WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A month after the president signed an executive order blocking the separation of kids at the border, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are struggling to find a permanent solution.
- Lawmakers struggle to find permanent fix to family separation
- Bipartisan talks for solution have reportedly stalled
A bipartisan group of top senators, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Cali. and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was working on a solution, but those talks have reportedly stalled.
“Let’s stop playing the political games that make for great fodder, but they’re not compassionate,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, during a speech on the Senate floor Thursday.
Tillis was part of that bipartisan conversation, which reportedly fell apart as Democrats and Republicans sparred over how long immigrant children should legally be allowed to be detained.
On Thursday, Tillis urged the Senate to pass his own separate bill, aimed at providing a solution. He is contemplating having the Senate take action on it next week.
“This gives the parents the choice. If they want the children with them while they’re going through the legal process, then they can have that. If they choose to have the child placed with a family member or a guardian, then they can have that, too,” he said.
However, with the House set to leave for August recess soon, the chance of any permanent fix getting through Congress in the near future is slim.
At the same time, some House lawmakers are looking to gain more oversight over the reunification of separated families. Hundreds of kids reportedly are still separated from their parents.
A group in the House want the Trump administration to give Congress monthly updates. They tacked an amendment onto a bill, requiring the latest information on the number of kids that are still separated as well as updates on efforts to reunite them.
“We’re putting them on notice that we are going to follow this to the very end,” said Rep. David Price, D-NC.
The amendment will also force parents and kids to be alerted to the others’ whereabouts within 24 hours of being split up.
The amended bill still faces a long road ahead before becoming law.