captioning spowsored by ur productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: eranging course-- president trump signs an onding family separations, now parents and children will be detaine together. we aren the ground at the u.s.-mexico border. then, a look at why so many e risking it all to make the treacherous journey across the u.s.-mexico border. plus, mr. trump heads minnesota to rally his base-- we hear from voters in the key midterm state as the president's policies get put to the test. and, bringing clean water to the navajo nation-- the struggle to provide basic services to families in the sprawling u.s. reservation. >> it's kind of a shock when you

.ink that people in the u don't have water. we're going to change the livesi of this from the water they were carrying in pickle having running water.ually that's a huge shift for them. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ul >> consumer ce. >> financial services firm raymond james. ♪ ♪ >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundatito. committed mproving lives through invention, in the u.s.

and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful wod. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a sudden shift today at the white house.le the president ed on the e widely condemned practic splitting up undocumented families. congressional correspondent lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> reporter: with a pen, president trump again changed

the fate of thousands of families with an executive order reversing his decision toe enforce w by separating children from parents at the border. >> the border is just as tough but we want to keep families together. anybody with a heart would feel very strongly about it, at the leme time we don't want pe coming into our coun illegally. >> reporter: the change came ah mod a half into the zero tolerance policy, and after a day of intense pressure on the white house. from republicans... >> has the white house beenha ndling this well? >> no, clearly they didn't think this thing through >> reporter: democrats... >> we are here to call on the president to rescind this zero- tolerance policy. this is not about attacking the president. this is about humanity. >> reporter: and protesters, including some shouting at homeland security secretary as she ate dinner at a mexican restaurant last night. president trump announced the

about-face around lunchtime. >> we're gonna be signing an executive order, we're gonna >> reporter: the president'se executder would detain families together, instead of separately.e ministration insists the change does not mean it is backing down from its zeroe toleralicy. mr. trump announced the change to a table full of republican lawmakers, but seemed openly conflicted on the topic. >> if you're weak, which some people would like you to be, if pathetically weak, the country's gonna be overrun with millions of people. and if you're strong, then you don't ve any heart. that's a tough dilemma. ngperhaps i'd rather be st >> reporter: for days the public has seen these images, provided by the administration of some of the shelters for the more than 2,300 kids now separated from their parents. that figure is for the first month alone of the president's zero tolerance policy. it is still not clear how many

are toddle or infants and how long it will te to reunite them with parents. the white house moved quickly to try to ease concern and answer questions, with homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen dispatched soon after the executive order was announced to spe to some 50 house republicans at the capitol afterward, nielsen spoke with reporters. >> good discussion, very good questions, very excited for the vote tomorrow, we're gonna get this fixed. >> reporter: all this as house and senate leaders scrambled to craft long-term fixes to the situation, and as the house moved toward a thursday vote on a larger immigration plan to also address dreamers-- those people who crossed into the u.s. legally as children. >> tomorrow we're going to have a vote on legislation that makes sure we can enforce our laws and keep families together. >> rorter: meantime, preside trump also announced the congressional family picnic at e house-- you see photos of last year's event-- will be postponed. it was set for tomorut the president said the time doesn't

feel right for a picnic. >> woodruff: and lisa joins me now from the capitol where she's been all day. so lee centennial park let's talk about this executive orer. explain exactly what does it do, how does it mesh with existing law? t >> reportee white house had an on-the-record call with a lawyer from the attornce general's of here's what they told us: this hill detain imgrab families together rather an separately as reported. theoretically, judy, it's effective immediatewever, there is an implementation phase that they're not sure how long it will take for this to actuly happen in practice. now, there's a serious question of the legalities here. s there mething called the flores agreement that goes backl to theclinton days. they have ruled that children cannot be detained by this country for more than 20 years in these -- i'm sorry, more than 20 days in these immigrant cases. so the administration is asking for a modification of that ruling to allow them to hold ieese famindefinitely. it is not clear what the administration will do if they don't get that modification.

