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A2 UP FRONT
Friday 15 June 2018

GOP lawmakers decry family separations as WH defends policy

By MATTHEW DALY, KEVIN House press secretary Sar- makers said they are seek-
FREKING and JILL COLVIN ah Sanders. “It’s a moral ing to resolve the problem
Associated Press policy to follow and en- in a compromise immigra-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Con- force the law.” tion bill.
gressional Republicans dis- Attorney General Jeff Ses- A draft of that bill released
tanced themselves Thurs- sions had earlier cited the Thursday would keep chil-
day from the Trump ad- Bible in his defense of the dren with their families
ministration’s policy of sep- border policy that has re- while they are in Homeland
arating children from their sulted in hundreds of chil- Security Department cus-
parents at the southern dren being separated from tody.
border even as the White their parents. Speaking Ryan claimed Thursday
House cited the Bible in Thursday in Fort Wayne, In- that the family-separation
defending its “zero toler- diana, Sessions pointed to policy is being dictated by
ance” approach to illegal a verse in the Book of Ro- a court ruling that prevents
border crossings. mans on obeying the laws children who enter the
“I can say that it is very bib- of government, saying, country illegally from being
lical to enforce the law. “God has ordained them held in custody for long pe-
In this May 3, 2018, file photo Attorney General Jeff Sessions That is actually repeated a for the purpose of order.” riods.
speaks in Washington. number of times through- The comments came as But House Democrat-
Associated Press out the Bible,” said White House Speaker Paul Ryan ic leader Nancy Pelosi
and other Republicans said pushed back on that as-
they were not comfortable sessment, saying that Presi-
with family separations, dent Donald Trump could
which spiked dramatically “stop the practice on a
after the Justice Depart- dime.”
ment adopted a policy in She called the Trump ad-
April of referring all illegal ministration’s separation
border crossers for pros- policy “barbaric,” adding:
ecution. “It has to stop.”
“We don’t want kids to be The family separations are
separated from their par- occurring as a result of
ents,” Ryan said Thursday. the Trump administration’s
Sen. James Lankford, R-Ok- “zero tolerance” policy for
la., tweeted Thursday that those entering the coun-
he told a constituent that, “I try illegally. Under the di-
am asking the White House rective, families crossing
to keep families together the border are routinely
as much as we can.” referred for criminal pros-
In an unusually tense series ecution. Previously, fami-
of exchanges in the White lies were often sent to civil
House briefing room, Sand- deportation proceedings,
ers blamed Democrats which allow children to re-
for the policy separating main with their parents.
children from parents and During the criminal pro-
wrongly insisted the ad- ceedings, the children are
ministration had made no usually released to other
changes increasing the family members or foster
tactics’ use. care.
“The separation of illegal Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan.,
alien families is the product said he’s “heartbroken”
of the same legal loopholes by the separations and is
that Democrats refuse to working to find a solution
close and these laws are to keep families together.
the same that have been His comments were in re-
on the books for over a de- sponse to a letter from lo-
cade, and the president cal officials urging him to
is simply enforcing them,” demand that the Depart-
she said. ment of Homeland Security
Ryan and other GOP law- end the practice.q