CHILDREN/DEMS/DHS/GOP/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republicans are lining up two measures for potential floor votes – both a conservative bill and one that is the product of negotiations involving centrists in the chamber. But prospects for some kind of legislative breakthrough have been imperiled by controversy over the Trump administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy, which has led to the separation of immigrant children from adults at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security has separated 1,995 immigrant children from 1,940 adults at the border between mid-April and the end of May, sparking a public outcry Republicans didn’t expect to be grappling with as they tried a last-ditch effort to pass a bill to beef up border security and potentially find some sort of legal status for the ‘dreamers.’ Suddenly the dreamers, those brought to the U.S. as children, and the wall are no longer the biggest flashpoints in the debate. The White House has hit back forcefully against a wave of criticism, with the president suggesting that Democrats are actually to blame for his policy. The White House press shop released a statement Friday [6-15-18] faulting Democrats for the separation of American families who have been victims of crime by illegal immigrants. And in a tweet last night, the president doubled down on his effort to put Democrats on the spot.”
-Joshua Jamerson, “GOP Nears Moment of Truth on Immigration,” The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2018 7:13 am