Booker Says He Would Close ‘Inhumane’ Migrant Detention Centers

(Bloomberg) -- Cory Booker vowed to use executive authority as president to end detention for asylum seekers, shut down “inhumane” holding facilities and de-emphasize prosecutions of those in the country illegally unless they pose a safety risk.

The New Jersey senator and Democratic presidential hopeful said that if elected he'd reverse most of President Donald Trump's border policies on his first day in office without waiting for Congress to take action.

“When kids are being stripped away from their parents and held in cages, I will not wait for Congress to solve this crisis,” Booker said in a statement outlining his immigration plan. “On day one of my presidency, I will take immediate steps to end this administration's moral vandalism.”

Booker also said he would expand protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, known as dreamers, as well as those granted Temporary Protected Status, who can't return to their homeland because of armed conflicts, natural disaster or other extraordinary situations.

Booker joined several of his competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination who've released plans to reverse Trump's border crackdown, which has resulted in thousands of people, including children, being held in detention centers. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 132,887 people were apprehended trying to cross the southwest border in May.

Raids After July 4

Trump, who won office on a promise to halt illegal immigration, said Monday that the government would begin arresting and deporting people already living in the country illegally after the July 4 holiday. It's likely to be a pivotal issue in the 2020 general election.

Under Booker's proposal, immigrant detention centers would have to meet standards outlined by the American Bar Association or face closure. Facilities that host children would further have to meet the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Booker in the release also called for an end to government contracting of for-profit private prisons.

To aid immigrants through the court system, Booker said he would expand access to legal counsel, first focusing on children's access, and create “a presumption of liberty” by changing the bond process. The Department of Homeland Security would have to provide a probable cause for the arrest of immigrants within 48 hours.

Booker's plan also calls for a reinvestment in areas such as Central America, Africa, and the Middle East. This is a direct response to the Trump administration's recent decision to cut aid aimed at improving conditions in migrants' home countries.

“This action, like President Trump's entire approach to immigration, is based on a faulty notion that force and threats are what is needed to control migration,” according to a statement from Booker's campaign. “That approach hasn't worked, and has contributed to a humanitarian crisis at our border and the inhumane treatment and abuse of immigrants within our country.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kasia Klimasinska at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net, Joe Sobczyk, Laurie Asséo

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