Senate GOP introduces immigration bill

WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at keeping migrant children with parents being held after illegally crossing the U.S. border.

The seven-page measure is the Senate GOP’s response to a bipartisan uproar over the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from families caught entering the country illegally. The policy has produced a public relations nightmare for the GOP.

Under the bill, children under age 18 would be kept with their families in residential centers during legal proceedings. Facilities would have to be “secure and safe.” Children would be separated from adults who are not their parent or have serious criminal records, or if there is evidence of abuse or trafficking.

The government would prioritize processing such families, and add 1,000 additional beds and 225 immigration judges.