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Arkansas's Boozman Breaks With Most Republicans, Urges Stop To Trump Immigration Policy

U.S. Senator John Boozman in the Republican Party of Arkansas headquarters in 2016 during a campaign interview.
Jacob Kauffman
/
KUAR News

Arkansas’s senior U.S. Senator John Boozman is calling for a stop to the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy to separate children from their parents at the border. Boozman was one of 13 Republican Senators on Tuesday to sign a letter addressed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying immigration policy must be consistent with "ordinary human decency" and putting the blame for the "immediate cause of the crisis" on the Attorney General’s new policy.

"We support the administration’s efforts to enforce our immigration laws, but we cannot support implementation of a policy that results in the categorical forced separation of minor children from their parents. We therefore ask you to work with the relevant Administration officials to stop the separation of families pursuant to the Department’s zero tolerance policy while Congress works out a solution…"

Boozman’s position is at odds with many of his fellow Republicans, including his colleague in Arkansas, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton. His assessment that the blame is on the current administration is also out of step with the Republican Party of Arkansas. The RPA’s Twitter feed blamed Democrats for the Trump administration policy that was enacted in April by A.G. Jeff Sessions.

The Democratic Party of Arkansas replied, urging the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress take responsibility for governing.

Jacob Kauffman is a former news anchor and reporter for KUAR.
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