Scott Walker’s Cowardly Dodge of Questions About Trump Policy Separating Families at U.S. Border

MADISON, Wis. — In a stunning display of political cowardice, when questioned by a reporter Gov. Scott Walker refused to share his thoughts on Donald Trump’s family separation immigration policy that strips children from their parents. Walker, who mounted a 71 day run for president in the summer of 2015 said Trump’s policy is a “federal issue.” One Wisconsin Now Research Director Joanna Beilman-Dulin condemned Walker for his cowardice and complicity.

“The policy of Donald Trump to take children away from their parents at our borders is monstrous,” said Beilman-Dulin. “It is appalling that all we get from Scott Walker is a cowardly dodge in the face of these abhorrent actions being taken by our government against families.”

Under the Trump policy, announced May 7, at the direction of the Department of Justice, anyone detained by federal authorities for attempting to cross the border into the United States is detained in advance of being prosecuted. The effect on families is that children are considered to be “unaccompanied minors” and are summarily separated from their parents and held in separate facilities. Reports emerging about the reality of this practice are disturbing, and include children being literally housed in cages.

Prior to refusing to answer a reporter’s question, Walker spent the weekend on social media sharing he was attending a baseball game with a “great view” from his field level seats and was drinking a beer in the backyard of the state provided mansion where he lives, with his family.

Beilman-Dulin concluded, “This weekend Scott Walker tweeted a picture of his beer at his lakeside mansion and this week he’s saying it’s someone else’s problem that under Donald Trump children are being taken from their parents and held in cages.”