White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday “nobody likes” the Trump administration’s policy of separating families who cross the border illegally, but indicated President Trump will not act unilaterally to change it.
“As a mother, as a Catholic, as somebody who’s got a conscience … I will tell you that nobody likes this policy,” Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Congress passed the law that it is a crime to enter this country illegally. So if they don’t like that law, they should change it,” she added.
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this year that the Justice Department would enact a “zero tolerance” policy and aggressively prosecute adults attempting to cross the U.S.–Mexico border illegally. At the time, Sessions acknowledged the process could lead to children being separated from their parents upon being apprehended.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the policy, arguing that it acts as a deterrent against illegal immigration.
Democrats and Republicans, however, have spoken out against the practice.
Trump administration officials have argued that the policy is in place because Democrats won’t agree to negotiate stricter immigration laws. Conway echoed that assertion on Sunday, claiming Democratic lawmakers are holding up funding that would allow the expansion of family detention centers.
The family separation policy needs to be part of a larger discussion about immigration laws, Conway said. She called on Congress to simultaneously address Trump’s border wall and the fate of the immigrants left in limbo after the president rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“This is an issue, and if the Democrats are serious and a lot of the Republicans are serious they’ll come together, they won’t just talk about the Dreamers or the wall or catch and release, it’s all of the above,” Conway said.