Trump urges Republicans to drop immigration effort

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US President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers on Friday to drop their efforts to pass comprehensive immigration legislation until after the November elections that he hopes will see more party members voted into Congress.

The Republican president, faced with a public outcry over his policy that separated children from their migrant parents at the US border with Mexico, tried to refocus the immigration debate on Congress in a series of early posts on Twitter.

Despite Republican control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the party’s slim 51-49 majority in the latter chamber makes some Democratic support necessary to pass most legislation.

US President Donald J. Trump addresses the National Federation of Independent Businesses 75th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, DC, June 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Elect more Republicans in November and we will pass the finest, fairest and most comprehensive Immigration Bills anywhere in the world," Trump said on Twitter.

"Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November. Dems are just playing games, have no intention of doing anything to solves this decades old problem. We can pass great legislation after the Red Wave!" he said.

The US House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a bill favored by conservatives that would have halted the practice of splitting up families and addressed a range of other immigration issues.

A protester wearing American flag-themed clothing sits on a sidewalk during a 'Families Belong Together' rally outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on Thursday, June 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

The bill was defeated in a 231-193 vote, with 41 Republicans joining the opposition. The House also postponed, likely until next week, a vote on a more moderate bill in order to try to drum up more support.

Voices from UN

The UN on Friday acknowledged Washington’s decision to stop separating migrant families at the US-Mexico border but insisted that detaining children with their parents was not the solution.

"Children should never be detained for reasons related to their or their parents'migration status," UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

File photo:Ravina Shamdasani of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. /AFP Photo

"It is never in the best interest of the child for them to be detained," she said.

The UN, she said, is calling for the "US to just overhaul its migration policies, urging the country to find "community-based alternatives to detention for children and families."

The UN children's agency UNICEF also vehemently opposes the policy, spokesman Christophe Boulierac told reporters.

"We are working with governments to change that," he said, insisting that there are "alternatives which are working," including appointing community members who can guarantee that a child will show up in immigration court.

Source(s): Reuters