WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a leader in the immigration reform movement, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s new executive order.
“President Trump’s executive order won’t fix the family separation crisis he created with his zero-tolerance policy at the border. This order is silent on the thousands of children that have already been separated from their parents. It’s an alternative fact to pretend the solution for tearing children from their parents is detaining entire families indefinitely as they go through their asylum process. With this executive order, the administration continues to demoralize, dehumanize, and criminalize asylum seekers under their ‘zero tolerance’ policy.
“Locking up families indefinitely is not a solution. The solution is for President Trump to reverse his policy of criminally prosecuting those who are seeking asylum in the United States and allow them to follow the process established in the law. Children are not bargaining chips and should never be used to further this Administration’s nativist and anti-immigrant agenda.”
Earlier today, Senator Menendez tweeted:
NEWSFLASH: The answer to locking kids in cages isn't to lock them up indefinitely with their parents.
Original policy: zero tolerance.
Trump’s new policy: still zero tolerance.
It's time to end zero tolerance, and stop criminalizing asylum seekers.
— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) June 20, 2018
Senator Menendez is an original cosponsor of the Keep Families Together Act, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to keep immigrant families together and prevent the DHS from separating children from their parents at the border. All 49 members of the Democratic caucus are supporting the Keep Families Together.
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