President Donald Trump and his top aides have given America two main stories about the separation of families at our southern border: It’s an unfortunate byproduct of laws and court decisions that tie the administration’s hand, and it’s a necessary deterrent to illegal immigration.
These are conflicting accounts. If the administration believes the first one, it should welcome legislation to keep families together. If the second reflects its thinking, it should reject such legislation for undermining a valuable tool against illegal immigration.
Take, for example, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s recent comment: “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border.