USA TODAY International Edition
Trump battles wave of outrage
Homeland security chief says detainees cared for
President Donald Trump, his attorney general and his homeland security chief staunchly defended a “zero-tolerance” immigration policy Monday amid growing outrage over the separation of children from parents accused of illegally trying to enter the country.
Some Republicans and their supporters, from former first lady Laura Bush to evangelist Franklin Graham, spoke out against the policy.
Through the end of May, almost 2,000 children were separated from adults who said they were their parents or guardians.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the policy at a National Sheriffs’ Association meeting in New Orleans. At a White House event, Trump blamed Democrats.
How the policy works
In April, Sessions announced a policy to refer all cases of immigrants detained for illegal entry for criminal prosecution. The rules prohibit detaining children, who are not charged with a crime, with their parents.
Nielsen blasted news media reports for misrepresenting the conditions at holding facilities. “We operate according to some of the highest standards in the country” and provide food, medical attention and educational opportunities, she said.
Bush blasts ‘immoral’ policy
Bush, the former first lady, wrote an op-ed piece for The Washington Post, published late Sunday, that
took the policy to task. She wrote that as a resident of a border state, she appreciates the need to protect the nation’s boundaries, “but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart.”
Earlier, first lady Melania Trump weighed in through her communication director, Stephanie Grisham. Trump, Grisham told CNN on Sunday, “believes we need to be a country that follows all laws but also a country that governs with heart.”
“The United States will not be a migrant camp, and it will not be a refugee holding facility.” President Donald Trump
Trump calls out Democrats
Immigration changes could be accomplished “very quickly” if Democrats would negotiate in good faith, the president said. “Good for the children, good for the country, good for the world,” he said. “It could take place quickly.”
Trump said the United States has the world’s worst immigration laws, “horrible and tough.” He said security was paramount.
“The United States will not be a migrant camp, and it will not be a refugee holding facility,” Trump said. He said that “a country without borders is not a country at all. We need borders. We need security . ... We have to take care of our people.”
Schumer blames back
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republican measures that would trim legal immigration and strengthen border security have little support in Congress – and Trump knows it.
“As everyone who has looked at this agrees, this was done by the president, not Democrats,” Schumer tweeted Monday. “He can fix it tomorrow if he wants to, and if he doesn’t want to, he should own up to the fact that he’s doing it.”
Sessions: Build the wall
Sessions said the number of immigrants crossing with children increased sharply during the Obama administration as immigrants determined they would not face criminal prosecution if caught.
“We cannot and will not encourage people to bring children by giving them blanket immunity from our laws,” he said. “If we build the wall, if we pass legislation to end the lawlessness, we won’t face these terrible choices.”
Clinton calls situation ‘horrific’
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called the situation “a moral and humanitarian crisis.” Speaking at an awards lunch for the Women’s Forum of New York, she said what was happening to families at the U.S.-Mexico border is “horrific.”