Podcast: Senator Hoeven Says Trump Must Find a Way to Enforce Immigration Law Without Breaking up Families

On my radio show today I spoke with Senator John Hoeven about the issues with separating children at the border from parents/adults charged with crossing that border illegally.

“They need to find a way where we do both, we enforce the law and keep children together,” he told me.

Hoeven said he voted for legislation earlier this year which was supported by President Trump and would have addressed the issues with DACA program participants, border security, and the status of families at the border. He felt it could have passed in the Republican controlled House, but it wasn’t taken up there.

“We’re trying to come up with a solution,” Hoeven said, noting that he just met with Senator Ted Cruz about legislation he’s proposed which would do things like increase the number of judges available to adjudicate these cases and mandate that in cases where there aren’t serious criminal charges beyond an illegal border crossing families are kept together.

Hoeven rejected  claims that the detention centers where separated children are being kept are similar to concentration camps. “They need to go down there and actually see these facilities,” he said, noting that he recently made just such a trip.

Here’s the full audio of today’s show. If you can’t listen to the show live, get the podcast.

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