Sen. Jon Ossoff questions Trump immigration actions of 'separating families'

In a letter, Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Osoff urged Homeland Security "to reprioritize threats to public safety in immigration enforcement" and use humanitarian parole to keep families together.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he's demanding answers about reports that the Trump administration is prioritizing separating families instead of focusing on threats to public safety when it comes to immigration enforcement.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, Ossoff cited the cases of two immigrant mothers who were recently deported and separated from their children.

The first woman, Heidy Sánchez, was detained during a routine immigration check-in appointment in April and deported to Cuba without her U.S.-citizen baby daughter, who has a history of seizures and was still being breastfed. Sánchez's attorney, Claudia Cañizares, told NBC Miami that the woman "had no criminal records."

Heidy Sánchez with her husband, Carlos Valle, and their daughter.Courtesy Carolos ValleImmigration authorities didn’t comment on the case. The Trump administration has said in previous comments that deported parents have been given the choice to take their children or not.

The second woman, Yorely Bernal, was deported to Venezuela in April without her 2-year-old despite having authorized her removal alongside her daughter's. The toddler was instead taken into U.S. custody and bounced around three foster families before being reunited with her mother in Venezuela.