Gov. Baker: Plan Needed 'Quickly' For Families Separated At Border

Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday he's not aware of any families in Massachusetts that were separated under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy for illegal border crossings.

The governor has been receiving information from family resource centers amid outrage over the stepped up methods for cracking down on illegal immigration.

"I can say standing here today we are not aware of any families that were separated on the southern border that are in Massachusetts," Baker told reporters in South Boston on Thursday morning.

The governor continued: "I've continued to encourage folks to come together and deal with this issue around immigration and especially to deal with the separation of kids and families and I really think it's important that not only does the federal government come up with a policy for dealing with this on a prospective basis, but they really need to come up with a plan quickly for dealing with all of the kids and the families that have been separated over the course of the past several months."

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced an executive order that the White House said will keep families together "while they face any criminal improper entry or immigration proceedings involving their members."

The president said, "We're going to have strong — very strong borders, but we're going to keep the families together. I didn't like the sight or the feeling of families being separated. It's a problem that's gone on for many years."

Attorney General Maura Healey on Thursday joined 11 attorneys general who are planning to sue the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and other Trump administration officials, asking the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington "to order the federal government to immediately end the cruel and unconstitutional family separation policy and to reunite the thousands of families that have been torn apart as a result."

According to Healey's office, the suit will claim that the executive order does not actually end the separation policy because there is no plan in place to reunite families already separated or keep families together moving forward. The suit will also argue the policy affects states across the country because some children who were separated from their parents at the border have already been sent to other states.

The policy has sparked reaction from other local political figures.

Congressman Michael Capuano announced Thursday he plans to visit the United States-Mexico border near McAllen and Brownsville, Texas on Saturday as part of a fact-finding mission to investigate the family separation policy, which he described as "inhumane" and "vindictive."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren will join Capuano and Rep. Katherine Clark to the border. Clark WBUR the congressional delegation bring a message to detainees.

"We want to be there to represent that the U.S. government does care about them," she said.

She also said she will be asking detainees questions about what brought them to the U.S. and if they know where their children are.

Brian Herr, who ran for U.S. Senate as a Republican in 2014, left his party on Wednesday, saying on Twitter he made the choice after "months of pain frustration and embarrassment."

He posted a picture of a document from the Hopkinton town clerk confirming he had changed his registration from Republican to unenrolled, and Rep. Susannah Whipps, who left the GOP in August 2017, replied, "I'm with Herr! You'll learn real quick who your friends are."

Herr wrote, "Using children to advance political agendas is immoral and sad beyond belief! Where have the positive leaders gone in the USA?"

Asked Thursday about Herr's move, Baker called him a "good guy" and described his own political philosophy.

"It's a free country. People need to make whatever decisions they need to make," Baker said. "I happen to believe the brand that I represent is what I call the Bill Weld/Paul Cellucci brand, which is a collaborative approach to governing, a fiscal discipline approach to dealing with budget issues and a recognition that at the end of the day, we need to work collaboratively with folks at the local level and the people in the private sector to make sure we can move this commonwealth forward."

With reporting from WBUR's Newscast unit.