3:15 PM – Washington time:
President Trump, facing a national outcry, signed an executive order Wednesday to keep migrant families together at the border, abandoning his earlier claim that the crisis was caused by an iron-clad law and not a policy that he could reverse.
Although the order says the “zero tolerance” prosecution policy will continue, contradicts Trump’s statement last week that the problem of family separations could not be resolved by an executive order. He also suggested Wednesday that the move would be accompanied by efforts to pass immigration legislation.
2:00 PM Washington Time —
Multiple media outlets are reporting that President Donald Trump will sign an Executive Order ending the process of separating children from their parents who illegally cross the southern border.
“I’ll be signing something in a little while that’s going to do that,” he told reporters at the White House. “I’ll be doing something that’s somewhat preemptive and ultimately will be matched by legislation I’m sure.”
According to POLITICO the process will likely come from a draft proposal presented by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is working with White House lawyers to draft an executive action that will end the Trump administration’s practice of separating migrant families at the border, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Things are happening quickly and besides DNS other governmental agencies are involved including but not limited to the office Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense.
Because the centers run by DNS and overseen by HHS are at capacity at this point look for the DOD to be tasked with the job of housing the families. It is not yet clear how and when the children being held will be returned to their parents.
The change of plans by President Trump comes after a national outcry for his harsh Zero Terence Plan to be ended. It was bi- partisan and there was pressure on Republicans in the House and the Senate to force the president to stop the action. It was two stories broke by Associated Press and quickly picked up by news outlets throughout the world that brought the issue to a massive story.
First came the AP story, which detailed “play rooms of crying preschool-age children in crisis.” When the news broke MSNBC host Rachel Maddow broke down and cried on her Tuesday night television show.
Then came the revelation last night also from AP that there would be special centers that would house infants and small children. That caused more pressure to be placed on the White House to stop the policy and calls to Congress to make sure it ended soon.
Meanwhile, since early May, 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the Southern U.S. border, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as part of a new immigration strategy by the Trump administration that has prompted widespread outcry.
An executive order allowing families to stay together could pose a legal problem for the administration if it decides to detain families as units.
Indefinite detention of minors would violated the Flores Settlement cecause it requires release to the “least restrictive environment” within 20 days.
If the President acts, it will be challenged immediately.
For instance, the parties that secured the Flores Consent decree would go back to the district court and argue that the government is in violation of the court order.
There will be multiple bills introduced tomorrow in hopes of getting the immigration situation controlled better. But it is still unclear if there is a bill that can pass through both the House and the Senate. We will keep you posted here at News Talk Florida.