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President Trump's executive order keeps families together, but critics say it's a band aid

It's great news for the families and children being held but it only buys enough time for Congress to iron out a permanent fix.

Washington — With international outrage over children being separated from their parents who are being deported, the President has just signed an Executive Order which stops the process while still enforcing the Administration's Zero Tolerance Policy.

It's great news for the families and children being held but it only buys enough time for Congress to iron out a permanent fix. And as one Republican aide told me…it's just a band aid.

The Executive Order was drafted by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. It keeps families together after they are detained crossing the border illegally,
and while they are waiting for a decision on their deportation.

"Anybody with a heart would feel very strongly about it. We don't want to see families separated. At the same time, we don't want people coming into our country illegally," the President said.

In signing the order, the President abandoned his earlier claim that the crisis was caused by Law, and not a policy that he could reverse.

But he reiterated his commitment to keeping our borders safe and implementing the zero tolerance policy, explaining, "The borders are just as tough…just as strong. They can come in through points of entry if they want. That's a whole different story and that's coming in through a process. And the process is what we want."

He pointed out that the broken immigration policy has been going on for years. And that families and children were also separated in previous administrations, included under President Obama.

It was because of the influx of undocumented immigrants purposefully bringing in children, following the Flores Agreement. Signed in 1997, it limits the time children could be separated from their families. Adults knew they would be released until a hearing, if they came with children. They would then ignore those hearings, while still staying in the country, something critics called “Catch and Release”.

"Through the years the Latino people understood now,” said immigration attorney Margaret Wong. “So, they're taking over children that are not even their own children. That sort of screwed it up for the real families who are escaping violence."

The President called on Congress to do its part and draft legislation to change our immigration policy, which he expects will maintain one of his biggest campaign promises: to build a wall.

Now the challenge is the reunification process. With more than 2,200 families separated since May, it's going to be a nightmare trying to reconnect them. Additionally, in the past, some parents haven't been able to relocate their child and remain permanently separated.

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