Faith & Freedom Coalition calls on Congress to end family separation at the border

A leading conservative religious group on Tuesday urged Congress to enact immigration reform that puts an end to the Trump administration’s practice of separating families who cross the southern border illegally.

The Faith & Freedom Coalition said it supports both immigration bills that are expected to come up for a vote in the House this week. One is a more conservative bill authored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and the other is a more moderate measure crafted by centrist leaders.

{mosads}”The separation of families illegally crossing the border is heartbreaking and tragic, part of the larger tragedy of a broken immigration system that does not reflect our values or our faith,” Faith & Freedom Chairman Ralph Reed said in a statement.

“We urge Congress to act now to end the separation of children from parents at the border, reunite families legally entering the country, and secure the border,” he added.

Reed said both GOP immigration bills address the group’s concerns about protecting the border while taking care of young undocumented immigrants.

The coalition did not address President Trump in its statement, even though it is his administration’s “zero tolerance” policy which has led to the separation of migrant children from their parents.

Trump has spoken at the group’s conferences in the past, including last June in Washington, D.C. He vowed at that event to protect religious freedom and to push for tax cuts and strict immigration laws.

The practice of separating families at the border has attracted overwhelming opposition from members of both parties, as well as international officials.

Despite pleas from lawmakers to end the practice, Trump has doubled down. He has blamed Democrats for the policy, despite his administration issuing the directive that led to it, and said the U.S. “will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility.”

In addition to the two GOP immigration bills, some members of Congress have crafted legislation that would end family separation.