After Successfully Calling for Family Separation Pause, Hatch Backs Legislative Fixes

Press Release

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the senior Republican and President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, released the following statement after joining the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act and the Protect Kids and Parents Act:

"The issue of family separation at the border demands a legislative solution. We cannot continue to separate young children from their parents, but we also cannot continue with misguided, ineffective catch-and-release policies. That's why I am committed to supporting legislation that keeps families together while cases are processed without tying the hands of law enforcement."

Background

Yesterday, Senator Hatch and a group of 12 Republican senators sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions asking for a moratorium on the family separation policy. The letter petitions the administration to stop enforcement of this policy until Congress can pass legislation to keep families together.

Click here to read the letter and click here to learn more.

Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act

This legislation includes provisions to ensure the humane and fair treatment of migrant children and families by setting mandatory standards of care for family residential centers. Families will be ensured access to suitable living accommodations, food and water, medical assistance, and any other service necessary for their care.

In addition to keeping children and their parents together, the bill also keeps children safe by requiring children to be removed from an individual who presents a clear and present 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; a child who is a victim of trafficking.

To prioritize the timely adjudication of family cases, the legislation 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 "catch and release" policies into law -- this legislation actually solves the problem by keeping families together while also ensuring the integrity of our immigration laws.

Protect Kids and Parents Act

This legislation mandates that illegal immigrant families must be kept together; provides for exceptions that allow a child to be removed from custody in specific circumstances including cases involving aggravated criminal conduct or threat of harm to the children (such as abuse or neglect by the parent or evidence that the child is a victim of human trafficking).

It provides for expedited processing and review of the cases of individuals who are here with children so that within 14 days, those who meet the legal standards to stay will be allowed to stay and those who do not will be returned to their home countries with their families.

The act doubles the number of federal immigration judges, an increase from roughly 375 to 750. These new judges will prioritize processing claims of individuals who are here with children. It also authorizes new family shelters so that children can remain with their parents while their parents' claims are being processed.

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