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Tuesday 19 June 2018 - 08:31

Pelosi calls for Homeland Security secretary resignation over migrant children separation

Story Code : 732258
Pelosi calls for Homeland Security secretary resignation over migrant children separation

“This is not an immigration issue; this is a humanitarian issue; It’s about the children,” Pelosi said.

When asked to respond to Nielsen's comments earlier in the day that the minors are well cared for, Pelosi said, "I think she should resign."

The Trump administration is facing growing pressure to end its policy of separating family members, with both Democrats and Republicans calling it inhumane and inconsistent with American values.

Pelosi called the Trump policy a "heartbreaking, barbaric issue that could be changed in a moment by the president of the United States rescinding his action."

She also said the practice "challenges the conscience of our country that it must be changed, must be changed immediately."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the policy earlier this year, saying the Department of Justice would criminally prosecute all adults attempting to illegally cross the southern border into the United States. As a result, families who cross together would in some cases be separated, he said.

2000 children separated
Federal authorities said Friday that government officials had separated 2,000 children from parents facing criminal prosecution for unlawfully crossing the border over a six-week period that ended last month.

Besides the separated children, the Department of Health and Human Services has nearly 11,800 minors in custody as of Monday, NBC News reported. Reports suggest that number could reach 30,000 by August.

Republican Representative David Valadao and a number of other House Republicans are pushing the party to pass an immigration bill later this week that would require the government to keep detained children with at least one of their parents, a tacit rejection of the Trump policy.
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