US Rep. Yoder urges Sessions to halt separation of families
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder is calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to halt the separation of families during a crackdown on illegal entries.
The Wichita Eagle reports that Yoder says that as the son of a social worker, he knows the "trauma that comes with children being separated from their parents." He says it can take a "lasting, and sometimes even irreversible toll on the child's well-being."
Yoder is chairman of a House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee.
Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May after Sessions announced the new "zero-tolerance" policy that refers all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. Prior procedure had limited prosecution for many family entrants.
Sessions says the solution is to build a wall.