Top Republicans, including Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, responded Tuesday to the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border, a “zero tolerance” policy implemented six weeks ago. Many Republicans responded publicly to the harsh criticism over the policy, saying they support keeping migrant children and parents together.
Isakson said separating the families is no solution.
"I don't think separating children from their families solves the problem. It creates a big problem," Isakson told Channel 2's Justin Gray.
Gray caught up with Isakson in Washington where he said he does not support the Trump administration's actions. His office also said he has received a couple thousand calls so far from Georgians about this and the vast majority are opposed to separating families.
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On Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump once again blamed laws passed by Democrats for his administration’s policy of separating migrant children from parents suspected of coming into the country illegally while speaking Tuesday at a meeting of the National Federation of Independent Business.
Trump said the policy is necessary because loopholes in the immigration laws mean families “cannot be detained together or removed together, only released.”
“These are crippling loopholes that cause family separations,” Trump said. “Child smugglers exploit the loopholes and they gain illegal entry into the United States, putting countless children in danger.”
There is no law that mandates the separation of children and parents at the border.
Georgia's other senator, David Perdue, abruptly ended a news conference with other senators on Tuesday about the budget when reporters asked questions about separating families at the border.
Perdue said he wanted to make sure they, "didn't get hijacked about the current shiny object of the day."
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