Parents, kids struggle to connect; Trump slams ‘ phony stories’
McALLEN, Texas— Two days after President Donald Trump ordered an end to the separation of families at the border, federal authorities Friday cast about for jail space to detain them together, leaving hundreds of parents in the dark on when they would be reunited with their children.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted a notice saying it is looking into creating 15,000 beds for use in detaining immigrant families. A day earlier, the Pentagon agreed to provide space for as many as 20,000 migrants on U. S. military bases.
Beyond that, however, there was nothing but frustration and worry formany of the parents separated from their children and placed in detention centers for illegally entering the country over the past several weeks.
Some parents struggled to get in touch with youngsters being held in many cases hundreds of miles away, in places like New York and the Chicago area. Some said they didn’t even know where their children were.
Trump himself took a hard line on the crisis, accusing the Democrats of telling “phony stories of sadness and grief.” He met with parents who had children killed by immigrants in the country illegally to make the point that they are the real victims of weak borders.
“We cannot allow our country to be overrun by illegal immigrants,” the president tweeted.
More than 2,300 children were taken from their families at the border in recent weeks. A senior Trump administration official said that about 500 of them have been reunited since May.
In yet another abrupt reversal by the president, Trump in a tweet on Friday told fellow Republicans in Congress to “stop wasting their time” on immigration legislation until after the November elections.
On Capitol Hill on Friday, the mood was gloomy, particularly among the more centrist Republicans who have been pushing the party’s immigration compromise. That bill would provide $ 25 billion for Trump’s border wall and set new limits on family visas in favor of merit- based entry — but also create a path to citizenship for young “Dreamers.” It seemed to be losing— rather than gaining — support ahead of rescheduled voting next week. Trump had publicly backed the bill earlier in the week.
“It’s a horrifically chilling signal,” said a retiring Republican, Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, who recently lost his primary election after frequently criticizing Trump.
Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho said lawmakers who are counting on Trump to provide a presidential nudge should reconsider. “He changes so frequently that anybody who depends on that, I think, is in trouble,” he said.