House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul said Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security is working with the White House on an executive order to stop the separation of parents and children who are taken into custody at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“[D]HS is working with the White House to draft executive action on this issue and I urge the president to use every authority available to him to end this practice,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a statement.
“As a father of five, I have been distraught over the images coming from our southern border of children being taken away from their parents without knowing when they will reunite. This separation policy must come to an end,” he added.
McCaul’s comments came after President Trump told reporters his staff was working on drafting a policy that would not cause minors and adults to be separated after the parent was referred to the Justice Department for prosecution.
“We have compassion. We want to keep families together. So I’ll be signing something in a little while that’s going to do that,” Trump said. “I’ll be doing something that’s somewhat preemptive, but is going to be matched by legislation.”
[Also read: Melania Trump calls for ‘heart’ in family separation situation on the border]
If family units are kept together, it’s not clear if the minors would join the adults in jail facilities while the parental illegal entry cases are processed or if they would be held at Department of Homeland Security or Department of Health and Human Services facilities.
The separation of families was born out of Attorney General Jeff Sessions April announcement of a zero tolerance policy for illegal immigration. Illegally entering the U.S. is misdemeanor, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection had not referred adults within family units to the Justice Department for prosecution.
Sessions in April instructed all offenders to be referred for prosecution and because children cannot accompany their parent to jail, the families were forced to be separated. HHS is then responsible for taking custody of the child.