judy, there is concern hererom e capitol that after 20 days this executive order will be effectively illegal. i talked to virginia congressman and house judiciary chairman bob goodblatt. he says they expect lawsuits based on that flores agreement. so they say cgress needs to passes a more permanent fix, because this executive order is on tenuous legal ground. >> woodruff: lisa, as we saw, you've been talking number of lawmakers, what are they all saying about this turnaround by the administratio? >> reporter: nearly all of them were in the dark, judy. we were telling them ourselves what was in this exe order, but there is relief, especially for republicans. this is something they had been pressing for. they had felt a lot of pressure on this issue. sor democrats, they aren't sure what the future and exactly how they will operate now. they generally don't wan families detained together, but they're happy for this reversal, at least for now. >> woodruff: you mentioned that republicans are trying to

get something passed toorrow in the house. tell us about that? >> reporter: right. this is a significantill. first of all, let's look at what it does. it would give statuto daca or dreamer kids, those brought here illegally as children. it would also have funding for the border wall. it would also decrease legal immigration and it would detain families together. it would be a permanent fix on that. but judy, right now that bill doesot have the votes to pass the house, and, of course, it would still leave open the long-term solution on this issue. woodruff: and so lisa, if the house doesn't come up with a solution, what happenings to these children? we know there has been discussion in the senate. what could they do? >> right. i came from one of the many, many meetings i was at today on the hill, a senate bipartisan meeting, susan collins brought together ted cruz of texas and dianne feinstein of california thtry to mee ir bills together. those deal only with child separatito. secruz would detain families together but try to speed up their processing. senator feinst hn would notve

family detention. she would rather release them pending a hearing. they're trying to put together that t.b.d. bipartisan deal. i think all hope for these kids w long-term rests right the senate trying to work that out. meanwhile, we're watching closely to find out short term what happens to those families already separated,ecause it's not clear yet how soon they can be reunited. the administration hanot answered those questions. >> woodruff: for all that time they were not focused on immigration. they certainly appear to be now. s> reporter: that's right. >> woodruff: lisa rdins, thank you. meanwhile, on america's southern border, the city where the family separation policy was first launched-- el paso texas-- is still receiving migrants fleeing violence from central america and mexico. s many of thk legal asylum upon entry. u.s. officials have maintained that potential asylum-seekers entering at legal border ossing will not be prosecuted urand will be processed in

but as amna nawaz has found, in , is cross-border report from juarez and el pae process isn't always that easy. >> reporter: the years that brought angelica and sofi-- her three-old-granddaughter-- to this moment, on the mexican side of the paso del norte bridge to the united states, are almost too painful for her to recount. when we first met them tuesday nigh they had already been i this migrant shelter in juarez for a month. her family, angelica says, was targeted by mexican cartels, already killing hehusband, son, daughter-in-law, d three grandchildren. getting out of mexico, she says, . a matter of life or dea >> ( translated ): i'm worried my granddaughter's lived through many very ugly things. >> reporter: children are separad are you worried about that? >> ( translated ): yes it makes me afraid that they'll separate me from my granddaughter.d pray that they won't separate me from her. >> reporter: her plan is to try

and legally cross thu.s. border wednesday morning, escorted by ruben garcia, who runs a migrant shelter across the border, in el paso. angelica will carry this sign, announcing to u.s. border protection that she is scared wants to seek an asylum in america. garcia has been helping andho ing migrants fleeing violence for 40 years. lately, he says, even potential asylum seekers crossing legally have been criminalized. wednesday, and a crowd gathers on the mexican side of the bridgeit s 7:18 in the morning right now. angelica and herranddaughter just got here. there's a lot of press. you can see that the w advocates trying to get her across the border think that the more attention that's paid tik her the morey she's going to be able to cross. another family-- a mother with her three kids-- will also attempt cross, seeking ylum, with the group. all the waiting, and all the attention, has angelica move worried than i just want to know how you're feeling. >> ( translated ): fearful. >> reporter: what are you afraid of?

