Legislators will vote on immigration bills after the US President ends separation of migrant families
The USu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0088President reversed his policy after an outcry at home and globally over the policy. Pics/AFP
President Donald Trump ordered an end to the separation of migrant children from their parents on the US border yesterday, reversing a tough policy under heavy pressure from his fellow Republicans, Democrats and the international community. The House of Representatives will vote on broader immigration bills that would fund President Trump's proposed border wall and reduce legal migration.
But, Democrats oppose the measures and it is uncertain they will pass. The spectacular about-face comes after more than 2,300 children were stripped from their parents and adult relatives after illegally crossing the border since May 5 and placed in tent camps and other facilities, with no way to contact their relatives. Pictures and accounts of the separations sparked outrage and a rebellion among Republicans in Trump's own party, as well as international accusation that the US was committing human rights violations.
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Donald Trump's executive order calls for the families to be detained together while their cases are considered; (right) Mike Pence
"What we have done today is we are keeping families together," Trump said as he signed the executive order. "I didn't like the sight or the feeling of families being separated." Trump said that even with the change, border enforcement will be "equally tough, if not tougher." Trump had insisted he was bound by the law to split the children from their parents and that only Congress could resolve the problem — before he radically shifted gears.
"We want security for our country," Trump said. "And we will have that — at the same time, we have compassion, we want to keep families together." It also suggests the government intends to hold the families indefinitely by challenging an existing statute that places a 20-day limit on how long children can be detained.
2,300
No. of children separated from their parents since May 5
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