Trump suggests family separation policy deters migrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid bipartisan pushback, President Donald Trump says he’s not looking to revive the much-criticized practice of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border.

But he also suggested Tuesday that the policy had worked to deter migrants from coming into the U.S. Without it, he claimed, “they’re coming like it’s a picnic, because let’s go to Disneyland.”

Immigration experts say his policies and practices are contributing to the surge of migrants.

The potential reinstatement of one of the most divisive practices of Trump’s tenure was just one aspect of the upheaval at the Department of Homeland Security this week that culminated with Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s resignation.

Republicans expressed concerns about the shake-up orchestrated by the White House and cautioned that leadership changes wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem.