Cortez Masto urges Biden against border detentions in letter

WASHINGTON D.C., Virginia (KOLO) - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and 18 other Senate Democrats have penned a letter to President Biden urging him against the use of family detention on the southern border.

Their letter called the practice “ineffective and inhumane.”

“Under both the Obama and Trump Administrations, family detention had disastrous effects on migrant families and children, without any corresponding improvement in border security or deterrence. We urge you to learn from the mistakes of your predecessors and abandon any plans to implement this failed policy,” the Senators wrote.

Their letter says family detention does not appear to have deterred border crossings and has instead resulted in an increase in unique encounters of children and individuals’ families. Their letter claims such encounters have increased by an average of 57% between 2015 and 2019.

“The recent past has taught us that family detention is both morally reprehensible and ineffective as an immigration management tool. We look forward to working closely with your Administration on more thoughtful and humane responses to such challenges,” the Senators concluded.

They offered a number of solutions that they say are more humane and cost effective. They cite $20 million appropriated to the DHS by Congress that can be used for detention but did not specify further than that.

Other than Cortez Masto, Democratic Senators who signed on to the bill include Chuck Schumer, Mazie Hirono, and Cory Booker.

You can read the full text of the letter here.