Make Them Hear You! Trump’s Immigration Policy of Family Separation

Make Them Hear You! is a weekly feature on KGNU, produced by Chris Mohr, letting listeners know how they can have their voices heard on issues up before Congress. You can hear it Wednesday mornings at 8.20am during the Morning Magazine.

The Trump administration is under extreme fire for their policy of separating thousands of children from their parents at the Mexican border. They are responding with a series of blatant lies. Just yesterday, the White House emailed me “America’s crisis at the border,” which states that “the harshest family separation policy is that too many Americans have been permanently separated from loved ones because of crime spilling across our border. Congressional Democrats have repeatedly voted against common sense immigration legislation.” Trump continues to claim that the Democrats created a nonexistent law requiring him to separate families. In truth, Trump could end the policy himself without the need for action by Congress. Trump also lied about Germany’s crime rate — which is at its lowest level in 25 years — saying it has gone “way up” since Europe granted asylum to hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Meanwhile, in the Fox News-o-sphere, Ann Coulter is calling the separated children trained actors. “They’re given scripts to read by liberals, according to The New Yorker. Don’t fall for the actor children.” The New Yorker never made such a claim. Another Fox commentator said the kids were in summer camp.

In the meantime, all four former first ladies have joined the current one, Melania Trump, in an unusual united political front expressing horror at children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. As Michelle Obama put it on Twitter, in support of Laura Bush: “Sometimes truth transcends party.” Laura Bush wrote, “this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart.” Hillary Clinton wrote that the Trump policy was a “moral and humanitarian crisis.” Rosalynn Carter, said “The practice and policy today of removing children from their parents’ care at our border with Mexico is disgraceful and a shame to our country.”

Some Republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from the Trump administration’s  “zero tolerance” immigration policy. Rep. Steve Stivers, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee. “If the policy is not changed, I will support other means to stop unnecessary separation of children from their parents,” he added. Anthony Scaramucci called it “an atrocious policy.”

Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman has told Sen. Dianne Feinstein he wanted to “help her put a stop to this human rights disaster at the border” and was willing to introduce the California Democrat’s bill to do so in the House. “This isn’t who we are,” Coffman said. Sen Feinstein introduced a bill, The Keep Families Together Act, in consultation with child welfare experts, to ensure the federal government is acting in the best interest of children and to end the separation of immigrant families, Coffman’s House bill would also end it. If you have an opinion on the Keep Families Together bill, you can contact your Senators and congressperson.

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