Lawmakers react to separation of migrant families. Below is a compilation of statements via tweet, press release, and media report.
“I agree with Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Trump that separating families does not meet the standard of who we are as a country. Strengthening our border security and upholding our laws in a manner consistent with our values will help facilitate progress toward addressing all aspects of our broken immigration system.”
-Senator Roy Blunt, as quoted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch
While I firmly support enforcing our immigration laws, I am against using parental separation as a deterrent to illegal immigration. My concern, first and foremost, is the protection of the children.
— Pat Roberts (@SenPatRoberts) June 18, 2018
“Separating children from their families at the border is a policy many of my constituents and the American people in both political parties oppose. As Congress pursues legislation to address this issue this week, an interim solution is needed. I ask that you take immediate action to end the practice of separating children from families at the border.”
-Representative Kevin Yoder in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Among Kansas lawmakers, Yoder wields the most power over immigration policy. He chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, an appointment announced just last month.
“The outrageous notion that children must be ripped from their families to secure the border is as false as it is cruel. As the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I will be working to stop the Administration’s misguided policy. The idea that this policy is being used for deterrence and Congressional leverage is offensive. I need answers from DHS concerning the care of these children and their failure to even reunite children before they fly their parents out of the country.”
-Senator Claire McCaskill, in a press release.
“Our immigration system is broken. This has become more evident in the last week when children are being forcibly separated from their parents. I oppose this policy and am working with my Senate colleagues and administration officials to bring the current circumstances to an end. Our country must make the well-being of these children a priority. We can find appropriate ways to secure our borders and deter illegal immigration in a moral way that honors our values as Americans.”
-Senator Jerry Moran, in a press release.
“What is causing children to be taken from parents is this very deliberate choice, and it is this choice to criminally prosecute all asylum seekers and I just don’t understand why we are doing this to parents. We are separating families from their mothers and fathers. History is going to judge us terribly for this, and this is going to match what we did in World War II with the internment camps.”
-Representative Emanuel Cleaver to KCUR.
St. Joe Post on ruling against Kansas voting law.
A federal judge ruled Monday that Kansas cannot require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, finding such laws violate the constitutional right to vote in a ruling with national implications for voting rights.
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In the first three years after the Kansas law went into effect in 2013, about one in seven voter registration applications in Kansas were blocked for lack of proof of citizenship — with nearly half of them under the age of 30, according to court documents. Between 2013 and 2016, more than 35,000 Kansas residents were unable to register to vote.
The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.