President Donald Trump is defiantly holding the line on his zero-tolerance policy toward illegal immigrants, urging Democratic lawmakers to give in and accept his legislative immigration demands.
If you don’t have Borders, you don’t have a Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018
Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018
We must always arrest people coming into our Country illegally. Of the 12,000 children, 10,000 are being sent by their parents on a very dangerous trip, and only 2000 are with their parents, many of whom have tried to enter our Country illegally on numerous occasions.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018
#CHANGETHELAWS Now is the best opportunity ever for Congress to change the ridiculous and obsolete laws on immigration. Get it done, always keeping in mind that we must have strong border security.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018
Trump’s tweets defending the practice come as his administration is criminally prosecuting anyone who enters the U.S. illegally. The criminal prosecution results in a brief separation of illegal family units and has drawn immense criticism from the media and Democratic lawmakers.
Trump and the White House have instead said that if Congress wants the practice to end, they must instead pass his preferred immigration legislation through Congress, which would fund his border wall, end chain migration and end the diversity visa lottery system.