BORDER/CHILDREN/DHS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House was thrown into turmoil after a handful of photographs of school-aged immigrant children, held behind fences in detention centers, ignited on social media. President Donald Trump and top aides including policy adviser Stephen Miller felt deeply frustrated that these images, which dated back to the Obama administration, were getting pinned on them, according to people familiar with the reaction. So they created a special working group to do what this White House does best — push back and shift blame to Democrats through presidential tweets and a rare on-the-record briefing by Miller. In reality, Trump’s own administration has increased the likelihood of family separation with a new policy to refer anyone suspected of crossing the border illegally for prosecution, including asylum seekers. The change is in keeping with the ‘shock and awe’ tactics favored by top White House policy aide Stephen Miller, the architect of last year’s travel ban, which was initially blocked by courts after creating widespread chaos at airports. The shift has brought tensions to a boil between some administration officials and the White House over how far they can push immigration policy, both legally and politically.”
-Nancy Cook and Ted Hesson, “Blowback over border separations amps up tensions inside Trump administration,” Politico, June 4, 2018 5:05 am