Texas House Speaker Urges Trump To End Migrant Separation Policy

AUSTIN, TX — House speaker Joe Straus on Tuesday asked Donald Trump to rescind his "zero tolerance" policy on immigration that has led to thousands of immigrant children being separated from their parents at the southern border.

Straus is the latest Republican to voice condemnation for the recently implemented policy, even as the majority of Republicans have remained quiet on the issue.

“I know that members of Congress from both parties have proposed various ways to address this issue in the form of legislation, and while I applaud their attention to the problem, I also know that congressional action often does not come quickly," the speaker wrote Trump in a letter. "In order to at least begin addressing this issue, there is no need to wait for Congress to act. That’s why I respectfully ask that you move immediately to rescind the policy that [Attorney] General [Jeff] Sessions announced in April and any other policies that have led to an increase in family separations at the border."

Straus also rejected Trump administration arguments that the policy could be used as political leverage against Democrats in Congress to secure pet projects, such as the vision of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border: "It is wrong to use these scared, vulnerable children as a negotiating tool," Straus wrote.

Set to retire early next year, Straus added: "Please listen to the growing number of Americans, faith leaders and elected officials from both parties who are voicing our concerns about this growing crisis. This is not a binary choice between rampant crime and tearing families apart."

Straus has emerged as a vocal critic of the policy among Republican ranks, including U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, a Republican from Helotes, outgoing State Rep. Jason Villalba. The latter previously wrote a similar letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, pleading with him to "...hear the cry of the little ones at our border who have been torn from their loving mothers and fathers."

>>> Photo of Joe Straus via Texas House of Representatives