The visit comes a day after President Trump caved to pressure and signed an executive order aimed at ending the family separations that stemmed from his «zero tolerance» immigration policy.
Melania Trump made a surprise trip Thursday to Texas to visit children separated from parents under the president’s «zero tolerance» immigration policy.
«I’m here to learn about [the] facility to which I know you housed children on a long-term basis. And I also like to ask you how I can help to these children reunite with their families as quickly as possible,» she said at the Upbring New Hope Children’s Shelter in McAllen, NBC reported.
The first lady also thanked government care providers and law enforcement on the unannounced trip.
The trip is surprising for a first lady who has taken a back seat when it comes to her husband’s policy matters. She recently resumed public appearances after more than three weeks away from the spotlight following a hospitalization to treat what her spokeswoman called a «benign kidney condition.»
A spokesperson for the first lady said the trip was «100 percent her idea. She absolutely wanted to come,» NBC reported. President Donald Trump was the first to announce that his wife was «at the border.» He made the remarks to reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
The facility houses some 60 children, ages 12 to 17.
The first lady is expected to visit one other facility housing children detained as a result of the «zero tolerance» policy put forth by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April.
After administration officials repeatedly said that only Congress could end the separations of children from families illegally crossing the border, Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday aimed at doing just that.
The zero tolerance policy that aims to prosecute every migrant entering the U. S. illegally, including those with children, however, has not been changed.
