House struggles to unite behind bills
Neither GOP measure seems to have enough support for passage
WASHINGTON — Speaker Paul Ryan is pushing ahead with votes on rival House GOP immigration bills, but neither appears to have enough support for passage, prompting President Donald Trump to take executive action Wednesday to stem the crisis of family separations at the border.
Trump has said he’s “1,000 percent” behind both GOP bills, but restive House Republicans have all but begged GOP leaders for more clarity about what the president would actually sign. Public outcry is mounting over the family separations, but so far, there’s no clear roadmap for Thursday voting on the emotional issue dividing Republicans.
With the immigration bills teetering in the House, the White House launched an eleventhhour push to try to bring Republicans onboard.
A group of wavering lawmakers was sent to the White House to meet with Trump in hopes he can persuade them, confirmed the office of Rep. Steve Scalise, the GOP whip. Back on Capitol Hill, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was set to meet with a larger group of House Republicans.
But congressional action remains uncertain. Facing condemnation of the family separations from across the political spectrum, the White House took action.
Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order drafted by Nielsen that directs her department to keep families together after they are detained crossing the border illegally.
“We’re going to have strong, very strong borders, but we’re going to keep the families together,” said Trump, who added he didn’t like the “sight” or “feeling” of children separated from their parents
More than 2,300 children were separated from their families at the border from May 5 through June 9, according to DHS.
Under the administration’s policy, all unlawful crossings are referred for prosecution — a process that moves adults to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and sends many children to facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Under the Obama administration, such families were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation.
Ryan told reporters he prefers to see parents and children detained together in custody, as the GOP bills would codify into law.
“We do not want children taken away from their parents,” he said.
As Republicans met privately Wednesday to discuss their legislation, House Democrats brought about two dozen immigrant children to the chamber floor in an unusual morning protest that defied House rules as they condemned the separation of families at the border.