Homeland Security chief backtracks on splitting families
Source: Associated Press
Homeland Security chief backtracks on splitting families
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL
Apr. 5, 2017 3:29 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) Parents and children caught crossing the Mexican border into the United States illegally generally can remain together, the Homeland Security chief said Wednesday, in a partial reversal of previous comments.
Secretary John Kelly also made clear that just about any immigrant in the United State illegally is a priority for immigration enforcement.
"The start point is illegal status and then go to the priorities," Kelly told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Oversight Committee. "They can go after an individual, under the law, if they are on the list because they are illegal."
Kelly has previously said that young immigrants who took advantage of an Obama administration program that protects them from deportation and allows them to work legally in the United States won't be targeted for deportation unless they let that protection lapse or commit a crime. He did not address that group during his testimony Wednesday.
During the nearly two-hour back-and-forth with senators, Kelly said families caught crossing the border illegally generally would not be separated unless the "situation at the time requires it." He gave as examples the mother being sick or addicted to drugs. But he said separation would not be routine.
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