Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., offered support to Democrats Sunday morning when he said children should not be separated from parents and guardians if caught illegally entering the country, but backed the Trump administration’s move to quickly process and remove families who apply for and are denied asylum.
“We have a problem and it needs to be dealt with. The ideal scenario is that families be kept together and returned expeditiously back to their country of origin,” Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“I would be open to changing that law but the better law to change is to secure our border and to send a clear message that you cannot continue to enter the United States illegally. It is actually inhumane not to secure our border because we are sending out a message that is encouraging people to come here. We have to understand a lot of these people that are crossing children are being trafficked here,” he added.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced 100 percent of illegal entrant cases would be turned over by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to prosecute and handle asylum claims, respectively.
The Trump administration’s policy change was intended to send a message to potential illegal entrants that they would not be processed with their children and lower apprehensions.
White House and DHS officials have said “catch and release” loopholes in the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act are enticing illegal immigrants and called on Congress to change the policies.
