Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) was unable to provide a clear answer when asked whether Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy would increase the number of family separations.
During an interview Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” the vice presidential nominee addressed the issue of family separation instead of focusing on the perceived failures of the Biden-Harris administration.
When host Kristen Welker noted that more than 11 million U.S. citizens living in mixed-status households could be affected by Trump’s approach, Vance claimed his priority was to reverse the current administration’s policies, which the Department of Homeland Security says have caused illegal border crossings to drop to their lowest level in about five years.
“First of all, you have to prevent so many people from coming here illegally, and that means you have to undo everything that has happened. [Vice President] Kamala Harris did that practically on day one of the administration,” he explained. “Before we even solve the problem, we have to prevent the problem from getting worse.”
When asked again whether Trump’s mass deportation plan would lead to family separations, Vance dodged the question by baselessly accusing Democrats of harming children.
“Kamala Harris’ policies have resulted in thousands and thousands of migrant children living with sex traffickers and drug cartels,” he told Welker, adding: “She needs to take responsibility for that. That’s real leadership.”
After Welker pointed out that the Biden-Harris administration has no explicit policy on dividing mixed-status families, Vance assured her that maintaining Trump’s zero-tolerance strategy would be the “most humane thing to do, for children and certainly for American citizens.”
When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he repealed many of Trump’s draconian deportation measures.
After a family reunification task force was set up, it emerged that more than 5,000 families had been separated on the orders of the previous government.
Yet a 2022 study by the National Immigrant Justice Center concluded that the Biden administration “routinely separates families” and lacks “meaningful policies designed to protect family unity.”
