National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) on Monday called on the Trump administration to prevent family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Stivers, who chairs the House Republican campaign arm, said if executive branch doesn’t take action to change current policy, he plans to take action to prevent the division between minors and parents who try to enter the United States illegally.
“As a father, I know firsthand that there is nothing more important than family, and I understand why kids need to be with their parents. That’s why I have publicly come out against separating children from their parents at the border,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook.
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“I am writing a letter to understand the current policies and to ask the Administration to stop needlessly separating children from their parents. If the policy is not changed, I will support other means to stop unnecessary separation of children from their parents.”
The administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy has sparked wide backlash, with critics blasting the practice of separating and detaining children while their parents face potential prosecution for illegally crossing the border.
Stivers’s comments come on the eve of President Trump’s scheduled visit to Capitol Hill to discuss two immigration measures leadership hopes to pass later this week.
Trump has pointed fingers at Democrats for the policy remaining in place.
“Why don’t the Democrats give us the votes to fix the world’s worst immigration laws? Where is the outcry for the killings and crime being caused by gangs and thugs, including MS-13, coming into our country illegally?” he tweeted Monday.