The president say loopholes in the system must be closed
President Donald Trump is defending his Wednesday executive order to end new family separations at the border, but says Congress needs to act to permanently fix the problem.
Speaking before a Cabinet meeting, Trump says “I signed a very good executive order.”
But he says the “only real solution” is for Congress to close loopholes in the immigration system, saying “If we don’t close these loopholes there is no amount of money or personnel in the world.”
Trump backs down. Here’s what Congress should do for border kids | Editorial
As congressional Republicans look to pass sweeping immigration bills Thursday, Trump says Democrats are obstructionists and is accusing them of not caring about the children separated from their parents.
This spring, the Trump administration put in a place a zero-tolerance policy on illegal border crossings, resulting in children separated from families at the border.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan says he was “pleased” President Donald Trump ordered an end to separating children from parents at the U.S. border.
“I was pleased the president took action yesterday to ensure families can remain together while we enforce our immigration laws,” the Wisconsin Republican said at his weekly press conference. “We do not want children taken away from their parents.”
But Ryan stopped short of predicting the House will pass legislation Thursday aimed at resolving broader immigration issues ahead of the November elections.
Trump tweeted earlier that any such legislation is all but doomed in the narrowly-divided Senate.