>> ( translated ): how the u.s. government will reond when i ask for asylum. >> reporter: just after 7:30 a.m., the group begins to walk. this journey of a few ndred yards, can take a matter of minutes. ebut angelica and sofi ar stopped by u.s. customs and border protection-- or c.b.p.-- at the international boundary, before they can set foot on u.s. soil, and make an asylum claim. a standoff ensues. >> when people who have already suffered tremendously are sent back into an environment where they are genuinely afraid to be found, i can't see how that would be considered humane. the issue is that all along the >> if capacity wasn't the issue, i guarantee you i'd be allowinge peo come forward right now. >> reporter: stopped before even reaching the bo.rd >> this is the first time in 40t years 've seen this. i've never seen this before.

it hadn't been done before andre thon they do is because they do not want any of these people, any of these refugees, .sto put even their toe on territory. >> reporter: angelica and sofi wait, under a t sun, to learn their fate while a c.b.p. official patiently answers questions. where is the capacity issue? is it at the port of0 ntry about a rds away? >> it's a domino effect, ma'am. there's-there's-the's lots of places within the united states where we process them for their claim that are other famy residential centers. we are folwing right now the existing protocol and that existing protocol is i am not going to allow an unsafe and inhumane situation in our detention center. >> reporter: with each minute, the temperature rises. so do angelica's fears she won't be allowed to enter. but after more than an hour, a c.b.p. official announces the families will be allowed to cross. it's just after 9:00 a.m. when angelica and sofi walk across the border, and into the u.s. port of entry. c.b.p. officials allow the media to document their journey right up until this point. >> i have a suspicion that had we not been with them that they

would have been turned back and that's what has to change, because the law says they have a right and in this particular case these two particularli fa have got some concrete basis for their asylum and they've suffered some very real violence. >> woodruff: amna joins me now from el paso. this is a hrrowing story. how typical is it? >> reporter: well, look, there's a lot that's unique about this story. the vast majority of people who cross the border don't have an t.vocate esc they don't have as much media attention as she and sophie did today. but at the heart of her story, judy, there are some common themes that armmon across a vast majority of people we've heard who are also crossing t border making similar claims, largely fleeing violence in their home countries in central. amer we know those three countries

from which the vast marity of people come, el salvador, honduras, and guatemala. there are definitely some common themes there. the thing peoe worry about is what happens when the cameras aren't there. there are a nutser of repf people making legal crossings who are presenting themselves, saying they wnt to claim asylum and then similar to what angelica went through, being turned away, being prevented from entering the port of entry and making that claim somthe 's right now what immigrants and human rights experts and chiefates say is thei concern. what happens when people aren't looking for the vast majority of lks seeking refuge here. >> woodruff: it was interesting to nnaote, amshe knew there was a policy to keep families separat to, arate children from other family members, but she was coming anyway. this is policy meant among other things to be a deterreis, but in tase it wasn't that. >> that's right. you know, an gel cash as we spoke to her was well aware of

the family separation policy in place. she was aware as she was setting out from the mexican side of the bridge thimorning that policy was still very much in place. she considered her optionsable but for her, judy, she says there wasn't really an option. rdis is something we've hea for people who advocate for the vast majority of people fleeingr violence in thome countries. the forces that are compelling them to flee have not changed. that consideration is this: i want to go home, but home is the mouth of a shark home is the barrel of a gun. when your home holds for youan certain deatthe only option you have is uncertainty and potentially crossing into ao foreign landee what happens for the possibility of saving your lif people we've talked to say that's not really a choice at all. so it wasn't a deterrent in this case, and it ins to be seen if other deterrents would work similarly with these populations. judy? >> woodruff: that certainly came true in her faith.

