US Immigration: President sticks to hardline stance after separation policy

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Europe

02:37

The head of US Customs and Border Protection says he will temporarily stop criminal referrals, which separate migrant families. Still, President Donald Trump is demanding tougher restrictions for immigration. CGTN'S Jim Spellman explains the White House's stance.

Outrage continues to grow over U.S. immigration policy that has separated thousands of migrant children from their families.

SAMANTHA CLEMENCE PROTESTER "It's inhumane. It breaks my heart, and it needs to stop now. And they need to reunite the families that they've already traumatized."

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order meant to stop the practice. According to US officials, more than 500 children have been reunited with their families by Monday, but some two thousand remain separated-- transferred to facilities around the country while their parents await criminal immigration proceedings.

Some Democratic lawmakers have toured facilities holding some of the children.

ELIZABETH WARREN US SENATOR "Little girls who are 12 years old are taken away from the rest of their families and held separately, or little boys, and they're all on concrete floors in cages. There's just no other way to describe it."

Trump is defending his handling of the issue-- blaming Democrats for blocking attempts at comprehensive immigration overhaul that would include funding for a massive wall along the border with Mexico.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "They refuse to sit down and draw an agreement that's good for security and good for everybody. We need merit-based immigration. You know, we're taking in people that will never help us as a country."

But Trump's own party has failed to pass a bill in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. On Sunday, Trump suggested migrants may be denied due process of law, tweeting:

"We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country. When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came."

ELIZABETH WARREN US SENATOR "That's not what our country stands for. We are a people who believe in the worth of every human being. And we do have a system of laws in this country."

JIM SPELLMAN WASHINGTON DC "The US Department of Defense will build two facilities to house families awaiting immigration proceedings. These temporary camps would be set up at military bases along the border with Mexico. No timetable has been announced on when these facilities will be opened or when all the families will be reunited. Jim Spellman, CGTN, Washington."