“America’s moms are horrified by today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, that the Trump administration will publish an interim final rule tomorrow that restricts access to our country’s asylum system for anyone who did not seek protection from the countries through which they passed on their way to the United States. That this rule would apply to unaccompanied children is especially horrific.

“For all intents and purposes, the new rule would make it impossible for those fleeing violence and persecution to get refuge in our country. It is immoral and illegal, racist and xenophobic, cruel and callous. It is almost certain to result in the deaths of desperate moms and children.

“This heartless action comes on the heels of one of the most revolting, racist attacks of Trump’s entire presidency: his tweet this weekend, apparently directed to four congresswomen of color, in which he urged them to ‘go back’ to the ‘places from which they came’ -- despite the fact that three were born in the United States and all four are U.S. citizens. Now the President is doubling down with another racist act that will make it virtually impossible for those who seek help at the southern border to get refuge here.

“Trump’s war on asylum-seekers is a war on America’s values and a rejection of our country’s proud history of immigration, which has made us stronger and more prosperous. His immigration policy is fatally flawed and morally bankrupt, and it is responsible for many of the problems we are facing today. Now he is seeking to compound the problems he created with a rule that violates international laws and norms, and tramples on due process and human rights. The courts must intervene. In the United States of America, every immigrant family and every asylum-seeker should be treated with compassion, dignity and respect.”