President Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday that his administration is going a “fantastic job” with detained migrant children, given the “circumstances.”
Trump on NBC’s “Meet the Press” blamed Democrats when host Chuck Todd brought up the fact that the administration cut recreation and English classes at shelters for migrant kids.
“We’re doing a fantastic job under the circumstances,” Trump said. “The Democrats aren’t even approving giving us money. Where is the money? You know what? The Democrats are holding up the humanitarian aid.”
Todd also suggested that the children were being used politically, and the president once again knocked the other side.
“If the Democrats would change the asylum laws and the loopholes, which they refuse to do because they think it’s good politics, everything would be solved immediately” he said. “But they refuse to do it. They refuse to do it. You know what? If they change those, I say, I used to say 45 minutes. It’s 15 minutes. If they changed asylum and if they changed loopholes everything on the border would be perfect.”
When asked about family separations, Trump faulted former President Barack Obama.
“Separation, President Obama, I took over separation. I’m the one that put it together. What’s happened though are the cartels and all of these bad people, they’re using the kids,” he said. “It’s almost like slavery.”
The Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services have asked Congress for more money to deal with waves of immigration.
Meanwhile, immigration attorneys have said that four toddlers were sent to the hospital last week after they were held at a Border Patrol facility.