Trump to sign executive order to end family separations at the border

“No one wants to separate families and the president’s action will ensure that those who are crossing our border illegally are detained and our laws are enforced”, he said.

The order says the administration’s policy is to now “maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together”. But, at least for the next few weeks, it would keep families together while they are in custody, expedite their cases and ask the Defense Department to help house them.

“Whether our families crossed the Atlantic, the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we’re only here because this country welcomed them in…” he said.

“The message was that even though the president was a little unclear perhaps in his chat, he was very much in favor of the [compromise] bill”, Rep. Fred Upton (R., Mich.) said in describing the pitch early Wednesday from House Republican leaders.

‘Get it done, always keeping in mind that we must have strong border security’. The official did not know what prompted Trump to change course.

“This is a stopgap measure”, said Gene Hamilton, counsel to the attorney general.

One migrant, known in the complaint by her initials M.G.U., said that she and her three sons aged 2, 6 and 13, fled Guatemala after her family faced death threats. There was already a significant issue as to whether separating children was constitutionally permissible; the question of whether their new housing meets constitutional standards now will be litigated, no doubt. Also, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and the heads of other agencies are ordered to find or construct facilities to house the detained families. Barack Obama has now weighed in on the national conversation by writing Wednesday that the “cruelty” of such actions is un-American, reports The Huffington Post.

The policy has seen every illegal border-jumper criminally prosecuted and nearly 2,000 children separated from their parents in the last two months, as the parents await trial.

Activists are especially concerned that there isn’t a formal system for reuniting immigrant parents with their children after their court proceedings are over.

Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, – usually a reliable Trump ally – also likely played a role.

World leaders are condemning President Donald Trump for his “zero tolerance” immigration policy that’s seen thousands of migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border.

President Trump is reportedly signing an executive order to stop child separation.

Under the current process, HHS works “expeditiously” to place children in care of a sponsor, although there is no time limit in “terms of days”, said Steve Wagner, an acting assistant secretary at HHS.

Homeland Security officials say families who are seeking asylum at the border are also allowed to stay together. Those people were not authorized to speak publicly and commented only on condition of anonymity. “The border is just as tough”.

The president said his wife, Melania, and daughter, Ivanka, who reportedly have been applying pressure on him to drop the policy in recent days, “feel strongly” about ending the practice of separating migrant families. Children can’t be jailed with their parents.

The department has set up new facilities to manage the influx of children, and Wagner said they were prepared to expand as more children come into custody. They crossed through Mexico to reach the US border.

U.S. senator from Hawaii, Brian Schatz termed the order “vague” and said the government was not doing anything to unite separated children with their parents.