House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., spoke out Thursday against the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border while blaming the policy on recent court rulings rather than the Trump administration’s actions, saying he’s not comfortable with the policy.
“We don’t want kids to be separated from their parents,” he said at his weekly news conference.
The House is expected to vote on two Republican immigration proposals next week that would limit legal immigration levels and deal with border security and the status of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers.
One of those bills – a compromise measure GOP conservatives and moderates are still drafting – includes provision prohibiting the separation of children and parents at the border, according to a draft of the legislation obtained by ABC News.
The bill, which also authorizes funding for a border wall and includes changes to the visa program and a pathway to legal status for young undocumented immigrants, clarifies the 1997 legal agreement known as the Flores settlement, which requires the government to release and not detain undocumented immigration children.
In court rulings, the federal government has pointed to the settlement to justify the family separation policy.
The new legislation, if signed into law, would require that accompanied alien minors apprehended at the border remain with parents or legal guardians while in custody of the Department of Homeland Security, according to a draft of the proposal.
The White House has signaled support for the effort, though it’s unclear if either measure has the support to clear the House, and whether they would be considered in the Senate.
White House Press…
