Trump signs executive order to stop ‘separating families’ but maintains ‘zero tolerance’
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to solve the issue of family separation at the border.
The policy keeps in place key components of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy of prosecuting illegal border crossings along the U.S-Mexico border.
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While the administration will continue prosecuting crimes of “improper entry,” the administration will “maintain family unity, by detaining alien families together where appropriate and consistent with law and available resources.”
Families will now be held together during the process of prosecution and deportation at the border.
“We are keeping families together and this will solve that problem. At the time we are keeping a very powerful border and it continues to be a zero tolerance, we have zero tolerance for people that enter our country illegally,” Trump said.
He added that no one has had the “political courage” to take care of the issue which he claims has gone on for over 60 years.
“I didn’t like sight or the feeling of families being separated it’s a problem that’s gone on for many years, too many administrations,” Trump said, adding that his daughter Ivanka and first lady Melania Trump both felt strongly about images of young children separated from their families at the border, saying “anybody with heart would feel strongly about it.”
“You’re going to have a lot of happy people,” the president remarked as he signed the order.
He noted that the administration would still be working with Congress to find a legislative fix to the immigration problem.
Full text of the new order HERE
TIME Magazine covers features Illegal Immigration Photo/TIME
[…] Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday dismissed a legislative proposal backed by Republican leaders to keep immigrant families together at the border, arguing that President Trump could fix the problem more easily with a flick of his pen. A move he ultimately did take, signing an executive order. […]