Maine 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree is co-sponsoring legislation that would prohibit the federal government from separating children from their parents at the country’s border.
“Basically it says there should be no separation and there should be a primary, you know, process of family reunification any time a child is separated,” Pingree says.
Pingree says she has heard from many Maine constituents who say they are outraged at the news that children are being separated from their parents when trying to enter the country.
“The administration is currently taking kids away from their parents as they cross the border, putting them in separate facilities,” Pingree says. “Some of the kids are getting lost, they are not able to make contact with their parents. It’s inhumane, unthinkable.”
The House legislation would bar federal agents from doing so under the Trump administration “zero tolerance” policy, which prosecutes anyone who enters the country illegally.
Pingree says families should be keep together even as legal action is being taken against the parents.
This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 5:42 p.m. ET.
