U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed down and abandoned his policy of separating immigrant children from their parents on the U.S.-Mexico border, after images of youngsters in cages sparked outrage at home and abroad.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order requiring that immigrant families be detained together when they are caught entering the country illegally for as long as their criminal proceedings take.
However, the order also means that immigrant children could remain in custody indefinitely.
Legal challenges
The Trump administration still faces legal challenges because of a court order that caps how long immigration authorities may detain minors. A Justice Department official was unable to clarify whether family separations would end immediately or when and how families now separated would be reunited. The Trump order, an unusual reversal by him, moves parents with children to the front of the line for immigration proceedings but it does not end a 10-week-old “zero tolerance” policy that calls for prosecution of immigrants crossing the border illegally under the country’s criminal entry statute.
“It’s about keeping families together while at the same time making sure that we have a very powerful, very strong border,” Mr. Trump said as he signed the order in a hastily arranged Oval Office gathering.
Governments from Central America and Mexico welcomed Mr. Trump’s decision on Wednesday, but said they would remain vigilant to ensure the rights of their citizens were respected.
Gene Hamilton, counselor to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, told reporters the Justice Department will seek changes to a 1997 settlement known as the Flores agreement, which set nationwide policy for the detention of minors in the custody of immigration officials.
A federal appeals court has interpreted the Flores agreement to allow immigration officials to detain families for only 20 days.
Any attempt by the government to modify the agreement would likely face opposition from the lawyers who negotiated it.
Funding for border
The Republican-controlled U.S. Congress is considering legislation to address the immigration issue.
The House of Representatives planned to vote on Thursday on two Bills designed to halt family separations and address a range of other immigration issues.
Mr. Trump told House Republicans on Tuesday night he would support either of the Bills. Both House Bills, which Democrats and immigration advocacy groups oppose, would fund Mr. Trump’s proposed wall and reduce legal migration, in part by denying visas for some relatives of U.S. residents and citizens living abroad.
