Amid controversy over separating immigrant families, Delaware officials condemn practice

Christina Jedra | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Denn introduces new laws to fight addiction Attorney General Matt Denn introduces three new laws to fight drug addiction in Delaware.

Delaware officials spoke out on Tuesday against the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy that has resulted in children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn joined 20 other top state prosecutors from across the country to demand separations be halted, and Gov. John Carney announced his refusal to deploy requested National Guard troops to the border.

Led by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, 21 attorneys general from California to Massachusetts sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Tuesday, calling the policy inhumane and draconian.

"It's a really defining moment for the country and what kind of country we wanted to be," Denn said.

"These children are being used to leverage legislative concessions for members of Congress on immigration issues. People can disagree on what the right balance is for reforming immigration laws but a solution that involves taking children from their parents is clearly not the answer."

The attorneys general join a chorus of church leaders and lawmakers from both parties who also have called the separations immoral.

A letter sent to Sessions on Monday from a bipartisan group of former federal prosecutors, including former Delaware U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly, said immigrant families and children face "unexpected cruelty at the doorstep of the United States, instead of with relief or asylum in the greatest country in the world."

"Collectively, as former United States Attorneys, we have prosecuted tens of thousands of cases involving far more serious crimes than misdemeanor illegal entry offenses," the letter said.

"And even in those far more serious cases, decisions involving the separation of children from their parents were made with extraordinary caution, and only after an evaluation of the specific circumstances of a particular case."

Oberly could not be reached for comment.

Nearly 2,000 minors have been separated from their families since Sessions announced the policy in April. If a person doesn't arrive at an appropriate port of entry to claim asylum, the crossing is deemed illegal and prosecuted even if the person does not have a criminal history.

With the adults detained and facing prosecution, any minors accompanying them are taken away.

"The U.S. Justice Department is ignoring its legal and moral obligation for the sake of a political agenda at the expense of children and the efforts of state law enforcement officials combating crimes like human trafficking, drug trafficking and gang violence which operate across international borders," Balderas said in a statement.

U.S. officials have argued that the children are well cared for and that the government has high standards for the detention centers where they are being housed. They have said the separations result from legal loopholes but insist immigrants who arrive illegally won't simply be released.

In their letter, the attorneys general argue that the fundamental rights of children are expressed in state, federal and international laws with an aim to protect their best interests. They say any process should first seek to protect those interests.

"The notion that the government should intrude into the rights of a parent to be with their child has historically been met with extremely high levels of scrutiny," the letter reads.

The prosecutors also argue that the separations interfere with law enforcement investigations into human trafficking, drug trafficking and gang violence offenses.

"For us, it just heightens the lack of trust and makes it harder to get cooperation from immigrants who are concerned any contact with any law enforcement might spiral into an unrelated immigration issue," Denn said.

He added: "I’m hoping our state General Assembly can weigh in, in a bipartisan way."

The only attorneys general from states along the U.S.-Mexico border to sign the letter were Balderas and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Both are frequent critics of President Donald Trump and have been outspoken on other immigration issues.

The other officials who signed the letter represent Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

On Tuesday, the state received a request to send Delaware National Guard troops to the southwest border, according to Carney.

The governor's response is a firm no.

"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t hesitate to answer the call," he said in a statement. "But given what we know about the policies currently in effect at the border, I can’t in good conscience send Delawareans to help with that mission."

If President Donald Trump revokes "the current inhumane policy of separating children from their parents," Delaware will send assistance to the border, Carney said.

"I served in Congress, and I watched for six years as that body failed to pass a comprehensive immigration policy that would secure our borders in a way that upholds the values of this great country," Carney said. "Congress and the president need to step up and fix the mess that our immigration system has become.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.

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