Feinstein says she's introduced bill to keep immigrant families together
Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Friday that she has introduced a bill to ensure that immigrant families in the country illegally aren't separated, amid outrage over the Trump administration's practice of separating adults and children.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for creating a law requiring the separation of children from their parents, but no such specific law exists. The administration has introduced a zero tolerance policy of illegal border crossings. One consequence of that is, when families enter the country together, the parents are referred for prosecution and children are placed with sponsors. On Friday, on his way to the G7 summit in Canada, the president said he would be open to a bill to keep families together. The number of illegal border crossings was more than triple in April compared to the same month last year, an unsettling point for the president.
"All they have to do is call us," the president said. "And we'll draw a bill that gives us great border safety and security and it's fair. Because I don't like these children being separated from their parents, I don't like it, I hate it! But that's a Democrat bill that we're enforcing."
Mr. Trump's claim will be put to the test with Feinstein's legislation.
On Friday, Feinstein said "32 senators are taking a stand and making clear that we have a moral obligation to stop this horrific policy. #FamiliesBelongTogether."
It's unclear at this point what exactly is in Feinstein's bill.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
