Senate Republicans introduced legislation Wednesday to prevent the separation of children from their families at the border, just before President Trump signed an executive order to quickly impose the same policy.
The bill, sponsored eight Senate Republicans and supported by 19 other GOP senators, would require children and parents to stay together during legal proceedings and authorize 225 new immigration judges to handle the prosecution of these illegal immigrants.
Soon after, Trump signed his executive order, but senators indicated that may not be a permanent fix to a 1997 court-ordered consent decree that banned child detention beyond 20 days. That ban is what has forced the separation of families as Trump tries to prosecute all adult immigrants who enter the country illegally.
“[The president] still understands the need for legislation because a number of the obstacles in the way are consent decrees and other laws that [require] children to be handled in a different way than adults who cross the border illegally,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who met with the president earlier Wednesday. “We’re all trying to figure out how to get to the same result.”
The legislative announcement came after the president met with a cadre of Republican lawmakers, including Cornyn, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Cornyn indicated to reporters that Trump would support a narrow legislative fix. In addition to the additional judges, the bill also would require the attorney general and the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to “prioritize resolving” cases involving children and families in residential centers.
Republicans have been working on a narrow bill they believe can pass and to earn bipartisan support. Cornyn said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have spoken to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has a proposal that would prohibit family separations within 100 miles of border, about a compromise package.
However, Republicans are currently pointing the finger at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who said Tuesday that it “makes no sense” to move forward with any legislation and called on Trump to unilaterally change the policy.
“We could do it in a matter of hours if people were willing to cooperate,” Cornyn said.
“It would be hard for them to be against something that is reasonable and really gets after the issue,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., of current Democratic opposition.
The president’s decision has Republicans breathing a little easier after days of drumbeats from both sides of the aisle calling for the administration to reverse their policy. The administration’s zero tolerance policy went into effect last month.
“It’s a little less [pressure],” Tillis said. “But we really need to get certainty while it’s on top of everybody’s mind.”
It remains an open question whether legislation would come to the floor as a standalone bill or as part of a spending package in September. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that the top goal is to get people on the same page. McConnell is a co-sponsor of the bill announced Wednesday.
”The first thing is to see if we can agree,” McConnell said, “and the second thing, then, is to see how you process this.”
