President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday claiming to end the separation of children from their parents at the border, by jailing them together while their legal cases wind through the courts. The order does not say where the families will be detained or whether children will continue to be separated from their parents until the facilities are ready.
President Donald Trump: “We want security for our country. The Republicans want security and insist on security for our country. And we will have that. At the same time, we have compassion. We want to keep families together. It’s very important. I’ll be signing something in a little while that’s going to do that.”
Critics warn the order will lead to the indefinite detention of entire families. And the Trump administration has so far not outlined any plans for reuniting children already separated from their families. At least 2,300 children have been separated since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” policy in April, with The Intercept reporting the number jailed since last October could be as high as 3,700.