Senate GOP leaders say they support plan to detain immigrant families together

Senate Republican leaders say they are supporting a plan to detain immigrant families in custody together to avoid separating children from parents at the border.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that all Senate Republicans are supporting the plan. He said he’s reaching out to Democrats for bipartisan backing, since the proposal would need to reach the 60-vote threshold for approval in the Senate.

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The second-ranking Republican, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, said they’re proposing a “humane, safe and secure family facility” where parents and minor children could be detained together. He said families would move to the head of the line for processing.

The consensus emerged after a “robust” and “spirited” private GOP lunch, leaders said. The Senate could vote in a matter of days, possibly this week.

McConnell did not provide details of the plan. House Republicans are working on a plan that would keep children in detention longer than now permitted – but with their parents.