President Trump huddled with House Republicans on Capitol Hill Tuesday evening ahead of expected House votes on two immigration bills this week.
The big picture: This is a crucial week for both the president and Republicans amid growing backlash over the administration's widely condemned policy of separating immigrant children from their parents when apprehended at the border. Meanwhile, Trump signaled he supports both bills — leaving it unclear which piece of legislation has the upper hand.
In the last several days, pressure has mounted at increasing rates on the Trump administration to change its hotly-contested policy of separating children from their parents apprehended at the border.
The big picture: Trump and administration officials have repeatedly refused to accept responsibility for what has quickly become a symbol of his crackdown on illegal immigration, blaming Democrats and Congress instead. But change is being demanded across party lines, from state and federal legislators who are using their power to reverse the widely condemned policy.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold its biannual summit July 11-12 in Brussels. The meeting will bring together senior leaders of the 29 member countries and comes at a time of tension for the alliance. Since taking office, President Trump has consistently criticized other members for insufficient defense spending, which he sees as creating a disproportionate burden on the U.S.
The big picture: Almost since the inception of the alliance, these have been contentious questions. In fact, a 1989 RAND Corporation study of burden-sharing noted that the past 40 years had seen “innumerable” pages of legislative testimony and reports on the subject and that debate would continue as long as NATO exists.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that the state intends to file a "multi-agency lawsuit" against the Trump administration "for violating the Constitutional rights of immigrant children and their families who have been separated at the border."
Why it matters: Despite the intense backlash to the policy, this is the first indication of a lawsuit intended to force the administration's hand in ending what Cuomo calls "a moral failing and a human tragedy." The governor adds that the goal of the suit is to "protect the health and well-being" of children identified as being held in federal facilities across the state.
“The interior ministry recently released the criminal statistics and they speak for themselves. We’re seeing small, positive developments, and we must of course continue to do more on the fight against crime.”
— Merkel said at a press conference
Be smart: Germany's Interior Ministry reported in May that the country saw its lowest crime levels since 1992.
Several governors vowed Tuesday not to deploy their state National Guards to the southern border, bringing the total number of governors retaliating against the Trump administration's hotly-contested child separation policy to seven.
Why it matters: Despite the policy's sweeping federal power, these governors are using their state governments to fight the administration's decision.
Former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer James Wolfe, who has been charged with lying to the FBI, requested a gag order for anyone involved in his case on Tuesday — which would prevent even President Trump from talking about it.
The big picture: Trump told reporters last week, "It's very interesting that they caught a leaker...it's a very important leaker," despite how Wolfe was not accused of leaking confidential information, but of lying to the FBI about providing private information to reporters. Wolfe's lawyers believe that commentary from Trump or others would infringe upon the former Senate security director's right to an impartial jury.
A McClatchy review of federal data suggests the Trump administration may have lost track of 6,000 unaccompanied migrant children, more than the 1,500 kids federal officials previously acknowledged.
Yes, but: The children are not actually lost, per federal officials. In many cases the children's location couldn't be determined because their sponsors hadn't returned phone calls from federal officials checking on them. (These are not the same as the migrant children who have been separated from their families under the administration's "zero tolerance" policy at the border.)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that to solve the separation of immigrant children from their parents — an issue that has polarized the immigration debate in Washington — the legislative "fix" would have to be a narrow proposal rather than a broader immigration package.
"We're going to fix the problem. ... In order to fix this problem, you can’t fix all of the problems. ... Therefore it would need to be a narrow fix."
— McConnell at a press conference
Why it matters: While both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to propose solutions, McConnell's suggestions conflicts with what the White House is seeking. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday said it wouldn't consider a bill that doesn't include broader immigration reforms.
The CEOs of Facebook, Apple and Google added their voices Tuesday to the tech industry's growing roster of opposition to the Trump administration's border policy, which is separating children from parents accused of immigrating illegally.
Why it matters: Many tech companies embrace the idea that they're forces for good. As political controversies in the U.S. deepen, their users and employees increasingly expect them to take stands.
President Trump doubled down on the administration's immigration policy removing children from their parents after they illegally cross the border in a spirited speech to the National Federation of Independent Business.
The big picture: Trump showed no backing down from the immigration policy despite public pushes from citizens and lawmakers to do so. Trump said, under current law, there are only two policy options. Either have "totally open borders or criminal prosecution." The policy should be a "merit based system," he said.
Democrats' advantage over Republicans in competitive swing House districts increases from a three-point lead to a 10-point lead when they make the race about gun violence prevention, according to a new poll conducted by Global Strategy Group for Giffords PAC, a group that backs stricter gun laws.
Why it matters: Embracing a stricter platform on guns and talking about it on the campaign trail could help Democrats gain ground in dozens of Republican districts — ultimately helping them take back the House.
Brad Parscale, President Trump's 2020 campaign manager, tweeted Tuesday that Trump should fire Attorney General Sessions and end the Mueller investigation, calling it "phony."
The Trump administration is finalizing a plan to remove the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg citing two people familiar with the matter.
