Because my e-mail to him was open, I want to allow his response to be open. I have done this: 1) out of fairness to him 2) in an effort to show one way that communication with an elected can work and 3) to encourage people to do less social media commenting and more communication like this.
July 17, 2018
Dear Mr. Ray:
Thank you for taking time to express your concerns with separating families who illegally enter the United States at the Southern border. As your senator, it is important for me to hear from you.
Obviously, I disagree with the policy and am working with my colleagues to write legislation so children and their parents aren’t separated.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), since early May, 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the Southern border. In April, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered prosecutors along the border to “adopt immediately a zero-tolerance policy” for illegal border crossings. That included prosecuting parents traveling with their children as well as people attempting to request asylum but who were not entering through ports of entry. On June 20, 2018, after a great deal of bipartisan encouragement, President Trump signed an executive order that halts the policy of separating families. It will allow families to be detained together. On June 25, 2018, it was confirmed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan that the agency is no longer referring for criminal prosecution all families caught crossing the border. However, the agency will selectively continue to refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution.
On June 27, 2018, US District Court Judge Dana Sabraw ordered a halt to most family separations at the U.S. border and the reunification of all families that have been separated. The court order specifically requires federal officials to stop detaining parents apart from their minor-aged children; reunify all parents with their minor-aged children who are under the age of 5 within 14 days and reunify all parents with their minor-aged children 5 and older within 30 days. The order mandates that officials provide parents contact with their children by phone within 10 days, if the parent is not already in contact with their children. This order does not stop the administration from prosecuting people who cross the border illegally.
However, while I am glad President Trump signed an executive order and children will be quickly reunified, the plain and simple fact is that executive and court orders come and go, but legislation provides a more permanent and long term solution. In response to this matter, I have cosponsored Senator Thom Tillis’ legislation, the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act, which would keep families together while safeguarding the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws. This legislation would require that children and their parents remain together during their legal proceedings. It includes provisions to ensure the humane and fair treatment of migrant children and families by setting mandatory standards of care for family residential centers. In addition to keeping children and their parents together, this legislation would keep children safe by requiring children to be removed from an individual who presents a danger to the health and safety of the child, including situations in which DHS cannot verify an individual is the parent of the child, a parent with a violent history of committing aggravated felonies, a child who is a victim of sexual or domestic abuse, and a child who is a victim of trafficking.
The Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act also authorizes 225 new immigration judges and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to prioritize resolving the cases of children and families in family residential centers. Unlike other proposals, which incentivize illegal immigration by codifying the “catch and release” policies of the previous administration into law, this legislation would keep families together while ensuring the integrity of our immigration laws. This is a practical, straight-forward solution to a problem we all agree needs fixing. It reflects the American people’s humanity and respects the rule of law by permanently ensuring that families can stay together while their cases are pending. There is an urgent need to respond and to overrule the 1997 Flores settlement, a series of court agreements that prevent children brought into the country illegally from being held in custody even with their parents, so I look forward to the bill’s rapid consideration.
I hope senators are willing to take action and I urge them to join Senator Tillis and many of their colleagues in cosponsoring the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act and agree to let it pass quickly by unanimous consent. Sixty votes are necessary to pass this legislation in the U.S. Senate so we will have to have good will of the minority party to pass this bill.
Again, thank you for contacting me regarding this very important issue. Please keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Chuck Grassley
Chuck Grassley
| COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS | ||
| CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY | FINANCE AGRICULTURE BUDGET | CO-CHAIRMAN, INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL CAUCUS |
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