In about- turn, Trump halts migrant family separations

■ Spectacular U- Turn in US on separation of immigrant families

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday reversed his controversial decision on immigration by signing an executive order to end the separation of immigrant families on the USMexico border, after images of children in cages and audio of them crying for their parents sparked global outrage.

“I did not like the sight of families being separated,” Mr Trump said while signing the executive order, but added the administration would continue its “zero tolerance policy” of criminally prosecuting anyone who crosses the border illegally.

Mr Trump signed the executive order following widespread protests against the move of his administration to separate children from their parents who illegally enter the country.

Mr Trump’s climbdown came after he faced intense pressure from across the political spectrum and from religious, political and world leaders to halt the separations, which led to days of heartrending news coverage of crying children — some of whom were kept in cage- like detention centres.

I did not like the sight of families being separated — Donald Trump, US Prez

Washington, June 21: US President Donald Tr- ump on Thursday reve- rsed his controversial decision on immigration by signing an executive order to end the separation of immigrant families on the US- Mexico border, after images of children in cages and audio of them crying for their parents sparked global outrage.

“I did not like the sight of families being separated,” Trump said while signing the order at the White House, but added the administration will continue its “zero tolerance policy” of criminally prosecuting anyone who crosses the border illegally. Trump signed the order following widespread protests ag- ainst the move of his administration to separate children from their parents who illegally enter the country. In recent weeks, more than 2,500 such children were separated from their parents.

“We’re keeping families together, and this will solve that problem. At the same time, we are keeping a very powerful border and it continues to be a zero- tolerance. We have zero tolerance for those who enter US illegally,” Trump said.

The order, signed by Trump, asks the Department of Homeland Security to keep families together while people await trial for illegal border crossing. But cases where there is a concern that parents “would pose a risk to the child’s welfare” were exempted from the executive order.

Trump said the executive order is about keeping families together while making sure that they have a very powerful and strong border.

— AP US President Donald Trump gives the pen he used to sign the executive order to end family separations at the border to homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen ( left) as vice- president Mike Pence watches in the Oval Office.