BORDER/CHILDREN/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday [6-20-18] that ends the administration’s policy of separating migrant families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, abandoning the president’s previous stance that only Congress can fix the problem…And the president continued to say that the underlying issue remains one for Congress to fix, titling the document an ‘executive order affording Congress an opportunity to address family separation.’ The order came after Trump and his team faced harsh criticism from lawmakers, activists, religious leaders and former first ladies over the separation of children from their parents in custody, which was panned almost universally as cruel and damaging to the kids’ well-being. It was a remarkable shift from a president who is typically reluctant to bow to outside pressure. He often doubles down on his existing stance when confronted with criticism. With cable news flashing images of migrant children held in cages and lawmakers’ offices facing a flood of angry phone calls, the president was under increased pressure to come up with a speedy solution.”
-Andrew Restuccia and Lorraine Woellert, “Trump signs executive order halting family separations,” Politico, June 20, 2018 5:50 pm