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Pelosi: DHS Rule Is 'Violating Every Standard of Morality and Civilized Behavior'

Craig Bannister
By Craig Bannister | August 21, 2019 | 2:08 PM EDT

House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi
(Screenshot)

In a statement condemning a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule ending the catch-and-release policy regarding illegal aliens claiming to be asylum seekers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused the Trump Administration of “seeking to codify child abuse”:

“The Administration is seeking to codify child abuse, plain and simple. Its appalling, inhumane family incarceration plan would rip away basic protections for children’s human rights, reversing decades-long and court-imposed rules and violating every standard of morality and civilized behavior.”

As CNSNews.com reported, the new rule was issued in response to the unprecedented flow of families across the Southwest border:

“The goal is to end ‘catch and release.’ Asylum-seeking families will no longer be released into the United States with a promise to appear in immigration court -- promises that are mostly not kept, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan noted.

Pelosi repeated Democrats’ claims that holding illegal alien children in custody is abusive and that the children are being subjected to deplorable conditions:

“The indefinite and prolonged detention of children would compound the cruelty and accelerate the heart-breaking humanitarian situation at the border, worsening conditions for children already forced to sleep on concrete floors, eat inedible food and be denied basic sanitation and standards of care. As the American Academy of Pediatrics has written, ‘No child should be placed in detention…even short periods of detention can cause psychological trauma and long-term mental health risks.’

“This inhumane and utterly unconscionable rule circumvents the conditions set in the Flores settlement, and we expect the District Court to swiftly strike it down. Democrats continue to call on this Administration to end its assault on families and children, and to join us to protect families and preserve America’s heritage as a beacon of hope, freedom and opportunity for all.”

 

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