometimes doesn’t work at all,” he said.
Schumer (D-N.Y., below) also slammed the Trump administration’s lack of transparency regarding its “zero tolerance” policy to criminally charge all migrants illegally crossing the border. The Justice Department policy was announced in April.
“You don’t need a foreign relations expert to know that the situation created by zero tolerance has left many people with zero confidence that the administration will be able to quickly reunite the kids, and the fact that they couldn’t answer so many questions is another reason that people don’t have that confidence,” he said.
Administration officials say at least 2,300 children have been separated from their parents or guardians at the border. They insist all the children will be reunited.
But details remain sparse, and no formal plan has been announced. Additionally, the Trump administration has ducked broader questions as to where the children are being housed.