Despite temporary fix on immigrant children, issue expected to rumble into Florida Senate race

Ledyard King | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Advocates struggle to track separated immigrant children Advocates say they are struggling to keep track of thousands of children who get lost in the federal system since the implementation of the Trump administration zero-tolerance policy. (June 20)

WASHINGTON – President Trump's decision Wednesday to end family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border eases a broadly condemned crisis – for now.

But homeland security and the treatment of immigrants are issues likely to reverberate in Florida's nationally watched Senate campaign between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott.

For Nelson, the images and recordings of young children weeping for their mothers and fathers could prove a powerful tool to paint the president's GOP allies like Scott as enablers of an unnecessarily cruel policy that targeted an ethnic group with considerable sway in Florida.

“This inhumane policy of separating children from their parents should have never happened and now, thousands of kids are still alone in these facilities, with no answers on how and when they will be reunited with their families," Nelson said in a statement issued Wednesday by his campaign. "Rick Scott had opportunity after opportunity to call on his good friend Donald Trump to end the policy, but he never did. These kids deserve better.”

For Scott, the crisis has become an opportunity not only to repeat calls for stricter border security – an issue that helped propel Donald Trump to win Florida twice on his way into the White House in 2016 – but also to tout his credentials as someone who might bring a fresh approach to an old problem.

"Washington’s failure to secure our border has been a bi-partisan failure for many decades," Scott said Tuesday in a statement to the press. "Washington is full of career politicians who are all talk but who produce no results, and Bill Nelson is exhibit A."

Following a bipartisan outcry, Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that he said ends a doctrine resulting in the removal of more than 2,000 children from their families. But he also insisted his controversial "zero tolerance" policy will go forward while continuing to blame Democrats for the crisis.

“We’re going to have strong, very strong borders, but we’re going to keep the families together," the president said. "I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated."

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The scope of the order was not immediately clear, including whether already-separated children would be reunified with their parents. It is primarily aimed at keeping families of future detainees together until Congress provides a permanent solution.

Scott, a longtime ally of the president, was among those who publicly criticized the separation policy, saying he was "completely opposed ... to tearing these families apart."

Nelson showed up Tuesday at federally run facility in Homestead housing 174 children who have been separated from their parents but his entry was blocked by building security officials. The senator went on Twitter, saying the Trump administration "should be ashamed of itself."

More: Sen. Bill Nelson, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz barred from Florida child migrant facility

This is not a good day for our country. The Trump administration will not let us check on the welfare of the children being held in Homestead, FL. These are kids who were taken from their moms and dads. They are scared. And this administration should be ashamed of itself. pic.twitter.com/DbrknSuEIT — Senator Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) June 19, 2018

For all the attention paid to what has become an emotional issue, it's not clear whether it will stand out from all the other polarizing issues such as gun control, climate change or gay rights come November when Florida voters will go to the polls to decide between Scott and Nelson.

Those incensed by the family separation policy are probably going to vote Democratic anyway while those less bothered by it are likely GOP voters who view stronger border security as an overriding issue, said Dario Moreno, professor of political science at Florida International University.

"No one likes the idea of separation of family as a matter of principle but I also think, as an issue that you would vote on, the people that are really outraged were already going to vote that way, anyway," he said. "There's almost a callousness when it comes to outrage now. People have become very selective in what they get outraged by. It depends on their world view."

Read More: Trump signs executive order to end immigrant family separations: What we know

Read More: Jeff Sessions: We don’t want to separate parents from kids

The bigger political danger Scott faces is not so much fury from the left for not pushing back more fiercely against Trump but potential anger from the right for daring to call out the inhumane nature of Trump's original policy.

Florida Republicans generally agree with the president’s get-tough approach on immigration.

“Immigration is the number one issue that drives our base,” Florida State Rep. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who heads the Sarasota Republican Party and who co-chaired Trump's Florida campaign in 2016. “Republicans are one of the few groups that support the policy overall. The base itself supports it. It’s not a negative.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who was part of a 2013 immigration reform effort that failed, joined Wednesday with other GOP senators on a bill that would permanently address the separation issue.

The measure would:

Allow minors under the age 18 to remain with their families pending the outcome of their immigration proceedings.

Ensure the humane and fair treatment of migrant children and families by setting mandatory standards of care for family residential centers. Families would have access to "suitable" living accommodations, food and water, medical assistance, and any other service necessary for their care.

Authorize 225 new immigration judges to speed up processing of cases.

Require the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to prioritize resolving the cases of children and families in family residential centers.

“It is cruel to separate families. But it is also cruel and irresponsible to return to a policy that encourages parents to bring their children on a dangerous journey,” Rubio said. “This bill will allow us to change the law so that families will remain together while awaiting prioritized proceedings. We should pass it immediately and reunite families.”

Contributing: Sheldon Zoldan of the Fort Myers News-Press