Melania Trump Visits Migrant Detention Center In Texas
CHICAGO (CBS) -- First Lady Melania Trump has arrived at a detention center in Texas housing immigrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"First Lady Melania Trump has arrived in Texas to take part in briefings and tours at a nonprofit social services center for children who have entered the United States illegally and a customs and border patrol processing center," the White House's Office of the First Lady said in a statement. "Her goals are to thank law enforcement and social services providers for their hard work, lend support and hear more on how the administration can build upon the already existing efforts to reunite children with their families."
Trump first spoke out against separation at the border on Sunday, saying that she "hates" seeing children taken away from their parents.
Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order ending the policy of separating immigrant families who cross the border illegally. Under the administration's zero-tolerance policy, all adults caught illegally crossing the border are to be prosecuted. While adults await legal processing and prosecution, their children are put in the custody of a division of the Health and Human Services Department.
The president's executive action is not a permanent fix. It does not override the Flores consent decree, which means that the children could still likely be separated from their parents after 20 days.
In his Cabinet meeting Thursday, Mr. Trump mentioned that his wife would visit the border.
Images and audio depicting children in these detention centers crying for their parents, who face deportation and other illegal immigration processes, have caused a national uproar.
The family separation policy has caused a bipartisan outcry from lawmakers and governors. And all five living first ladies have spoken out against the measure, which stems from Attorney General Jeff Sessions' zero-tolerance policy for illegal immigration at the southern border.
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