What does Dino Rossi think about Trumps immigration policy? Hes not saying.
Republicans like Laura Bush say the policy is "cruel" and "immoral." Stranger Video

Republican Dino Rossi wants to be elected to Congress in Washington's 8th District, which includes fruit-growing parts of this state where voters are very attuned to the details of US immigration policy.

So you'd think Rossi, who hopes to be given the power to help chart this country's direction, would have a public position on Trump's family separation practices, which have been getting massive attention since last week. But if he does, he's not sharing it with The Stranger.

Rossi's spokesperson hasn't responded to an e-mail query I sent yesterday asking for his position on family separation. His web site doesn't offer any sort of statement. The last post on his Twitter feed is from Father's Day. It shows Rossi smiling with his very intact nuclear family.

This is extra odd given that no matter what unfolds, Congress will be a key part of addressing the US immigration crisis. As a Congressman, Rossi would have to decide whether he wants to embrace Trump's "zero tolerance" agenda or, as other Republican members of Congress are doing, push back against the president's lies on this issue.

But with prominent Republicans like Laura Bush calling Trump's immigration policy "cruel" and "immoral," Rossi's unwillingness to tell The Stranger what he thinks is curious.

He's not alone in declining to comment. Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse (WA-5) failed to reply to The Stranger's query, as did Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-3).

Washington State has four Republican members of Congress. Three of them have taken no position on Trumps family separation policy.
Washington State has four Republican members of Congress. What are their positions on Trump's family separation policy. CHIP SOMODEVILLA, ELAINE THOMPSON-POOL / GETTY

But over in Washington's 5th District, Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers is showing that it's quite possible for this state's Republicans to be like Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and loudly share a position on Trump's "cruel, tragic" policy.

Here's the statement that McMorris Rodgers, presently the highest ranking woman in the US House, sent over in response to my query yesterday:

First, I do not believe the government should separate children from parents who are awaiting adjudication for breaking federal immigration law. As Americans, the land of freedom and opportunity, as a people who are warriors for human rights and human dignity, these policies are inconsistent with our nation’s values and everything we stand for.

I believe that the administration should stop the practice of separating families on their own. However, President Trump has made it clear that Congress must make a formal policy change. Congress can and should fix this by passing a law that clarifies separation shouldn’t happen when families are apprehended illegally crossing the border. That is what I am working with my colleagues in the House right now to do.

Again, I don’t believe in tearing families apart, but I also believe that people need to be coming to America legally, which is why I support increased border security efforts so families aren’t put in this situation. The new Goodlatte bill that I helped negotiate, the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act, will fix this family separation problem and authorize funding for construction of the border wall, close enforcement loopholes, end catch and release, reform the legal immigration system, create a merit-based visa program, and provide the DACA population a bridge to the legal immigration system and earn legal status in our country.

Alright. Now where's Rossi? Where's Newhouse and Herrera Beutler?

I'll update this post if I hear back from them.

UPDATE:

Looks like Rossi did respond to a query from Q13, telling the station:

It should not be U.S. policy to separate parents from their children. Congress should address this immediately by passing legislation to fix this problem along with the rest of our broken immigration system.

Republican Congressman Dave Reichert, whose seat Rossi wants to fill, offered a brief statement here.

And King 5 has now received statements from Herrera Beutler and Newhouse.

All of these statements come a week and a half after Democrats running for Congress in the 8th released their joint statement:

Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s cruel policy of separating families at the border has made its way to Washington state. Mothers are currently being held in the SeaTac Detention Center, and they have no idea where their children are.

There are moments in history that transcend politics. This is one of them. That’s why we’re taking a brief break from the campaign trail to come together as Democrats — and as Americans — to reject this policy and call for its immediate end.

The solution to our immigration debate should not be to rip children away from their parents. We should all agree on that.

Unfortunately, our Washington state Republican elected officials in Congress — and Dino Rossi — have stayed silent, refusing to put American values ahead of Party loyalty. While our Democratic Senators and Representatives are working with others across the country to bring an end to this atrocious practice, our Republican members of Congress have refused to join them. Our country is better than this. Our country must be better than this.