Trump, GOP leaders strain for solution on migrant children
WASHINGTON— Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump searched Tuesday evening for a way to end the administration’s policy of separating families after illegal border crossings, with their focus shifting to a new plan to keep children in detention longer than now permitted— with their parents.
GOP leaders and lawmakers, increasingly fearful of voter reaction in November, met with Trump for about an hour at the Capitol to try to work out some resolution. Trump told rank-and-file Republicans he was “1,000 percent” behind them on their rival immigration bills. But it was unclear if that’s enough of a strategy boost to pass legislation through the divided GOP majority.
“We had a great meeting,” he called out as he left.
Leaders in both the House and Senate are struggling to shield the party’s lawmakers from the public outcry over images of children taken from migrant parents and held in cages at the border. But they are running up against Trump’s shifting views on specifics and his determination, according to advisers, not to look soft on immigration or his signature
border wall. Many lawmakers say he could simply reverse the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy and keep families together. But some worry the lack of a clear resolution could exacerbate an already tough situation as his party heads toward difficult midterm elections.
During the closed-door session, Trump said his daughter, Ivanka, told him the situation with families at the border looks bad, one lawmaker said.
“He said, ‘Politically, this is bad,’” said Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas. “It’s not about the politics, this is the right thing to do.”
But Trump touched on many topics, including Trump’s historic visit to North Korea. And he took a jab at Rep. Mark Sanford, congratulating the South Carolina Republican on his recent campaign, according to those granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. Sanford, a frequent Trump critic, lost his GOP primary after Trump tweeted against him.
As Trump walked out of the closed-door meeting in the Capitol basement, he was confronted by about a half-dozen House Democrats, who yelled, “Stop separating our families!”
House GOP leaders scrambled Tuesday to produce a revised version of a broader immigration bill to include a provision to resolve the situation of family separations.
The major change unveiled Tuesday would loosen rules that now limit the amount of time minors can be held to 20 days, according to a GOP source familiar with the measure. Instead, the children could be detained with their parents for extended periods.
The revision would also give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to use $7 billion in border technology funding to pay for family detention centers, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and commented only on condition of anonymity.
In the Senate, meanwhile, Republicans are rallying behind a different approach. Theirs is narrow legislation proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would allow detained families to stay together in custody while expediting their deportation proceedings.
Cruz’s bill would double the number of federal immigration judges, authorize new temporary shelters to house migrant families and limit the processing of asylum cases to no more than 14 days—a goal immigrant advocates say would be difficult to meet.
“While cases are pending, families should stay together,” tweeted Cruz, who is in an unexpectedly tough re-election battle.