DHS Secretary says he’s considering separating immigrant children from their parents to deter illegal immigration.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly confirmed his office is considering separating immigrant children from their parents during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
As CNN reports, “a senior DHS official had previously told CNN that the department was considering a proposal to separate children from adults when they are trying to enter the country illegally at the southern border. The official told CNN the proposal is meant to deter the exploitation of children.”
Blitzer asked Kelly if he would separate immigrant children from their parents and he responded that: “Let me start by saying that I would do almost anything to deter the people from Central America to getting on this very, very dangerous network that brings them up through Mexico and to the United States.”
Wolf Blitzer pressed further for a direct answer. “Let’s be precise,” he said. “If you get some young kids who are coming in, manage to sneak into the United States with their parents, are Department of Homeland Security personnel going to separate the children from their moms and dads?”
“We have tremendous experience of dealing with unaccompanied minors,” Kelly replied adding: “We turn them over to HHS [Health and Human Services] and they do a very, very good job of putting them in foster care or linking them up with parents or family members in the United States.”
“Yes I’m considering [that] in order to deter more movement along this terribly dangerous network. I am considering exactly that. They will be well cared for as we deal with their parents,” he continued.
Blitzer replied “but you understand how that looks to the average person who is born” before being interrupted by Kelly.
“It’s more important to me, Wolf, to try to keep people off of this awful network,” he replied.
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