The big picture: The administration had long planned on leaving the council because of allegations that it was biased against Israel. In May, following news that Israeli soldiers killed 58 Palestinians on the Gaza strip, the U.S. blocked a U.N. call to investigate the deaths.
Editor's Note: This post has been corrected to fix an earlier headline that described the Human Rights Council as the Security Council.
The Department of Homeland Security didn't investigate hundreds of civil rights complaints in 2017 alleging detainee abuse filed across all of the department's agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reports Motherboard, citing a Freedom of Information Act submission.
Why it matters: The allegations come at a time when the department is under heavy scrutiny for enforcing a policy that separates parents seeking asylum in the United States from their children.
Donald Trump Jr. and George P. Bush had formed an unlikely alliance despite their fathers, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, loathing each other — with Don Jr. backing George P. in his re-election campaign for Texas land commissioner, and even planning to headline a New York fundraiser for him on June 25.
What we're hearing: Two sources close to Don Jr. tell Axios that he has decided to pull out of the fundraiser due to the Bush family’s opposition to his father. Most recently, Jeb Bush tweeted that “children shouldn’t be used as a negotiating tool” and that President Trump should end his “heartless policy” of family separation.
President Trump falsely claimed that crime rates have gone up in Germany as migrants have entered the country in a Tuesday morning tweet, stating — without citing any evidence — that German officials had attempted to cover up that fact.
Reality check: Germany's Interior Ministry reported in May that the country saw its lowest crime levels since 1992.
Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party and interior minister in Italy's new populist coalition, has called for a registry of all Roma (known pejoratively as gypsies) living in Italy, and for those without citizenship to be expelled.
Yes, but: Luigi Di Maio, leader of the Five Star movement and Matteo's coalition partner, has called that order "unconstitutional."
The bigger picture: Salvini has already contributed to a showdown in Europe over immigration by turning away hundreds of rescued migrants. Germany's Angela Merkel, meanwhile, is facing her own coalition split on immigration, and is facing a rapidly approaching deadline to secure a European deal on how to deal with migration.
Some in the tech industry raised their voices Monday to oppose the Trump administration’s policy of separating families accused of entering the country illegally — from CEOs condemning the practice to workers of all ranks contributing to fundraisers to help affected children. At the same time, Microsoft came under fire for its role supplying tech to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Context: It's not the first time the immigration debate has become a flashpoint in the strained relationship between Silicon Valley and President Trump. Just weeks into his presidency, tech CEOs spoke out against Trump’s travel ban, and many execs have been vocal on the DACA debate surrounding Dreamers.
President Trump's comments defending his zero-tolerance border policy "sent his clearest signal yet ... that he intends to make divisive, racially charged issues like immigration central going into the campaign season," the N.Y. Times' Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman report.
Why it matters: "This fear-oriented approach reflects the degree that Mr. Trump has put his anti-immigration imprint on the Republican Party."
Separating children from their parents at the border and keeping them in temporary detention centers is a form of child abuse, the head of the American Academy of Pediatrics said yesterday.
What we're hearing: “This does amount to child abuse. These children have been traumatized in their trip up to the border, and the first thing that happens is we take away the one constant in their life that helps them buffer all of these horrible experiences,” AAP president Colleen Kraft said on CNN.
President Trump is entering a new phase of his presidency: He's now dealing in real-time with the consequences of his policy decisions.
The big picture: For 30 years, Trump told America what it'd be like if he were in charge. Better deals, richer, safer, smarter. All rhetorical and theoretical. He could make all sorts of hyperbolic promises with no fear of being disproven. He could eliminate the national debt by eliminating a few agencies and cracking down on "waste, fraud and abuse." He could prevent terrorism by banning all Muslims from entering the country. He could build a big, beautiful wall and get Mexico to pay for it. He could deliver the best health care system anyone had ever dreamed of.
The Wall Street Journal's lead editorial warns today: "The GOP’s Immigration Meltdown ... Restrictionists may cost Republicans their majorities in Congress."
What we're hearing: Nevertheless, West Wing sources tell Axios that President Trump has shown little indication that he'll climb down from the zero-tolerance border policy that's separating thousands of children from their parents.
The separation of children from their parents has become so toxic that lawmakers are scrambling to propose solutions — but they may not be able to overcome the finger-pointing between the Trump administration and Congress.
Between the lines: Although they don't all agree that it's Congress's responsibility, lawmakers of both parties are offering solutions. But it's unclear whether they'll be able to agree on anything that can pass both chambers, and the White House said Monday it wouldn't consider a bill that doesn't include broader immigration reforms — an issue that isn't anywhere near resolution.
Nearly 2,000 child migrants have been separated from their parents in the six weeks following the implementation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' "zero-tolerance" policy, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Here's how it happens.
Bottom line: This started with the Justice Department’s “zero tolerance” policy at the border. But it was empowered by the Department of Homeland Security, which began forcibly separating families arrested for crossing the border in order to send the adults to DOJ for prosecution.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday that he hopes the administration's new policy that separates children from their parents will serve as a deterrent to other immigrants considering crossing the border illegally.
