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| US child migrants: Melania calls for end to Trump's separation policy | US child migrants: Melania calls for end to Trump's separation policy |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| US First Lady Melania Trump has called for an end to the policy of separating parents and children illegally entering the country from Mexico. | US First Lady Melania Trump has called for an end to the policy of separating parents and children illegally entering the country from Mexico. |
| Mrs Trump "believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart," her spokeswoman said. | Mrs Trump "believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart," her spokeswoman said. |
| Her comments follow growing controversy over President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy. | Her comments follow growing controversy over President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy. |
| In a recent six-week period there were nearly 2,000 family separations. | In a recent six-week period there were nearly 2,000 family separations. |
| Adults who try to cross the border, many planning to seek asylum, are placed in custody and face criminal prosecution for illegal entry. | Adults who try to cross the border, many planning to seek asylum, are placed in custody and face criminal prosecution for illegal entry. |
| As a result, hundreds of minors are now being housed in detention centres, and kept away from their parents - a policy which rights groups have criticised as unprecedented. | As a result, hundreds of minors are now being housed in detention centres, and kept away from their parents - a policy which rights groups have criticised as unprecedented. |
| In her rare intervention, Mrs Trump said she "hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle [Republicans and Democrats in Congress] can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform". | In her rare intervention, Mrs Trump said she "hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle [Republicans and Democrats in Congress] can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform". |
| Mr Trump has blamed a law "Democrats gave us" for the policy, but it is unclear which law he is referring to. | |
| In a tweet on Saturday he urged Democrats to work with Republicans to create new legislation. | |
| However, critics have pointed out that detaining children separately from their parents was a policy announced by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month and does not require congressional action to be stopped. | |
| The policy has divided Republicans, with its defenders pointing out that children are routinely taken from parents accused of crimes. | The policy has divided Republicans, with its defenders pointing out that children are routinely taken from parents accused of crimes. |
| The additional child detentions - reportedly including babies and toddlers - have resulted in some shelters and foster homes reporting that they are running out of space. | The additional child detentions - reportedly including babies and toddlers - have resulted in some shelters and foster homes reporting that they are running out of space. |
| On Sunday, Democratic members of Congress paid a "surprise Father's Day visit" to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in New Jersey, demanding to see detainees separated from their children. | On Sunday, Democratic members of Congress paid a "surprise Father's Day visit" to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in New Jersey, demanding to see detainees separated from their children. |
| Meanwhile, officials announced plans to erect tent cities to hold hundreds more children in the Texas desert where temperatures regularly reach 40C (105F). | |
| Local lawmaker Jose Rodriguez described the plan as "totally inhumane" and "outrageous", adding: "It should be condemned by anyone who has a moral sense of responsibility." | |
| Protesters marched to one such tent city in Tornillo, Texas, on Sunday where hundreds of children were being held without their parents. | |
| They chanted "Families united!" and "Free our children now!", reported NPR. | They chanted "Families united!" and "Free our children now!", reported NPR. |
| In the first two weeks of the "zero-tolerance" approach, 658 minors - including many babies and toddlers - were separated from the adults that travelled with them, according to US border officials. | |
| But the practice was reportedly happening before that with more than 700 families affected between October 2017 and this April. | |
| In many of the cases, the families have been reunited after the parent was released from detention. However, there are reports of people being kept apart for weeks and even months. | |
| Family separations had been reported in previous administrations but activists say the numbers then were very small. |