“We’re keeping families together and this will solve that problem. At the same time we are keeping a very powerful border and there continues to be a zero tolerance.”
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end family separations at the US-Mexico border.
The policy had come under fire from a wide range of critics – including many hypocritical critics like Justin Trudeau who condemned a policy he has imposed in Canada.
At the signing, Trump said “We’re keeping families together and this will solve that problem. At the same time we are keeping a very powerful border and there continues to be a zero tolerance.”
According to a CNBC report, the executive order includes the following things:
It orders Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen “to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations” to keep families together during criminal proceedings.
The measure says the administration does not have to keep families together “when there is a concern” that detaining a child with a parent “would pose a risk to the child’s welfare.”
It directs Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a request with a federal district court in California to change a legal settlement that curbs the government’s ability to keep children in detention.
It orders Sessions to prioritize criminal proceedings for cases involving families.
You can watch Trump signing the executive order below:
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
