Congressman Matt Gaetz Issues Statement in Response to President Trump’s Executive Order Addressing Family Separation at Border

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) today issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order (EO) addressing family separation at the U.S. border.

“President Trump’s executive order allows families to be kept together while adults are processed through immigration courts for unlawful entry into the United States. While this is a humane decision, the title of the President’s EO is extremely revealing: Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation. This title is correct: it our duty in Congress to reform our broken immigration system, and it is dismaying that—despite immigration reform being a key platform of President Trump’s campaign—we have not yet delivered the meaningful reform the American people want and need.

America’s immigration laws are convoluted, poorly-enforced, and full of loopholes. Family separation is, unfortunately, the result of these loopholes—many of which were developed and greatly exacerbated by Democrat policies. The ‘border crisis’ was a problem long before Donald Trump was elected President, and if Congress continues to do nothing, the problem will continue. He did not cause this problem; Congress did—now it is up to us to solve it.

The House will be voting on two pieces of immigration legislation this week, both of which take steps to address this topic. I will not support legislation offering amnesty to those who have entered our country illegally. I look forward to supporting legislation to enhance our border security, including the construction of a border wall, and to strengthen our immigration laws. Separating families is a sad consequence of decades of bad immigration policy, and I look forward to voting to restore law and order to America’s southern border. Unchecked illegal immigration cannot and must not be allowed to continue,” Rep. Gaetz said.

###