INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
First lady Melania Trump urged her husband
to stop the policy of separating children from their parents on the border, according to White House officials.On Wednesday, under pressure
from around the world and even his wife, President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order to keep the migrant families
together.Melania Trump's office told CNN over the weekend that she "hates to see children separated from their families" but said it was up
to both political parties to develop an immigration solution
In the past couple of days, she has increasingly made clear to the president that he should use his power to fix the problem."She has become
even more vocal about her thoughts and opinions on the topic," a White House official said Wednesday.Just before the president told
reporters he would reverse course and seek to keep the families together in detention, a White House official said that "from the start Mrs
Trump has been encouraging the president to do all he can to keep families together."The first lady often comments about children being
But the White House was battling a huge image problem about how its border policy was hurting children
Photos of crying toddlers and what critics are calling "baby jails" - the social services centers holding children taken from their parents
- drew criticism from Pope Francis, whom Melania Trump met last year.Former first ladies ratcheted up the criticism, with Laura Bush calling
the policy "cruel" and "immoral," and Rosalynn Carter saying it is "a shame to our country."In the past 24 hours, Melania Trump's own
immigration lawyer began to join the chorus."It reminds us of past mistakes
It's a big disappointment," said Michael Wildes, the New York immigration lawyer who has represented Melania Trump on immigration issues
Born in Slovenia, she is now a U.S
citizen.In an interview, Wildes said the family separation policy evoked the disgraceful internment of Japanese people living in the United
States during World War II and the inhumanity of detention in Nazi Germany.Wildes also represents Melania's parents, Viktor and Amalija
Knavs, and her sister Ines, also from Slovenia.Melania Trump's parents were granted legal permanent residency and are on the path to full
citizenship, Wildes has said in the past
He declined to discuss the specifics of her sister's immigration status.Wildes issued a broader indictment of the White House approach to
immigration, saying the tone and vocabulary of the Trump administration's immigration policy run counter to the nation's history and "moral
compass." He specifically criticized the president's use of the term "chain migration" to describe the long-standing U.S
citizens to assist relatives overseas in obtaining legal residency.The president tweeted in November: "CHAIN MIGRATION must end now! Some
people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil
NOT ACCEPTABLE!"Many immigration experts say that "chain migration" is the most likely way Melania Trump's parents and sisters have been
allowed to live in the United States and be with her.Wildes said the use of the terms "anchor babies" and "chain migration" is an attempt
"to try to change the narrative" and undermine the "beautiful notion of family reunification" - the idea that immigrants arrive, work hard
to help bring their family members over and help "build up our economy and pay it forward to the next generation."Many people who voted for
Trump did so specifically because he promised a tougher immigration policy
Those who support the family separation policy call it an effective deterrent to keeping people from attempting to illegally enter the
And they note the big distinction between lawful migration, which Wildes said Melania Trump and her family followed, and illegal
crossings.The president has sought to deflect the blame for the family separation, particularly trying to pin it on Democrats for not
passing an immigration bill
But many members of his own party are calling on him to stop it.In one particularly emotional post early Wednesday morning, Utah Lt
Spencer Cox, R, wrote: "Can't sleep tonight
My wife wants to go hold babies read to lonely/scared/sad kids."(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
