Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan said Wednesday that Congress can change federal law to stop the separation of families at the southern border.
"[Congress] can easily fix it," Homan said during an appearance on "Fox and Friends."
"If they really want families to stay together, make one change: make a change to the TVPRA trafficking act," he continued, referring to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. "Let us detain families for several weeks until they get to see a judge, and we'll stand by that decision."
The Trump administration has triggered bipartisan backlash by implementing a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal border crossings, charging all individuals who cross the border illegally with unlawful entry. People who claim to seek asylum are also charged with unlawful entry and taken into custody until their case is processed. Federal law prevents children from being held in the same detention facility as those charged with unlawful entry, causing border patrol agents to separate children from their families.
While Congress can stop the separation of families, Homan said lawmakers do not want to fix the problem.
"There's a certain segment of those on [Capitol] Hill that want this to be an issue," he said.
"Fox and Friends" host Brian Kilmeade then asked Homan whether President Donald Trump can address the separation issue through executive order.
"Could the president do that with an executive order, keep the families together, build more facilities, and get them in front of a judge, or could we immediately turn them around the minute they show up?" Kilmeade asked.
"The president's hands are tied. There is legislation, there's court decisions on this that limit how long we can detain children. Congress can really fix it," Homan responded. "Rather than going down to do their dog and pony shows on the southwest border, rather than vilifying the men and women of ICE, rather than call us Nazis and racists, sit down, do your job, and fix it."
"Let us detain the families," he added. "I want them to have their hearings, too. I want them to see a judge. But when we release them, they don't show up in court. Make a process where if they want to make a claim, talk to a judge. But, when that decision is made, and most of them are frivolous claims, they need to go home."
Homan said the government cannot release individuals who illegally enter the U.S. because that would encourage more illegal border crossings.
"We did that back in [fiscal year 2014] when this surge first started. We held them long enough to see a judge. Most of them lost their cases. They got on a plane and went home, and the numbers went down," Homan said. "But now they've figured out these loopholes. 'Now they can only detain us for two weeks.' We can't do the process that quick, [so they] get released in society. That is an enticement for more illegal entry. The American people need to understand that you're being fed falsehoods by many people in the media and the Hill."