Trump Administration under Fire for Separating Migrant Children from their Mothers

Religious groups have castigated US President Trump administration over a tough and controversial immigration policy that has seen parents caught illegally crossing the border being separated from their children.

Speaking during an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Franklin Graham, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, termed the practice as “disgraceful.”

Religious leaders and organizations aligned to the Republicans also continue to pen letters and statements against the policy.

“As evangelical Christians guided by the Bible, one of our core convictions is that God has established the family as the fundamental building block of society. The state should separate families only in the rarest of instances,” Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and other evangelical leaders wrote in a group letter to the White House.

The letter was also signed by National Association of Evangelicals, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and others.

Speaking before church leaders last week, Attorney-General Jeff Sessions quoted the Bible to justify the strict immigration policy. “Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution. If you violate the law you subject yourself to prosecution,” Sessions said, while speaking before church leaders in Indiana. 

“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,” he added.

Contacted for a comment on Sessions remarks, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: “I can say that it’s very biblical to enforce the law. It’s repeated many times throughout the Bible.’

The administration argued that minors can’t be placed in criminal holding facilities together with their parents.

 “Not every individual arriving will merit asylum protection, but we would ask that families be kept together while ensuring each individual asylum seeker is afforded due process according to our laws,” the letter by Evangelical leaders further read.

“We are also concerned that there are fewer legal possibilities for those with a well-founded fear of persecution to be considered for refugee status without needing to make it to the U.S. border,” it went on.

Speaking during a meeting of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Florida, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo termed the practice as ” immoral.” “Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral,” he said.

Other churches including US Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Islamic Society of North America and Union for Reform Judaism, also spoke against the practice in their joint statement.

“We affirm the family as a foundational societal structure to support human community and understand the household as an estate blessed by God,” they wrote. “The security of the family provides critical mental, physical and emotional support to the development and well-being of children.”

“We pray for the children and families that will suffer due to this policy and urge the Administration to stop their policy of separating families,” their statement continued.