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In
June, Trump abandoned his policy of separating immigrant
children from their parents on the U.S.-Mexico border after
images of youngsters in cages sparked outrage at home and
abroad.
But some Trump administration officials have said the policy,
under which some 2,600 children were separated from their
parents, was needed to secure the border and deter illegal
immigration.
Trump seemed to support that argument on Saturday.
"If they feel there will be separation, they don't come," he
said of migrants during comments to reporters at the White
House.
Trump also claimed, without providing evidence, that immigrants
were "grabbing children and they're using children to come in to
our country in many cases."
He stopped short, however, of committing to a new round of
family separations.
"We're looking at a lot of different things having to do with
illegal immigration," he said, again calling on Congress to pass
immigration legislation. "We're going to do whatever we can do
to get it slowed down."
A new policy could establish illegal immigration as a major
theme in mid-term congressional elections on Nov. 6, when
Democrats are seen as having a good chance of regaining control
of the House of Representatives.
Katie Waldman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland
Security, said on Saturday there was a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico
border with rising numbers of adults entering the country
illegally with children.
"DHS will continue to enforce the law humanely, and will
continue to examine a range of options to secure our nation's
borders," she said.
Following reports that Trump might again authorize family
separations, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and
Representative Jerrold Nadler on Friday called on the
administration to "provide a full accounting of their previous
failed efforts."
A government audit released earlier this month said the Trump
administration's "zero tolerance" immigration crackdown at the
U.S.-Mexico border earlier this year was plagued by a lack of
preparation, resource shortfalls and communication failures.
The audit found that hundreds of migrant children were detained
for longer than the three-day limit allowed at U.S. Border
Patrol facilities, including one who was held for 25 days.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang)
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