Better solution needed at border
THE chorus of criticism is growing for the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on the border, which separates children from their parents. President Trump hasn’t been inclined to give critics much consideration, but he should in this case.
The United States is a nation of laws, certainly, and there should be consequences for those who break the law. But using innocent infants and children as pawns in a political debate is off-putting to people of all backgrounds. And people on both sides of this debate are exploiting these children, rather than thinking of what’s best for the kids.
In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Attorney General Jeff Sessions put things bluntly when he said, “If people don’t want to be separated from their children, they should not bring them with them.”
There are reports some who illegally enter the country bring children with them because it provides leverage to stay in the United States. Those individuals are doing the children no favors.
Children at the border are placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, which tries to place them with other relatives or with foster parents. Sessions has said the youngsters are well cared for; some news reports suggest otherwise, including one story that said workers in one shelter were instructed not to touch the children.
Democrats have been highly critical of the family division policy, but so too have many Republicans. Former first lady Laura Bush wrote in The Washington Post on Sunday that the zero-tolerance policy is “cruel” and “immoral.”
“People on all sides agree that our immigration system isn’t working, but the injustice of zero tolerance is not the answer,” Mrs. Bush wrote.
Other critics include Republican Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. All have suggested the separation policy is too traumatic for children.
In Oklahoma City on Monday, about 50 people protested outside the office of Republican Sen. James Lankford, urging him to support a bill that would prohibit separation of children from their parents except in cases of child trafficking, abuse or when ordered by a state judge.
Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, said he opposes the separation policy. In Washington on Monday, he recommended that before pursuing charges against those caught trying to cross the border illegally, the administration offer families the chance to voluntarily return. “Give that family the opportunity to stay together,” he said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and a staunch conservative, has filed legislation to double the number of federal immigration judges, authorize new temporary shelters with accommodations to keep families together, mandate that families must be kept together absent aggravated criminal conduct or threat of harm to the children, and provide for expedited processing and review of asylum cases.
That represents a better approach. Swift adjudication of cases, not family division, appears a better way to deter illegal activity than to separate children from their parents. The latter simply makes our nation look harsh and uncaring, when the opposite is true.
In her op-ed, Mrs. Bush wrote, “In 2018, can we not as a nation find a kinder, more compassionate and moral answer to this current crisis?” The answer should be a resounding yes.