Senate Republicans Propose Indefinite Detention for Families Seeking Protection

Washington, D.C.—In response to a statement today from Sen. Marco Rubio that the United States should “#DetainandMaintain” families in indefinitely rather than separate them at the border, Human Rights First’s Jennifer Quigley issued the following statement:

Rather than provide a workable solution to ensure that traumatized children and their parents seeking protection in the United States are not held in prison like criminals, Marco Rubio has instead endorsed an idea that would subject families to unnecessary and prolonged detention. Make no mistake: this administration and Republicans in Congress are separating children from the only family they’ve ever known to use as a bargaining chip in an effort to push forward policies that would detain them indefinitely. These are people fleeing for their lives who are legally seeking protection in the United States. This is not who we are as Americans.