Trump puts blame on Dems
President says U.S. “will not be a refugee holding facility”
WASHINGTON» An unapologetic President Donald Trump defended his administration’s borderprotection policies Monday in the face of rising national outrage over the forced separation of migrant children from their parents. Calling for tough action against illegal immigration, Trump declared the U.S. “will not be a migrant camp” on his watch.
Images of children held in fenced cages fueled a growing chorus of condemnation from both political parties, four former first ladies and national evangelical leaders. The children are being held separately from parents who are being prosecuted under the administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy for illegal border crossings.
“I say it’s very strongly the Democrats’ fault,” Trump said Monday as his administration rejected criticism that the policy has resulted in inhuman and immoral conditions.
Trump pointed to more lenient policies under past administrations that had not charged all migrants who had crossed illegally.
“We will not apologize for the job we do or for the job law enforcement does, for doing the job that the American people expect
us to do,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in an appearance before the National Sheriffs’ Association in New Orleans. “Illegal actions have and must have consequences. No more free passes, no more get out of jail free cards.”
Administration officials said they do not like the family separations either — calling it the result of legal loopholes — but insist migrants who arrive illegally simply won’t be released or loosely kept track of.
“The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility,” Trump declared. “Not on my watch.”
Mindful of the national outcry, lawmakers in both parties rushed Monday to devise a targeted legislative fix.
GOP senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, said they were considering legislation that would keep migrant families together; provide additional judges so detained families would face shorter waiting periods; and provide facilities for the families to stay.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she had the backing of the Democratic caucus for a bill would that prohibit the separation of migrant children from their parents, with exceptions for findings of child abuse or trafficking.
Underscoring the sensitivity of the issue, language curbing the taking of immigrant children from parents held in custody will be added to the House’s conservative immigration bill, a House GOP aide said Monday, A similar provision is already in a compromise GOP immigration measure between party conservatives and moderates, with the House expected to vote on both late this week.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, a longtime Trump ally, called the policy “disgraceful.” Several religious groups, including some conservative ones, have pushed to stop the practice of separating immigrant children from their parents. The Mormon church said it was “deeply troubled” by the separation of families.
Former first lady Laura Bush called the policy “cruel” and “immoral,” and said it was “eerily reminiscent” of the U.S. internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.
Late Monday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas announced that he was introducing emergency legislation intended to keep immigrant families together.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, plans to visit the Texas border this week — and possibly an immigration processing center in McAllen.
All four state Democrats stood in opposition to the policy.
In a Twitter post Monday, Cory Gardner said children “should not be penalized for the actions of their parents,” while U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, RAurora, said he would support a House version of Feinstein’s bill.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, RWindsor, countered that the rule of law was important, and the office of U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, RCortez, struck a similar chord.
Denver Post staff writer Mark K. Matthews contributed to this report.