Rich Lowry
"The latest furor over Trump immigration policy involves the separation of children from parents at the border.
"As usual, the outrage obscures more than it illuminates, so it’s worth walking through what’s happening here.
"For the longest time, illegal immigration was driven by single males from Mexico. Over the last decade, the flow has shifted to women, children, and family units from Central America. This poses challenges we haven’t confronted before and has made what once were relatively minor wrinkles in the law loom very large.
. . .
"Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen added: “This misreporting by Members, press & advocacy groups must stop. It is irresponsible and unproductive. As I have said many times before, if you are seeking asylum for your family, there is no reason to break the law and illegally cross between ports of entry.' ”
Some economic migrants are using children as chits, but the problem is fixable — if Congress acts.
"The latest furor over Trump immigration policy involves the separation of children from parents at the border.
"As usual, the outrage obscures more than it illuminates, so it’s worth walking through what’s happening here.
"For the longest time, illegal immigration was driven by single males from Mexico. Over the last decade, the flow has shifted to women, children, and family units from Central America. This poses challenges we haven’t confronted before and has made what once were relatively minor wrinkles in the law loom very large.
. . .
. . . 3) There is a significant moral cost to not enforcing the border.There is obviously a moral cost to separating a parent from a child and almost everyone would prefer not to do it. But, under current policy and with the current resources, the only practical alternative is letting family units who show up at the border live in the country for the duration. Not only does this make a mockery of our laws, it creates an incentive for people to keep bringing children with them.Needless to say, children should not be making this journey that is fraught with peril. But there is now a premium on bringing children because of how we have handled these cases. They are considered chits. . . .DHS Secretary Nielsen slams 'irresponsible' media, says no 'policy of separating families at the border' . . . "The head of the Department of Homeland Security bashed the media Sunday for their reporting on the increasingly volatile immigration controversy, writing in a string of tweets: “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.”
"Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen added: “This misreporting by Members, press & advocacy groups must stop. It is irresponsible and unproductive. As I have said many times before, if you are seeking asylum for your family, there is no reason to break the law and illegally cross between ports of entry.' ”
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