Welch Takes to House Floor to Slam Trump's "Shocking, Unnecessary and Inhumane" Family Separation Policy

Press Release

Following news reports of widespread mistreatment of migrant children being held in detention centers on the southern border, Rep. Peter Welch took to the House floor this afternoon to slam President Trump for his administration's child separation policy.

"We had a Trump attorney in federal court arguing … that it was okay to deny them toothbrushes, soap, access to showers, sanitary conditions, sleeping on cement floors in frigid conditions," said Welch. "This is shocking, it's unnecessary, and it's inhumane. In short, it's a policy of calculated cruelty, family separation and the infliction of wholesale suffering. This must end."

In June 2018, Welch was one of the first lawmakers to travel to the southern border to inspect detention facilities and meet with mothers separated from the children. He is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee which is investigating the Trump Administration's border enforcement and detention policies. And he is a cosponsor of the Keep Families Together Act and the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in CBP Custody Act which would end the policy of family separation and require that detention facilities meet minimum medical and sanitary requirements.

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