amna, quickly new york gettingto now her, how was she by the end of the day? >> we should point out at this time she is still in government custody. that's not unusual. people seeking asylum and makg legal crossings are often in government custody for a couple days, two orree days. so we'll follow-up on her story, of course, but right now she being interviewed. they're assessing her claim. and even though she'itmad across the border, there is a lot of uncertainty ahead for her and people in similarruation. -- similar situation.on we know if the paperwork she has is enough to prove guardianship. we don't know if she has enugh for her claim to be adjudicated in court. so even though one hurdle ha now been crossed for them, there's still a great amount ofn rtainty ahead. judy? >> woodruff: really important porting for us to see. amna nawaz, thank you. and in the day's other news: the

trump administration urged a federal judge in saco to block three california laws that protect undocumented immigrants. wsamong other things, the ar police from giving out information on people in jail,n and migration officials from entering work sites without a warrant. the immigration issue is roiling the european union as well, and today, hungary intensified its crackdown. lawmakers amended the constitution to say what they call "alien population" nnot be settled in hungary. the vote camon world refugee day. the civil war in south sudan has created africa's worst refugee crisis in a quarter century. today, the president and opposition leader met for the first time in nearly two years. the talks took place in nearby ethiopia, amid international efforts to negotiate an end to the five-year conflict. trade tensions between the united states and allied nations drew fire today at a senate hearing. commerce secretary wilbur ross was the target.

senators from both parties warned that steel and alinum tariffs will actually hurt u.s. manufacturers, consumers and farmers. democrat michael bennett of colorado demanded to know howta ffs on canada will punish the real culprit-- china.er >> i uand what we are supposed to be doing with china, i don't understand why the president is not focused on it. i don't understand what is the national security rational for putting a tariff on a canadian steel industry with whom we have a trade surplus? >> the only way we will solve the glal steel overproduction and over capacity is by getting all the other countries to play ball. and while they are complaining bitterly about the tariffs the fact is they are startinto take the kind of action which if they had taken sooner would have prevented thisrisis.uf >> woo secretary ross

argued the objective is not to fuel a trade war, but to revive america's std aluminum industries. foe european union meanwhile is speeding up plannew tariffs on $3 billion worth of american products. d the announcement today se penalties will take effect this friday, instead o month. they'll target a range of u.s.od ts, from harley-davidson motorcycles to bourbon to peanut butter.se south korea prnorth korea today to follow through on ogdismantling its nuclear m. in seoul, president moon jae-in called for "far more concrete" plans from pyongyang. moon's comments came as north korea's leader kim jong-un was in beijing for a second day for talks with chinese president xi jingping. kim returned home later. in afghanistan, taliban fighters killed 30 government soldiers in the first attacks since the end of a three-day ceasefire officials said the militants asulted two checkpoints at town in badghis province, then

ambushed reinforcements as they arrived. pro-government forces in yemen say theye scored a new gain in the battle for the red sea port of hodeida. they say they captured the southern runway at the city's airport today. meanwhile, workers with the world health organization issued a new warning about the consequences of the fighting. >> w.h.o. is deeply concerned at the increased fighting in al- hodeida.th al-hodeida fighting puts people, puts more than 600,000 people at risk in al-hodeida, d and we aply concerned that the risk that this has for the port. 70% of people in yemen rely on the port for food and medicines. >> woodruff: also today, the associated press reported hundre of detainees in southern yemen were tortured and sexually abud last march. it happened at a secret facility run by the united ab emirates. back in this country: former new york city mayor michael bloomberg plans to spend $80 million to help democrats in

2018 mid-term elections. the billionaire said in a statement that the last year and a half shows it's a bad idea foo one partontrol both the white house and congress.ea his spending a likely to edceed that of other big donors. f.b.i. agents arre west virginia state supreme court justice, allen loughry today, on a 22-count indictment. he's accused of mail fraud, making false statements and witness tampering. the charges stem from allegations that he lied about allegedly using his office for personal gain. pope francis ordered the retired archbishop of washington, d.c.-- cardinal theodore mck-- removed from public ministry today. the vatican said there's a "credible and substantiated" m claim tharrick abused a teenager in new york, more than 40 years ago. " a statement, the 87-year-old cardinal said he h

