U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner was among 12 Republican senators Tuesday who co-signed a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling on the Trump Administration to stop its current policy of separating families who enter the United States illegally, a practice that has ignited a nationwide outcry and drawn action from Gov. John Hickenlooper in Colorado.
Separately, Republican Rep. Mike Coffman went on National Public Radio and said the policy must end.
A release from Gardner’s office on Tuesday said his letter asks the administration to halt its current policy of separating children from their parents who enter the country unlawfully and for the practice to be stopped while Congress attempts to “fix the issue through legislation.”
Gardner has supported immigration reform proposals in the past, voting for legislation in February. He wrote Monday on Twitter that the country’s immigration system “is broken & the separation of children at our southern border shows just how critical it is that Congress pass immigration reform immediately.”
“Children should not be penalized for the actions of their parents, & that’s exactly what is happening right now,” Gardner wrote in the tweet.
In response to the federal policy, Hickenlooper on Monday signed an executive order banning the state government from assisting the feds in implementing this policy. The Trump Administration has defended the policy, with both Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen backing the practice.
Here’s the letter in its entirety:
Other Republican Senators who co-signed the letter include Orin Hatch of Utah, John McCain of Arizona, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, John Boozman of Arkansas, Dean Heller of Nevada, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
