Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York thinks the Trump administration’s commitment to enforce a zero tolerance immigration policy is purely “evil” and the “devil’s” work.
“To me? Yes, these are all things that come from the darkness that are ripping children from their mothers’ arms. That’s outrageous. I mean, that is not a positive, good thing. It is an evil, dark thing,” Gillibrand told Politico Tuesday. She even likened the policy to the “devil’s scheme.”
The New York senator did not directly blame the president, but did characterize a number the president’s policies as “evil.”
“It’s not specifically about the president. It’s about ideas that are evil. It’s about darkness, which is rooted in hate,” Gillibrand said. “There’s a lot of ideas right now that are in this county that are dark ideas: building walls, dividing this country, marginalizing trans members who are troops, marginalizing kids who are transgender, not supporting DACA kids, literally polluting our air and our water,” Gillibrand said.
“In the civilian world, you would just say those are horrible, outrageous things that we should fight against because they’re harmful and they hurt people. And so we don’t really talk about good and evil in our day jobs, but we certainly talk about policies that harm people and are hurtful and are cruel, and a lot of the policies that this president has put forward are harmful and cruel. And if you want to call it evil, you can,” Gillibrand said.
The Trump administrations announced Monday that it will continue to separate children from their parents who immigrated to the U.S. illegally, continuing a practice that was in place before the president took office.
Under Obama, immigrant children were put into separate holding facilities from their parents. The parents would then receive a court order to appear before a judge at a later date, but, without a real incentive to show up for the hearing, many parents fled with their children into other parts of the U.S.
The Trump administration has made it a point to prosecute adults who illegally immigrate, but, due to a 9th Circuit ruling, the government cannot hold an immigrant family for more than 20 days. During that time, the government either has to separate a child from their parents while they are put under legal proceedings, or give the parents a later court date and hope they appear before an immigration judge at that time. (RELATED: US Should Separate Children From Illegals)
The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that roughly 2,000 children were separated from their parents from April 19 to May 31 and sent to mass holding centers or placed in foster care as their parents await prosecution. (RELATED: Laura Bush Slams Trump’s Migration Policy)
The administration blames parents for bringing their children across the U.S. border illegally. Congressional Democrats, much like Gillibrand, place the blame on the administration. While the policy has caused a great deal of uproar, the majority of the congressional body isn’t doing anything proactive, using the moment for political gain and posturing.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas put forth a proposal Monday that would create new immigration judges, new facilities to keep families together while they are being held, an expedited pathway for those who immigrate illegally to see a judge and legally apply for asylum. If they are not granted asylum within a 14-day period after their hearing, the immigrant will be deported back to their home country.
Follow Robert Donachie on Twitter and Facebook
Send tips to robert@
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
