Lujan Grisham Reaction to President Trump's Remarks Defending Family Separation Policy

Statement

Today, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), released the following statement in reaction to President Trump's remarks that his inhumane family separation policy was an effective deterrent to immigration and that the White House was once again considering implementing similar policies at the border. According to reports, one of the plans under consideration would combine indefinite family incarceration and family separation in what is called a "binary choice."

"President Trump's desperate and hateful attempts to continue to push a politically motivated anti-immigrant agenda knows no bounds. Despite his deeply unpopular and failed family separation policy that caused further harm and trauma to thousands of children and families, we continue to see thousands of children and families seeking asylum in the U.S. Instead of addressing the violence, poverty and murder that are driving these desperate families to seek asylum, Trump is again considering a deeply flawed policy that detains families indefinitely in facilities that harken back to the Japanese internment camps of World War II.

"Many of these families face an impossible decision--violence or death if they stay in their home country or a harrowing and dangerous trek in order to seek refuge. Instead of cruelly punishing defenseless families at the border, the Trump Administration should be working to find effective solutions that can help stabilize the Northern Triangle region and fight transnational crime in order to reduce the push factors that are forcing these families to flee their homes.

"Vulnerable families and children that reach our border have a right to seek protections and they must be treated with compassion and respect as they move through the asylum process. The CHC denounces this cruel, ineffective and flawed policy proposal and will continue to fight to protect immigrant and Hispanic families."

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