U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) has demanded that the Trump administration call off the separation of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border while Congress works on a legislative solution to rampant, ongoing illegal activities in the region.
“It is my understanding the Administration is using this practice to deter further illegal entry,” Rep. Yoder wrote in a June 18 letter sent to U.S. Attorney General (AG) Jeff Sessions, who he requested take “immediate action” to stop the practice.
Rep. Yoder chairs the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This authority covers items such as immigration enforcement spending, among many others. Any forthcoming requests for more federal funds that might be required to expand detention centers or to build tent cities to house immigrants at the southern border would go through Rep. Yoder’s subcommittee.
“As the son of a social worker, I know the human trauma that comes with children being separated from their parents,” Rep. Yoder said in a June 18 statement that accompanied his letter, both of which were posted on the congressman’s Facebook page.
“It takes a lasting, and sometimes even irreversible toll on the child’s well being,” said Rep. Yoder. “That’s why I’m demanding that Attorney General Sessions halt the practice of family separation at the border immediately as Congress works toward legislative solutions.”
In his letter, Rep. Yoder wrote that “separating children from their families at the border is a policy many of my constituents and the American people in both political parties oppose.”
The congressman acknowledged that despite the federal government’s legal process for immigrants entering the United States, many individuals continue to illegally cross the border from Mexico “and addressing that reality is an important charge for your office,” he wrote Sessions.
“However, the remedy of immediately removing children from their parents is too harsh a penalty, especially given the dangerous circumstances some of these families are fleeing,” wrote Rep. Yoder.
Instead, protecting American borders must be a “humane and reasonable” process, the lawmaker wrote. “Separating families should not occur.”
In a recent visit to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, Rep. Yoder wrote that he witnessed firsthand “the need to step up enforcement to protect against the flow of drugs and human trafficking at the border.”
Nevertheless, he wrote, “separating children from their parents should not be used as a deterrent.”
Rep. Yoder also reminded Sessions that the U.S. House of Representatives is set to act on wide-ranging immigration and border security legislation that would make appropriate and necessary changes to federal law, many at Trump’s request, that could help the AG better handle the current situation.
“We also stand ready to provide needed resources to shelter these families together as their cases are adjudicated,” wrote the lawmaker.
In conclusion, Rep. Yoder asked Sessions to ensure that all families are treated justly under the law and he wrote, “I would appreciate a response to this letter and any further input your office would provide on a path forward.”