Trump signs executive order to end family separations at border
WASHINGTON — After days of mounting outrage, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday ending the practice of separating immigrant children from their undocumented parents apprehended at the border.
The order came as leaders of both parties, and even the pope, were pushing the Trump White House to end to a policy that was documented with the cries of children separated from their families and placed in detention centers.
Former first lady Laura Bush had compared the practice to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and former CIA Director Michael Hayden compared the detention centers to Nazi concentration camps.
“We are keeping families together,” Trump announced in signing the order.
The order, which took effect immediately, allows the Department of Homeland Security to detain families together pending the outcome of criminal charges filed against adults crossing into the country illegally.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will ask a federal court in California to extend the maximum detention period for undocumented children beyond a court-ordered cap of 20 days.
Critics were not mollified by the order. On a conference call with reporters, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., called the new plan “handcuffs for all.” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., derided the outcome as “baby jail.”
Trump said he shared the concerns voiced by many Americans over the separation of parents and children.
“I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated,” the president said. He added that both his wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka, who serves as a White House adviser, had voiced their opposition.
“Ivanka feels very strongly; my wife feels very strongly about it,” Trump said. “I feel very strongly about it. I think anybody with a heart would feel very strongly about it.”
‘Zero tolerance’ policy
But Trump said the order would keep in place the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy for those who enter the country illegally. That policy, announced in April, led authorities to separate parents and children.
Federal officials will continue to charge all undocumented adults apprehended after crossing the border illegally. Asylum seekers who cross the border at ports of entry can apply for relief from removal proceedings.
The executive order was a rare capitulation for Trump. The president and other administration officials had argued that they were enforcing laws passed by Congress and that the only way to end the wrenching scenes of children crying as they are separated from parents was for Congress to pass new legislation.
As he prepared to sign the order Wednesday, the president blamed Democrats for not dealing with Republicans because their true agenda is “open borders.”
Democrats in Congress gave the president no credit for reversing his own policy.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., contended that Trump did not go far enough with his order.
“We must end the criminal prosecution of asylum seekers, ensure families get a fair chance to make their case before a judge, and explore alternative forms of detention for families,” she said in a statement.
Sen Dean Heller, R-Nev., “believes that the executive order to stop the practice of separating children from their families who illegally cross the border is a positive first step, but legislative action is needed,” spokeswoman Megan Taylor said. “That is why he helped introduce a bill that not only requires family be kept together during their legal proceedings, it would also increase the capacity of family facilities and authorize 225 new immigration judges.”
Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who is running against Heller, said the order “essentially jails families and would still keep innocent kids detained in cages or behind bars for an undetermined period of time.”
Immigration votes due
It is not clear what will happen if U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in central California does not agree to Session’s request to extend the detention period for children. And if she does agree to extend the time, advocacy groups are sure to file lawsuits.
“If the president thinks placing families in jail indefinitely is what people have been asking for, he is grossly mistaken,” said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU.
The House is set to vote Thursday on two broader immigration bills that would prevent family separations. While Democrats have slammed the separation policy, they are unlikely to support either Republican bill.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., 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.
Trump also announced Wednesday that he had decided to cancel annual White House picnic for members of Congress, which had been scheduled for Thursday, because “it just doesn’t feel right” given the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.
