Tony Cárdenas: Statement on Family Separation
SAN DIEGO – President Trump, Jeff Sessions, and the rest of this administration are tearing families apart, ripping babies and children away from their families. It's disgusting and the complete opposite of what our country stands for.
Trump’s actions are the opposite of law and order. No one is forcing him to separate families. He pretends there is some secret rule that compels him to place children in cages – but that is a complete and total lie.
The president was sworn into office on January 20, 2017. Both chambers of Congress are controlled by Republicans. So the president’s statement that ICE agents ripping babies from their families is somehow about Democrats is also a complete and total lie.
Donald Trump is the President of the United States. He is giving the orders to ICE to harass men, women and children seeking asylum. He could put a stop to this. He just doesn’t want to. He wants families to be torn apart. He wants you and your neighbors to be afraid. For him, that is the point. But he is not alone here.
The inaction of Republicans in Congress only helps Trump promote his immigrant-attacking agenda. They are just as guilty of these obscene human rights abuses.
Even though Republicans hold the gavel and control what bills are passed, I will continue fighting this with everything I’ve got, and I am pushing hard for the passage of the Keep Families Together Act. Today, I have joined my Democratic colleagues to inspect the overcrowded detention facilities at the California border to shine a light on these horrible practices. But my work here is not done.
This is Trump’s and the Republicans’ government. These are their traumatized families. This is their humanitarian crisis. We cannot let them off the hook. We must restore dignity to the United States of America.
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