recollection" of the incident. d on wall street: the do jones industrial average lost 42 poin to close at 24,657. the nasdaq ros56 points, and the s&p 500 added almost 5. still to come on the newshour: at causes so many central american migrants to seek refuge in the united states, talking with trump supporters about family separation, trade and more, inside the effort to provide running water to the navajo nation, and much more. >> woodruff: let's return to the separation of immigration familiest the u.s. southern border and the impact this is chving on the children. the president haged course

to say he will keep detained families together. but as john yang tells us, there are many concerns about the shelters being used now and what's happening to more than 2,300 children who have been separated. >> reporter: judy, not many details were known about where and unr what conditions the youngest children forcibly separated from their parents at the borderre being held until the associated press reported the locations of three of them. to talk about what's known about them-- and the psychological himpact their detention ce- - we are joined by martha mendoza, an associated press natial writer who helped bre the story, and dr. colleen kraft, a pcticing pediatrician who is the current president of the american academy of pediatrics. she has visited a shelter whe some children have been detained. martdback let me begin with you. what do we know about these shelters, where they are, who is running em? >> sure. we know of three inexas, in the rio grande valley area and a fourth one that's planned for in houston.

and they are run by non-profits that run other children's shelters. altil march they had been run by a groupled international education service for about 30 years. these were shelters fo youngest children. but in march the govener ended that contract. so now two other non-profits are running them. >> yang: and these are being run, as you say, under contract of the government? >> that's right. so the federal government's office of refugee resettleme wintract with agencies tost f basically 24-hour day care centers and take care of these kids >> yang: so these are centers designed for chdren? >> well, actually because until about a month ago the cildren who were staying with their parents when they were very young, so these place had to be reconfigured to make them appropriate for such little children. >> yang: talk about that. so "little children." i know there is some discretion

on the part of theficers at the border about separating children who are i think the term is non-verbal, who aren't speaking yet. how young is too young to beta ng these children away from what your reporting has learned? >> well, the federal government has what they call tender age, which is an interesting term, and some agencies say if you're under 12 you're tender age. some agencies say if you're under five you're of tender age. i have not heard a minimum age at which they will say this kid needs totay with the parent. kids who don't go into these group shelters going to foster care and today i spoke with the largest provider of tht refugee foster care, bethany christian. their youngest is eight months old. >> yang: what can you tell us about that foster care? >> so they have 99 peds in michigan and maryland, and theay gn kids to families who have some training andoster parent

these refugee kids very young. what they told me is that the kids are distraught. heand that's also what war is happening inside these shelters. these kids are very, very frightened.al theyasleep crying, and then they wake up crying. >> yang: that's a good point to bring in. dr. kraft, you vised one of these shelters along the texas border, the mexican border with texas. temperature us what you saw. >> well, i visited the shelt in april 2018, and the first room we visited was the toddle room. we walked in, and the shelter is equipped with toys anbooks and cribs and blankets and has a t homey fe it. but the children were relly remarkable when we walked in there. when you normally walk into a room with toddlers, they are loud and rambunctious and playing and moving around, and these children we're eery

quiet, except for one little child who was crying and sobbing and inconsolable in the middle of the room. next to her was one of thete shworkers who was trying to give her a toy or trying to give her a book, an this child was not respe onding. aff was not allowed to pick them up or touch them or console them, and as an observer and a pediatrician, i felt totally helpless because i know that child needed her mother, and i knew th tat all ofhose children needed their mothers. when you have toddlers who are not interacting with other toddlers and just quiet and looking at you, that is just as abnormal as that child who is crying and wailing. >> yang: and the president, of course, has signed aborder this afternoon endinghis practice. there are going to be... the families are going to be reunited. does that end the problem? or has damage been done?

