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Benjamin visits U.S.-Mexican border

Staff Report //June 21, 2018//

Benjamin visits U.S.-Mexican border

Staff Report //June 21, 2018//

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Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin joined a group of U.S. mayors Thursday in the border town of Tornillo, Texas.

Benjamin, the president of the U.S.  Conference of Mayors, said the group called attention to the conditions of a tent city that houses immigrant children separated from their families.

“We have a group of bipartisan mayors who are ready to fight for justice,” Benjamin said Thursday.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2,342 children were separated from their parents from May 5 to June 9.

Before the trip, Benjamin said the separations were a grave concern to him both as a mayor and a father. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would put an end to the separation of families at the border.

“This is certainly a step in the right direction,” Benjamin said. “It is merely one small step that still leaves many questions unanswered. This is more than politics, it’s a humanitarian crisis.”

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