Joe Kennedy III Railed Against Family Separation Policy at a “Tent City” in Texas
Massachusetts Dems are sounding the alarm over inhumanity at the border.
Photo via AP
Joining a march of protesters in Texas, Rep. Joe Kennedy on Sunday blasted the Trump administration’s policy of separating parents and children at the U.S./Mexican border, calling it inhumane and antithetical to American values.
“Humanity does not come with citizenship or a green card,” Kennedy told protesters at a rally, after he reportedly tried to enter a “tent city” detention facility for children in the town of Tornillo, outside El Paso. He was not allowed inside, he wrote on Twitter, adding that “Given amount of misinformation and conflicting info coming from Trump Admin, it’s critical that Congress and American public know exactly how these children are treated by our system.”
We #MarchToTornillo because all families – all children – deserve to be treated with dignity and decency. #KeepFamiliesTogether pic.twitter.com/73jh9d7kC0
— Joe Kennedy (@joekennedy) June 17, 2018
Joe Kennedy in the house. “Humanity does not come with citizenship or a green card.” #AbolishICE #BetoForTexas pic.twitter.com/foVhOT0jwJ
— Sarah Vela (@orchid8) June 17, 2018
Kennedy was among many Democrats and even some Republicans to loudly protest the ruthless and unpopular “no tolerance” policy instituted at the border earlier this year, which calls for adult migrants who cross the border illegally to be jailed and for their children to be held indefinitely in ever-expanding facilities. So far, an estimated 2,000 children have so far been separated from their families under the policy since April. The Tornillo facility reportedly houses hundreds of children and may be expanded to shelter as many as 4,000.
Trump has tried to shift blame for the situation to Democrats in Congress, but his officials have described it as a new and purposefully harsh policy designed to deter others from coming to the U.S. illegally.
Joining Kennedy in condemning the policy was Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal, who in a statement called it “contrary to our basic American values and beliefs, adding that “[t]housands of families are being torn apart and traumatized by this immoral practice.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren last week seconded a sentiment shared by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who accused the Trump administration of “using children as pawns to enforce a hostile immigration policy.”
.@CardinalSean is right. Tearing children away from their families is cruel and unconscionable — and goes against everything our country stands for. #FamiliesBelongTogether #EndFamilySeparationhttps://t.co/GX6XE7xJAf
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) June 14, 2018
Sen. Ed Markey in a press conference described ugly stories from the border—a baby torn from a breastfeeding mother’s arms, a 13-year-old boy who attempted suicide after being separated from his father—as “a disgrace to our nation.”
The horrifying stories of immigrants in America under Donald Trump are a disgrace to our nation. The “zero tolerance” family separation is a new low in inhumanity for this administration. #KeepFamiliesTogetherhttps://t.co/Z7SWsRo6iW
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) June 15, 2018
