Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)—who once broke with his party to propose sweeping immigration reform in 2013—has stepped up the plate with a solution for the current crisis of family separation going on at the U.S. border.
It’s a hashtag.
Returning to a policy that only adults with children are released would create an incentive to bring kids. Yes separating families is cruel,but so is a policy that encourages parents to bring their kids on a dangerous journey. Instead lets #DetainandMaintain families together
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 20, 2018
The Trump administration has instituted a “zero tolerance” policy for people crossing the border and believes that one way to stem the tide of people coming to the country is to split up families, something a strident enforcement of existing law allows.
And while the efficacy of separating parents and children as a deterrent is not clear despite what Rubio says (and leaving aside the much larger question of the morality of it), that’s a hashtag advocating for jailing entire families.
Something people on Twitter couldn’t even fathom.
And how about getting congress to act on workable immigration laws https://t.co/Hk32pdhjon
— Vicki Freeman (@vlfreeman) June 20, 2018
They have a hashtag about throwing young children in jail. https://t.co/wtozRFMOuw
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/kennylbelvin/status/1009402196130222080
https://twitter.com/pmm526/status/1009425117213089793
You came up with a hashtag?
— Helen Kennedy (@HelenKennedy) June 20, 2018
Wow. A hashtag for putting people in cages. What a brainstorming session that must have been.
— Jane's World (@jane_epperly) June 20, 2018
Nice job @marcorubio and the @GOP. You’ve actually quadrupled-down and coined a pro-child-prison hashtag. https://t.co/OuhMQTysDv
— Glenn Craven 🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦🌻 (@GlennCraven) June 20, 2018
Whatever your stance on immigration, a hashtag about incarcerating people is not a solution.