Under growing pressure from lawmakers in both parties, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that would allow illegal immigrant families detained by U.S. border authorities to remain together in many situations, ending an outcry over forced separations which took young children from their parents.
“I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated,” the President told reporters in the Oval Office, as he signed the new plan, which was drawn up as more and more Republicans publicly said Mr. Trump’s border crackdown had become a PR nightmare.
“The border is just as tough, but we do want to keep families together,” the President told reporters, as he repeatedly emphasized that an early May “zero tolerance” prosecution policy for those caught crossing the border illegally would continue.
The signing represented a rare retreat for the President on any controversial policy during his administration; in recent days, top officials had repeatedly said there was no requirement that families be separated, but under current federal law, that option was triggered when parents of the kids were prosecuted, under the ‘zero tolerance’ plan.
It was that Trump Administration change which resulted in families being separated in recent weeks, spurring multiple news stories about young children, taken hundreds of miles away from their parents.
“We have to have strong borders, and ultimately it will be done right,” the President declared.
Mr. Trump had tried in recent days to place the blame on Democrats in Congress, saying his hands were tied on the matter of family separations, as top officials said the law left them no leeway for change.
“What about executive action?” the President was asked during an impromptu press conference with reporters on the White House driveway last Friday.
“You can’t do it through an executive order,” Mr. Trump replied.
But that’s what he ultimately did.
Here is the text of the Executive Order, as provided by the White House:
The President’s move came amid a growing firestorm of criticism in Congress from members of both parties in the Congress, stirred by stories of young children taken away from their parents.
“This must stop NOW,” tweeted Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), as he noted a story from his home state, where an 8-month old baby had been brought, after being taken from her parents.
“He can sign an executive order today,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), who was blocked on Tuesday from visiting a group of detained children at a federal facility in Homestead, Florida.
“This shameful chapter in American history lies with the President and his pen,” Nelson said, arguing the President started these separations, and should halt them.
“We must stop the madness, and stop it now,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
“America is weakened in the eyes of the world,” added Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA).
“This is a policy straight from the pit of hell,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).
GOP leaders also made clear they wanted the Trump Administration to change course.
“As I said last week, we do not want children taken away from their parents,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, as he urged GOP lawmakers to unite behind a pair of immigration bills which are expected to be voted on Thursday.
But while the Speaker and other Republicans said provisions in those bills would fix the family separation matter – those plans would not advance through the Senate – making it unlikely that Congress could anything done on the family separation matter.
That left the President with just one option – an administrative reversal on something that he had fiercely stood behind the effort.
The change on illegal immigrant families came in early May, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” policy dealing with those illegally coming over the southern border.
"Today we are here to send a message to the world: we are not going to let this country be overwhelmed," Sessions said in that May 7 speech.