Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has joined with Democratic colleagues Kamala Harris of California and Jeff Merkley of Oregon as lead sponsors of legislation “to reunite families at or near ports of entry.”
The bill “would require the Trump administration to immediately reunite separated children with their parents, ensure that separated children have access to legal counsel and contact with their parents, and creates a presumption of release on alternatives to detention, ensuring families are not detained as they pursue legal avenues of relief,” Cortez Masto said in a statement Tuesday.
“Trump’s policy to deliberately inflict trauma on the children of families fleeing persecution is a dark and evil deed,” added Merkley.
The REUNITE Act would be funded by redirecting $50 million from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In addition to Cortez Masto, Harris and Merkley, the bill has 11 Senate co-sponsors. None of them are Republicans, who control the Senate.
