Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst sent statements when asked by the Register, both defending the Trump administration policy. Grassley said the goal “should always be to keep families together as much as possible.” But he cast the ICE action as a procedural conflict:

“…When families enter the country illegally and then seek asylum, processing that claim often exceeds the legally limited time that young people can be held by Health and Human Services,” he said in a statement. “So the government is faced with the choice of either enforcing the law and temporarily placing children with sponsors or releasing the entire family and run the risk that they fail to appear for their asylum hearing.”

He said families often don't show up for their hearing and simply disappear. “The Trump administration is choosing to enforce longstanding immigration laws,” Grassley said.

Ernst also defended the policy while saying children should be treated properly. “We absolutely need to treat children in our immigration system with compassion and upmost care,” Ernst said in a statement. “I prefer to see children placed in the custody of a vetted sponsor, usually a relative or other parent, to await further processing in the immigration system, rather than in a custodial environment. This is currently the policy of the administration and I support it.”

...https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/06/13/grassley-ernst-support-ice-border-family-separation-daca-cano-pachedo-immigration-abuse-suicide/692265002/