Tom Cotton has now been heard from on the separation of families at the border. Why it’s just a plot by slave traders to sneak criminals into the U.S.  He’s bonkers.

Advertisement

His comment is getting quite a blast on Twitter. Some of the calmer comments note that he’s lying about the proposed legislation.

Cotton’s stooge Hugh Hewitt (or is it vice versa) reports on Cotton’s visit today. Pretty remarkable demagoguery. He compares people seeking asylum, which isn’t illegal, to criminals separated from children in the U.S. when they are arrested for crimes. At worst, illegal entry is a status offense, barely a misdemeanor. he also suggests many of these families are just actors. Unbelievable rant. But nobody ever said Cotton had much compassion.

Advertisement

Hugh, I haven’t seen Ted’s bill, yet. I can say this, though. What the Democrats are proposing is their most radical open borders lawless proposal yet. Let’s just call a spade a spade, Hugh. 49 Democrats have now supported a bill by Dianne Feinstein that says children at the border are literally a get out of jail free card. If you show up at our border, you have to be released into our country never to be seen again. They are literally a get out of jail free card, and a get into the U.S. free card. Moreover, Hugh, let’s look at this from another angle. All across America, there are parents who are separated from their children because they have been arrested for a crime, or they’ve been convicted of a crime. And their children are placed with the next of kin, or their children are placed in foster care. That probably happened last night in Arkansas multiple times. Yet the Democrats aren’t crying for those American citizens. They’re willing to treat illegal immigrant criminals better than they treat American citizens who are charged with a crime. So what they are proposing shows just how radical and extreme the Democrats have become on immigration. Hugh, there’s a very simple solution to this. I am working with many senators to get this solution on the spending bill we’re considering this week. The Trump administration’s hands are tied by liberal judges and Democrats who have ruled over the years that children at the border can’t be detained for more than 20 days. That’s why when their parents bring them to the border, or just as likely, kidnap them or buy them from human traffickers to pose as parents at the border, the parent is taken into custody, the child can’t be detained for more than 20 days, and therefore placed with a relative or placed in a kind of foster care. All we need to do, Hugh, is overturn the so-called Flores Settlement, allow families to be held at the border, provide a little bit of extra money to the military and DHS for family housing units while those claims are adjudicated. We’re going to offer an amendment this week on the spending bill. It can be done promptly. But it’ll expose the Democrats for what they are – advocates of totally open borders, because they don’t want families held together at the border, Hugh. This is not about family separation for the Democrats. This is about an open border policy that lets children be a get out of jail free card and a get into the U.S. free card. I don’t think many Americans support that policy.

Be a Part of the Fight

Step up and make a difference by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times, the progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock that's been fighting for truth for 50 years. Our tough, determined, and feisty journalism has earned us over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, all of whom value our commitment to holding the powerful accountable. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Join us in the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times today.

Previous article Corporate America pays big bucks to cozy up to Leslie Rutledge and other GOP AGs Next article Casino amendment starts (misleading) advertising