Sen. Ben Sasse: Child Separation Policy at Border 'Wicked'

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., slammed the immigration policy that separates children from families at the border.

"Family separation is wicked. It is harmful to kids and absolutely should not be the default U.S. policy," Sasse wrote Monday on Facebook.

"Americans are better than this," the senator added.

The senator said that some lawmakers want to use the policy for political advantage. "Some in the administration have decided that this cruel policy increases their legislative leverage. This is wrong. Americans do not take children hostage, period," Sasse wrote.

Sasse said that the policy is a reaction against the "catch and release" policy and other "inefficient" means to handle immigrants. Those policies also led to increases in human trafficking, Sasse wrote.

"Catch-and-release — combined with inefficient deportation and other ineffective policies —created a magnet whereby lots of people came to the border who were not actually asylum seekers. This magnet not only attracted illegal immigrants generally, but also produced an uptick in human trafficking across our border,” Sasse wrote.

"The president should immediately end this family separation policy," Sasse wrote.

Republicans in Congress also are aiming to put pressure on President Donald Trump to stop the child separation policy. He will meet with House Republicans Tuesday to discuss the issue.

• Dershowitz: Trump Has to Stop ‘Separating Parents From Children’
• Laura Bush: Family Separation Policy ‘Cruel’