Sen. Orrin Hatch is circulating a letter calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put a halt to the Trump administration policy of separating immigrant children from their families along the border until Congress can deal with the problem.
The Hill reports Hatch says the White House can end the practice, which has sparked outrage from both Republicans and Democrats.
“Senator Hatch plans to send a letter to the Justice Department later today calling for a pause on family separations until Congress has time to pass a legislative solution to this issue,” Matt Whitlock, Hatch’s deputy chief of staff, confirmed to The Hill.
The Finance Committee chairman, who is retiring after this year, initially told reporters earlier Tuesday that he is working on the letter. His office noted that they plan to publicly release the letter later Tuesday after senators have signed on.
Hatch told reporters on Monday evening that he thought the White House had the ability to change how families are being handled along the border and ”the way it’s being handled right now is not acceptable.”
“I think we’ve got to try and keep families together and do whatever it takes to keep them together. …I think the White House can fix it if they want to. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Hatch said.
Uproar over the policy has grown since images showed immigrant children kept in cages away from their parents
