Immigrant Reunification: Colo. Senators Ask Trump To Move Forward

WASHINGTON, DC – Both Colorado U.S. Senators, Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner signed a bi-partisan letter from to President Donald Trump asking that immigrant families in custody of ICE be reunited as soon as possible.

The letter, signed by 26 members of the U.S. Senate encouraged the Trump administration to work with faith-based groups such as Catholic Charities, Sojourners and the Church World Service who have offered assistance to partner with the Dept. of Homeland Security to "support reunification efforts."

"The United States government should not separate children from their families except in extreme circumstances," the letter said. "We remain committed to working together to fix our broken immigration system. Enforcement of our immigration laws should be a high priority, but we must also adhere to our core moral values as Americans."

Dear Mr. President:

We write to urge your administration to prioritize the reunification of families and to ensure that, from this point forward, the default position of the United States of America is to keep families together.
While we represent constituents from all faiths and political backgrounds, we have all heard one consistent message—the United States government should not separate children from their families except in extreme circumstances. As we work to find a permanent solution, we urge the administration to use all available resources currently at its disposal to reunite families as soon as possible.

Throughout our history, faith-based organizations have partnered with the federal government to help achieve its humanitarian goals. Faith-based organizations, including groups like Sojourners, Catholic Charities USA, World Vision, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Christian Community Development Association, Church World Service, and World Relief are willing and able to support reunification efforts and provide critical services for children and families in need. We encourage you to partner with the faith community to assist with family reunification and keeping families together in the future.

We remain committed to working together to fix our broken immigration system. Enforcement of our immigration laws should be a high priority, but we must also adhere to our core moral values as Americans.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Angus King (I-ME), James Inhofe (R-OK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Other Colorado members of Congress have asked Trump's administration to move forward quickly with reunifying parents and children.

Republican Congressman Mike Coffman (Dist 6, Aurora) sent a letter to Trump July 3 asking that the reunification process be consolidated under a single military officer who had experience coordinating large logistics operations. "The focus here is clear: the federal government must provide the parents with reliable up-to-date information about where their children are and turn all of its efforts into reuniting these children with their parents immediately," he wrote.

Images via Senators' Facebook pages

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