Updated at 1:15 p.m. ETPresident Trump said on Wednesday he will be signing an executive order to address his controversial zero-tolerance immigration policy that has resulted in thousands of family separations and brought criticism from Democrats and Republicans."We're going to keep families together but we still have to maintain toughness or our country will be overrun by people, by crime, by all of the things that we don't stand for and that we don't want," Trump said.At a brief announcement at the White House, Trump did not provide further details on how families would be kept together or how detentions would be handled going forward. The president had not yet signed the order, but said he would before leaving on a trip to Minnesota Wednesday afternoon.Lawmakers from both parties, mindful of how frequently Trump reverses course, particularly on immigration, where he has repeatedly shifted positions within the course of hours, are waiting to see the details of what the order would do.Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., repeatedly shrugged his shoulders when asked about Trump's announcement. "I don't have much hope with the president that he'll do something that's actually good.""He's thinking of doing something?" asked Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. "I need to see what he actually does to have any real comment."Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, one of 13 Senate Republicans who signed a letter urging Trump to end his administration's separation policy, was also waiting on the yet-unknown details. "If that's what he's done, then that's a good thing," he said.During his remarks Wednesday, President Trump again called on Congress to pass legislation to address the issue created by his administration's policy. The decision to reverse the policy comes despite the fact that administration officials have insisted for days that only Congress could fix the problem.House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Wednesday that the House will vote on immigration legislation, despite signs that the bills up for consideration cannot pass.The House is expected to vote Thursday on a pair of immigration proposals. The first will be a hard-line option written by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., to cut back on both legal and illegal immigration. The second option is a compromise between conservatives and Republican moderates.Both bills include language to end the controversial White House policy of separating migrant parents from their children at the border."Tomorrow we're going to have a vote on legislation that makes sure we can enforce our laws and keep families together," Ryan told reporters at a weekly press briefing. "We don't think families should be separated."Ryan said it is a "ridiculous choice" to decide between separating families and enforcing laws, and both bills up for consideration would take steps to solve the issue.But multiple House Republicans say they don't believe that either bill can pass, even after President Trump told GOP members he would support them on immigration.Conservative Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told NPR's Rachel Martin that both bills represent a compromise, and neither has sufficient support."I don't think either of them can pass right now," Davidson said. "The compromise that's most recent is a compromise within a compromise."Trump told Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday night that he would support them "1,000 percent" on immigration but did not specifically back either bill.Meanwhile, Democrats spent the morning calling on Trump and congressional Republicans to end the policy in speeches on the House floor. Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., opened a series of speeches saying "as we stand here, a five-year-old woke up in a cage.""This morning, Mr. Speaker, that innocent little child is crying in a cage," Lewis said. "And we stand here doing nothing." Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org/.
Trump Says He Will Sign Order To End Family Separations
