The Trump administration "obviously made a large mistake" with its zero-tolerance policy on immigration that left thousands of children being separated from their families, but now it's up to Congress to work with the White House on a longer-term solution, Sen. Bob Corker said Sunday.
"It certainly was done in a ready, fire, aim way obviously," the Tennessee Republican told CBS' "Face the Nation." "There was no preparation for it. I can't imagine any American's heart not going out to these families, knowing these children are being separated, and then where they're going."
Corker said he is glad President Donald Trump and his administration have taken further steps, including with the president signing an executive order to keep families that have been detained together, but still, the decision has led to a further crisis because of a federal rule that does not allow children to be detained for longer than 20 days.
"I know that some in the White House want to use the immigration issue as a force to activate the base for elections, but obviously the president realized that was a mistake, and now it's up to us in Congress to work with them to come up with a longer-term solution," said Corker.
Lawmakers, however, keep trying to deal with "micro-issues," said Corker, and he wishes they had passed comprehensive legislation back in 2013.
Corker said he hopes there will be enough votes in the Senate to pass legislation, and he believes that an upcoming immigration bill sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Dianne Feinstein, D-California, bodes hope, as they are "two people with such ideological differences."
The United States, he added, does need to be a nation of laws, and to work to make legal immigration easier than it currently is.
"We've got needs in our country," said Corker. "I've just never been a part of a group that hated someone for wishing something better for their life. Maybe they have a little different color of their skin and they speak differently, I just have never hated someone who traveled through tough conditions to try to come to a place where they could realize their dreams. And so I'm just not part of that group that wants to punish."
He said he also thinks it's a shame to try to paint immigrants as part of a terrorist group.
"We need to enforce our laws, and when people break them, obviously, especially over and over again, there needs to be punishment," he said. "But look, again, we've got to realize, these people are wanting to live in a place like we live. We're the most fortunate people on Earth to live in this country."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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