h soen you separate parents and children, these chiren have increased amounts of distress hormones, the fight-or-flight hormone in their system, and this is already disrupting their development in terms of social and emotional bonding, speech, language, and growth motor. anthey have been traumatized. and so reuniting them with the parents i the first right thng to do. the question is theti implemen. when does that happen? how does that happen? does this family unit stay a place that's comforting or in a place that retraumatizes these children? so there's a lot of questions in terms of tlee impntation of the reunification. >> yang: hw far in the future could we see effects in these children, the effects of the detention? >> the effects of trauma and separation from parents something that you could see life long problems with. the effect is much more highly

manifested with very young children, and from children o have been separated for long periods of time but can be problematic for an child. and we'll have to look at the lens of how do we feel th trauma that's already been inflicted and not have any more trau be inflicted on these children and families. o> yang: are they likely t need care and treatment for this trauma in the future? o> very likely we're going need to see some trauma-focused treatment for these family uni and for these very young children so that they're able to again with parents so that they're able to speak andic comme and learn and develop. >> yang: the administration officials keep saying these children are being cared for in yie best quality possible, but you seem to be s that it doesn't matter, that the fact that they're separated from their parents is the main issue. the foundational relationship between a parent and child is s

what sets thage for that child's brain development, for their learning, for their child heth, for theirult health. and you could have the nicestth facility w the nicest equipment and toys and games, but if you don't hve that parent, if you don't have that caring adult that caner buhe tress that these kids feel, then you're taking away the basic science of what we know helps pediatrics. >> yang: dr. colleen kraft, president of the american academy of pediatrics, and martha mendoza of the association, thanks so much. >> thank you. >>hank you. >> woodruff: the challenges of immigration policy begin far from the u.s.-mexico border. the first step is a family-- usually central american-- starting a long, desperateh. journey no for years the newshour has

reported on the reasons why so many people take such enormous risks to get to the united states.af foreigirs correspondent nick schifrin revisits a few of. their stor >> reporter: the primary reason men, women, and children risk such a perilous passage north, is because it is safer than staying at home. for these people, the united states represents the opportunity for a better life. and the southern border of the u.s.s the difficult-to-reach destination. many are from the area known as the northern triangle of el salvador, guemala, and honduras, where civil wars in the 1980s left a legacy of weak governance and economies, and lautal violence. and as i discovere year, many of their journeys begin with a little optimism and a lot of faith. >> reporter: on this border, the sound of the water is the soundp of the suchiate river separates guatemala from the southern mexican state of chiapas.

raery day, thousands of ce americans cross north, dreaming of more peaceful and prosperous lives. there's no security and no authoritie the rafts are inner tubes with plywood planks. hetire families travel tog women bring their children. each crossing costs 50 cents, but many can't afford that, so, on this day, the water is low enough to walk across for free barefoot. leading the way in the backpacks hee 21-year-old dilber avila and his 15-year-old br eduardo hernandez. they're from honduras. >> ( translated ): we're very poor there. the house we live in is made of mud.ol it couldpse on us at any point. so, we went on our way to look for a better life. >> reporter: they're unsure how far north they will go. they have heard the route is fingerous, but they're hopeful and willing to sac. >> ( translated ): this path is tricky. you never know how it ll go. with the help of our lord watching over us as we travel, we pray, and he sends angels to help us on our journey. reporter: in total, 450,000 people are crossing the border every year.il somejust go for the day to shop or sell. but for many others, this is the

first moment of a lo, dangerous journey north. guatemala, honduras, and el lvador are the world's deadliest countries outside war zones.ma of those who flee the violence do make it to the u.s. and as producer p.j. tobia discovered in 2014, many areie unaccompanchildren. >> reporter: last year, 11-year- old nodwin survived a journey that has killed many adults. veled from honduras to t u.s. border over land almost entirely by himself. he almost drowned crossing the rio grande river near texas in an inflatable raft. >> ( translated ): the poat sufferedcture, and i went under the water, but i managed to grab onto a piece of woodow and that's h i saved myself. >> reporter: he says he made this dangerous journey bause his hometown in honduras has been overrun by criminal gangs. >> ( translated ): big people force the children to sell bad things, and if they don't do it, they rape them or they kill them. >> reporter: nodwin once witnessed a boy his own age gang-raped in a neighborhood

