Trump says the U.S. won't be a 'migrant camp' on 'my watch'

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/NBCNews)

published 18 June 2018

President Trump started Monday's National Space Council meeting with a not-so-spacey announcement.

"The United States will not be a migrant camp, and it will not be a refugee holding facility," Trump said, addressing the growing controversy around his administration's policy of separating children and parents at the border. He then reiterated the falsehood that Democrats are responsible for the "horrible laws" and won't come to the negotiating table to fix them.

"If the Democrats would sit down instead of obstructing, we could have something done very quickly," Trump said at the meeting. Trump can single-handedly end family separation immediately, per CNN.

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As for Trump's claims of obstruction, Democrats are firmly opposed to both GOP-led immigration bills containing border wall funding, but the bills aren't related to child separation and haven't even been voted on yet. Trump is likely holding out on ending family separation to force Democrats to negotiate on the bills, CNN suggests.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.