The Senate’s top Democrat is urging President Joe Biden not to reinstate a policy that would detain migrant families who cross the US border illegally.
The Biden administration is reportedly considering reviving a policy that Biden himself criticized when he took office in 2021. It follows other measures by the administration designed to deal with the influx of migrants along the US-Mexico border, including banning migrants from applying for asylum. in the US if you have traveled through another country.
Critics of the family detention policy say it would target vulnerable people, including children, and lead to family separations like the thousands of separations that have occurred under President Donald Trump.
“Under the Obama and Trump Administrations, family detention has had a devastating effect on migrant families and children, without adequate security or prevention improvements. We urge you to learn from the mistakes of your predecessors and reject any plan to implement this failed policy ,” read a blistering letter sent to Biden on Monday by 19 Senate Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin. (Il.).
The letter was signed by top progressives in the chamber as well as several centrist Democrats, including Tim Kaine of Virginia, who is up for re-election next year.
Republicans have blasted Biden over the increase in migrant encounters at the border in recent years, accusing him of failing to do his job. His recent move to crack down on migrants appears to be an attempt to counter the GOP’s offensive before re-election in 2024.
In a letter to Biden, the Democratic senators stressed that family detention is unacceptable. Citing data from the Department of Homeland Security, he concluded that the policy “does not deter desperate families trying to come to the United States.”
“We understand that your Administration faces significant challenges – particularly in light of the failure of Congress to pass immigration reform – in managing the influx of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border,” the senators wrote. “However, the past has taught us that family detention is unethical and ineffective as an immigration management tool. We look forward to working with your Administration on a more thoughtful and humane response to these challenges.