park after the child refused to join a local drug gang. >> ( translated ): they were stripping a kid naked, and i went to tell the kid's mom. later, i went home, but i didn't want to leave my house, cause they could have done the same thing to me. >> reporter: of course, many of the people who try to reach the u.s. are economic migrants, hoping to make money to help their families back home. many cross illegal, start lives in the u.s., but then are caught, and sent back across the border. then they have to deci whether try and sneak back in. >> reporter: jorge rivera uribe is only 19. american dream was to provide money for his two sisters, his wife, his daughterh and his , who has diabetes. >> ( translated ): i don't havee money to take f them. so, i wanted to see if i could o rn more money to give them all a better life, sthey don't have to suffer. >> reporter: in the u.s., he was building homes, making in onewh da it takes a week to make in mexico. but the border is now much more dangerous. last month, he tried to sneak

into the u.s. without paying the $500 charged by local cartels. they almost beat him to death. >> ( translated ): they told me, if they find me crossing again, they will blow my head off. they don't know i'm alive. if they did, they would have come for me. that's why i want to leave here. i won't let them kill me. >> reporter: for the immigrants who are here legally, many integrate and start families. earlier this year, thousands of salvadoran immigrants and theirw familie notified they will lose what's known as "temporary protected status", and will have to leave the united states. and as correspondent fred de sam lazaro discovered, that would mean leaving the homes of their rths. >> reporter: 12-year-old dayna worries about leaving ly home she's ever known, as she and four-year-old brother andres would have to accompany their parents. >> we don't know how it's going to be over there and how are the conditions it is in el salvador. it's like it's kind of dangerous to be there. >> reporter: indeed, enrique velasco, who has made a good living working construjobs

in california, says he worries about returning to anly increasiiolent country. >> my fear is that, a lot of cases, you take all your savings, all your money, and sometimes people canal everything from you. it's not safe. t >> reportediscover what e ght await the velascos, we made the 3,300-miljourney from san francisco to el l,lvador's capian salvador. heavily armed police and soldiers seem everywhere, in t responan epidemic of gang violence over the past two decades, which has emptied entire neighborhoods whose families have fled in . >> last year, el salvador became again the most violent cntry as measured by homicide rates in latin america. >> reporter: to talk more about why so many try to get here, and the impact of the administration's policies, i'm joined by jason marczak, the director of thl'atlantic counadrienne arsht latin america center. m thank you veh for being here.

>> thank you. >> schifrin: the problems that we see in the norther or that we heard from all of those people we just heard from, are they getting any better? >> there are attempts to imrove the problems in the northern triangle, but this is a long-term problem. this s a problat's been brewing for quite some time. it's the result of the ciliv wars in the northern triangle and the lack of full reconciliation, the arm, the guns that pervade as part of that, the gangs, the el salvadorian gangnethat were tr in los angeles and then shipped back home. so the situation, the thee countries is pretty dire. ere's a high level of violence, high levels of violence in rural areas, in communities, domestic violence, as well. people are oftentimes fearful of even walking out their front door, not only because of what high happen to them, but wht high happen to their children, forcible gang recruit. so many people are leaving simply because there's no other option. there is no other option. it doesn't matter ho foceful the policies are at the border,

thople are going to go nor because the alternative is to stay home and to risk their own lives. >> schifrin: so they north, but a lot of them are stopping in mexico now. more are stopping in mexico now, why? >> partly because mexico stepped up their efforts. take us back to 2014 when you had 60 to 80,000cc unapanied minors. at that time mexico decided it was in its inerest to be helpful in this regard and mexico began a southern border program as well as mexico began to do more processing in cuntry of migrants and refugees. so mexico hasee increasingly n the problems in the northern triangle as it's pr aoblem well, and has been trying to work collaboratively much more so than in the pat to try to solve some of those issues. >> schifrin: what the trumpst admition has done on the border, as you just put it, is this policy of up until toay separating parents from children. they say they hope it was a

