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Eli Kantor is a labor, employment and immigration law attorney. He has been practicing labor, employment and immigration law for more than 36 years. He has been featured in articles about labor, employment and immigration law in the L.A. Times, Business Week.com and Daily Variety. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Journal. Telephone (310)274-8216; eli@elikantorlaw.com. For more information, visit beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com and and beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com

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Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Family Separations Split the G.O.P.

New York Times (Opinion)
By David Leonhardt
June 19, 2018

Most congressional Republicans have made clear that they are not willing to oppose President Trump on principle. A few of them may tweet the occasional criticism. But they rarely take any steps to restrain his behavior.

They are too afraid. They are afraid of Republican voters, most of whom strongly support Trump. Defying Trump, the members of Congress understand, could cost them their jobs.

But the Trump policy of separating migrant children from their parents presents those congressional Republicans with an unusual dynamic. It is less popular with Republican voters than most Trump policies — but still supported by a majority of those voters. According to a recent CNN poll, nearly 60 percent of Republicans approve of it, while an overwhelming majority of Democrats and independents oppose it.

This split helps explain the evident tensions within the Republican Party. On the one hand, there is substantially more opposition to Trump than normal. At least 14 Republican senators have made statements criticizing the separation policy. Ted Cruz, the famously far-right senator, plans to introduce an emergency bill that would stop the practice. Several vulnerable Republican members of the House — like Kevin Yoder, Mike Coffman and Carlos Curbelo — have spoken out against the policy.

Outside of Congress, Charlie Baker, the Republican governor of Massachusetts, has refused to dispatch the state’s National Guard to the border, citing the federal government’s “inhumane treatment of children.” Laura Bush, the former first lady, called the policy “immoral” and compared it to Japanese internment during World War II. Multiple evangelical leaders have condemned the practice. And Trump-friendly media — including The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, Bill O’Reilly and former White House aide Anthony Scaramucci — have criticized it as well.

But I don’t want to overstate the amount of revolt. Congressional Republicans have it within their power to stop the policy — not just to complain about it and introduce a bill or two. They haven’t yet done so. No Republican senator has yet voiced support for a Democratic measure that would end separations.

Remember: The Republican Party controls Congress, and Congress has the power to end this moral outrage. Until it does, its members don’t deserve credit for claiming they want to.

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