WASHINGTON, DC – Today, after President Trump contradicted himself and signed an executive order to replace his controversial policy that has resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents at the border and replacing it with a policy that could lead to an increase in immigrant family internments, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), issued the following statement:

“After falsely claiming he couldn’t end family separations, President Trump reversed himself.  His policy of inflicting harm on children to deter the actions of adults was both immoral and unjust.  Americans don’t want to see innocent children treated this way and they made that very clear.  But President Trump’s latest policy shift is still costly and ineffective.  The Trump Administration must immediately take steps to reunite these kids and their parents and put a stop to using family internment as a political bargaining chip.”

President Trump’s Executive Order instructs the U.S. Secretary of Defense to take all available measures to provide the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with any existing facilities for the housing and care of “alien families” or to build them if necessary.

Reed, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said he is seeking assurances from Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis that the Pentagon will ensure access to any DOD lands and facilities, including those on military bases, being used to house migrant families to facilitate appropriate and necessary Congressional oversight. 

“It is essential that the public be kept informed about the treatment of people, especially young children, being detained on military bases in the custody of the federal government,” said Reed.  “Congress must hold the executive branch and the Pentagon accountable.  This Administration has a responsibility to keep the public informed about the costs to taxpayers for building, creating, and maintaining facilities to house undocumented families.” 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently noted that the Trump Administration was spending about $775 per person per night to hold migrant children separated from their parents in newly created “tent cities.”

NBC News reports: “keeping children with their parents in detention centers like the one run by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in Dilley, Texas cost $298 per resident per night, according to an agency estimate when it awarded the contract for the facility in 2014.”