Trump was scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for a creator of his “family separation” policy

(Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

Trump was scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for a creator of his “family separation” policy

California politics, 2024 elections, immigration and the border

Benjamin Oresces

April 4, 2024

Since

former

President Trump left office in 2021, his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida has become a regular stage for fundraising events in support of Republican candidates and causes.

This week, attendees will spend up to $100,000 to support an organization working on the issue that seems most exciting to Republican voters: immigration and the border.

Trump will appear at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for the Border911 foundation on Thursday, according to the organization’s website. The nonprofit was founded last year by Thomas Homan, a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who helped implement and oversee the former president’s controversial “family separation” policy and remains a steadfast supporter of Trump is.

The policy led to the separation of approximately 5,000 children from adult relatives

WHO

were detained on criminal charges under Trump-era zero-tolerance policies. A federal judge ultimately blocked the separations, and some children still have not been reunited with their families.

Recent polls in battleground states show Trump ahead, and immigration appears to be part of the reason for that.

Republicans see opportunities in President Biden’s unpopularity among voters

address

the border issue. Although Trump was cautious about whether he would reinstate family separation, he spoke at a rally in Wisconsin

earlier

this week about crimes allegedly committed by migrants, claiming there had been “an invasion of our country.”

Trump’s spokesperson said this in a written statement

Caroline Leavitt

said: “The millions of illegals Biden has resettled across America should not feel comfortable because they will be going home very soon.

“Immediately upon President Trump’s return to the Oval Office, he will restore all of his previous policies, implement brand new crackdowns that will send shockwaves to every criminal smuggler in the world, and muster every federal and state force necessary to carry out the world’s largest deportation operation. to get going. American history,” Leavitt said.

Immigration advocates and Biden supporters denounced Trump’s planned appearance alongside figures like Homan, who they say led uniquely brutal policies.

They have also blasted the presumptive Republican nominee’s views and rhetoric on the issue, saying they are stoking unnecessary fear among voters.

“They don’t talk about family separation, but with this event he says it out loud that he is in favor of this kind of cruelty,” said Beatriz Lopez, deputy director of the advocacy group Immigration Hub. “He will round up and deport people who are here and have contributed to this country

……. Hi

He will restore all the cruel policies of the past that most voters have resolutely rejected.”

They also criticized the presumptive Republican nominee’s views and rhetoric on the issue, saying they would stoke fear among Americans and divide the country. “Trump demonizes immigrants, calls them animals and says they are poisoning the blood of the nation,” Biden campaign co-chair Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) said in a written statement. “He is not interested in real solutions to fix our broken immigration system. He is focused on turning people against each other and stirring up hatred because he believes this will help him politically.”

According to his campaign, Trump wants to end birthright rights for the children of

undocumented

immigrants

that have no legal status

and restrict these children’s access to passports and social security numbers.

He also wants to issue an executive order requiring children born in this country to have one parent who is a U.S. citizen so they can also become citizens.

Representatives for Homan and Border911 did not respond to requests for comment. But their goal “is to educate Americans about the facts of border security and when America votes for our leadership, they will understand the devastation, the facts, the causes and the results so they can make an informed decision,” the group said . website.

Trump has repeatedly stated that he would like to find a job for Homan in his administration if he wins in November. ABC News reported last month that the fundraising goal for the event would be to raise money for a tour of battleground states ahead of the November election.

Tickets for the event start at $1,200 and go up to $100,000.

That

“VIP tickets” include a “photo session with the Border911 team and special guests,” according to the group’s website, which notes the event is sold out.

Homan

host one

fundraising in 2023

at Mar-a-Lago for an organization supporting people arrested for participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Hi

spent most of his career in border enforcement and the Atlantic

magazine

described him as the “father” of family separation policy. From

load

Summer last year, researchers discovered that about 1,000 children had still not been reunited with their parents or family.

Homan, who campaigned with Trump during the primaries, has defended the policy, saying it deterred people from crossing the border.

I’m sick and tired hearing about the separation of the family, the Hill

newspaper

Homan reported last year during a conservative political event. You know, I’m still getting sued for that, so come get me. …The bottom line is we enforce the law.

When I was a police officer in New York, I arrested a father for domestic violence, or someone before that [driving under the influence]”I separated that family,” he added later. If you break the law with a child, you will be divorced.

In December, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw approved a settlement between the American Civil Liberties Union and the federal government, which for eight years blocked the federal government from separating families to hinder immigration. The same judge had ordered an end to the separations in 2018 and demanded that children be reunited with their families.

The practice was cruel, insulting and inconsistent with traditional notions of fair play and decency, Sabraw wrote.

The federal government is still allowed to separate children, but in very limited circumstances, such as if a parent poses a threat to the children or if the parent has been convicted of serious crimes.

The Times reported this in December

families were separated

last year, long after Trump left office while undergoing treatment at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego. This had more to do with the number of people showing up at the border than a zero-tolerance policy, officials said.

Immigration advocates are not reassured by restrictions on blanket policies that would block the separation of children from their parents. Todd Schulte, president of the group FWD.us, said Trump’s repeated disregard for the rule of law and his desire to reduce the number of people crossing the border and being deported

undocumented

individuals

without legal status

are cause for concern.

reason to worry.

“That [ACLU] settlement is key, and it is important. It is absolutely the law,” Schulte told The Times. “But there are so many terrible things that President Trump and his team have promised to do. There is every reason to ask: would they do this again?”

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