A Republican congressman is calling on President Trump to fire senior adviser Stephen Miller because of his role in creating “this human rights mess” by separating families who illegally cross the border.
Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., took to Twitter to urge the president to ensure every child is reunited with his or her family and to fire those responsible for the policy that has allowed families to be separated.
“I’m glad the President ended the border separation policy, but there’s more work to do. I’m going to the border in TX myself this weekend to see the situation firsthand and learn more about what needs to get done. The President should put a General, a respected retired CEO or some other senior leadership figure on the job of making sure each and every child is returned to their parents,” Coffman tweeted.
“And the President should fire Stephen Miller now. This is a human rights mess. It is on the President to clean it up and fire the people responsible for making it,” he continued.
I’m glad the President ended the border separation policy, but there’s more work to do. I’m going to the border in TX myself this weekend to see the situation firsthand and learn more about what needs to get done. The President should put a General, a respected retired CEO….
— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) June 21, 2018
or some other senior leadership figure on the job of making sure each and every child is returned to their parents. And the President should fire Stephen Miller now. This is a human rights mess. It is on the President to clean it up and fire the people responsible for making it.
— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) June 21, 2018
Coffman is currently facing a tough reelection, as his race is rated a toss-up. Trump lost Colorado in the 2016 presidential election.
Under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, all adults caught illegally crossing the border are referred for criminal prosecution. The policy has led to parents who are apprehended and charged to be separated from their children.
Trump issued an executive order Wednesday meant to end the family separations by keeping children and their parents detained together through the duration of criminal proceedings.
But doing so will require a federal court to modify a 1997 settlement agreement that prohibits the government from detaining children for more than 20 days.
The Justice Department formally asked the court to do so Thursday.
