Trump backs down over family separation
President stops children of illegal immigrants being removed after pressure from his wife and daughter
Donald Trump has backed down and promised to end the separation of illegal immigrant families at the Mexican border amid pressure from his wife, Melania, and daughter, Ivanka. The US president also faced an international backlash and senior Republicans expressed concerns after more than 2,000 children were separated from their parents on the border in just two months. Images of children in wire cages blanketed American television.
DONALD TRUMP yesterday said he would act to end the controversial separation of illegal immigrant families at the Mexican border after interventions by his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka.
He had also faced a backlash from some senior Republicans concerned about the impact of the “zero-tolerance” policy on their chances of winning mid-term elections in November.
Mr Trump’s policy of detaining and prosecuting everyone who crosses the border illegally, and placing their children in separate shelters, resulted in images of youngsters in wire mesh cages blanketing US television screens over the last week.
The Republican leadership in Congress scrambled to set up a vote on a bill today that would end family separations, but there was uncertainty over whether it would pass. Mr Trump said he would act “pre-emptively” and sign an executive order to stop children being removed from their parents.
Speaking at the White House he said: “We have to be very strong on the border, but at the same time we want to be very compassionate. We’re going to keep families together. But we still have to maintain toughness.
“If you’re really, really pathetically weak the country’s going to be overrun with millions of people. And if you’re strong then: ‘You don’t have any heart’... perhaps I’d rather be strong, but that’s a tough dilemma.”
The president said he had been personally affected by the images from the border. He said: “These images affect everybody. But I have to say we want both. We want the heart, but we want strong borders. We don’t want people from the Middle East using children to get over our border.”
Mr Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy will remain in place, with all illegal immigrants detained and prosecuted, but families would be held together.
The White House faced a possible court battle as a previous legal ruling barred children being held in deten- tion for more than 20 days even if they were with their families.
Mr Trump revealed in a private meeting with Republican politicians that his daughter Ivanka had lobbied him privately to change course.
Melania Trump was also believed to have repeatedly urged an end to the separation of families. Following a meeting between the first couple and the Spanish king and queen on Tuesday, Mrs Trump pointedly wrote on Twitter that she had “enjoyed tea and time together focusing on the ways we can positively impact children”. She also wore a dress by Valentino, from a collection whose designer was inspired by cultural melting pots and “finding the harmony in difference”.
Hours before the announcement, Theresa May had “clearly and unequivocally” condemned his border policy. She said: “The pictures of children being held in what appear to be cages are deeply disturbing. This is wrong.”
More than 2,000 children have been separated from their parents on the Us-mexico border since April.
Under the Obama administration, illegal immigrant families were usually subject to civil, rather than criminal, deportation proceedings, which meant they were not separated.
Mike Coffman, a Republican congressman who had a meeting with Mr Trump on Tuesday night, said the president came under pressure from members of his own party. “Absolutely he blinked,” Mr Coffman said.
Mr Trump said Republicans should “not feel guilty” about images from the border, and blamed Democrats. He said: “It’s the Democrats’ fault, they won’t give us the votes.”