deterrent from people to comto the border. is there any evidence that it actually deterred people from rdcoming to the bo? >> immigration by push and pull factors. the push factorwill continue, people will continue to leave, while the communities rem vn veolent, and also while there is a lack of economic opportunity. the u.s. has committed since 2014 upward of about $2 billionm most of thney has not flowed into the region itself. this needs to e a long-term plan with a long-term solution. you look at what we didin colombia. 15 years, $10 billion. that's the type of effort,atven more so going to be necessary in the northern triangle to really improve economic condition, but even more so improve the security conditions. n schifrin: does that mean at the end of the da matter what the policy is on the border, it what will have more impact on the flow of peo from central america is what's happening in the central american countries? a>> people don'tnt to leave their families unless they're and most of these migrants are

coming north are coming north because they have no other option. if we can give an option for people to stay home, people will take it. the fear of the unknown of what will happen at the border is oftentimes... that's outweighed by the fear of the known, and the fear of the known is the violence in the countries themselves. >> schifrin: is there anything the u.s. can do at the border to try to prevent people from coming across? >> the real solckution is n country. at the border itself, what's necess py is to have aolicy that keeps families together, a policy that don't result in more hardship for these people. as you saw in the segments beforehand, people have endured an inredibly treacherous journey to come north, and the uned states, which has aways been a country of being welcome and open arm, should recognize how treacherous those journeys were and try to provide the counseling and consultation that will be so critical apeople

endure those journeys but also left an incredibly difficult, n in thesituat countries themselves. >> schifrin: jason marczak, thank you very muchful. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: at the end of this eventful day of news, president trump has flownedo dwest the rally some of his base of supporters. white hospuse corondent yamiche alcindor is also there. >> reporter: leaving the immigration firestorm in washington behind, the president landed iminnesota to meet a far friendlier crowd. it's his first visit to a state he did not win during the 2016 election. he narrowly lost then, and hopes his visit today will bolster republicans here in november. there's a lot at stakers will cast ballots for two senate races, a number of key hougo

races and thrnor's seat. >> we can't be complacent as republicans. >> reporter: trump supporters-- like 58-year-old randy thom-- waited in line for hours. randy traveled from his home in southern minnesota to attend his 33rd trump rally. he supported the president's policy of separating immigrant children from their families. >> well, they are breaking the law.ss they came ache border illegally. if you come across that's breakinghe law. what's messed up is they're showing their kids it's okay to break our laws right off the bat. >> reporter: from trade to north korea to the economy, randy says he is reaping the benefits every day of president trump being in office. >> my business persohas picked up quite a bit. and i attribute it to the economy growing so much. president trump to mhe greatest leader, greatest president that we've had in my lifetime. >> reporter: others who came to the lly wednesday struck a similar tone. >> he's doing a great job. i was so cxcited toome today and potentially be up close and maybe even shke his hand. >> i'm proud that he hasn't

backed down. i'm proud that he has stood behind what he said he was going to do. good work.r: >> reporot everyone in duluth is as welcoming. rich updegrove plans tnd a protest of the president's visit. the high school teacher and democrat sees president trump's policies as dangous, pointing to the administration's family separation policy as particularly disturbing. >> it's inhumane treatment. amnesty international has called it torture that our country is participating in torture. it's hard to imagine that that is really happening here to possibly 2,000 children. it's appalling. it just flies in the face of i think who we want to be ass. americ >> reporter: following the 2016 election, rich is nervous about the future of his state. he hopes voters will see this peelection as a chance to h the president. why is it important to be here? we need to make sure that people see that this is not the new normal. if you don't show up and you

don't raise your voice especially in a conserate way you're never going to change anything and i think we need to show in a community like duluth that we have differents and that will stand behind those values. >> rorter: rich is not alone in this lakefront city. >> i'm here because i feel like the president is a very dangerous man. i think he is uniting, eople in had there's a lot of misunderstanding. and i would like to do my part to just have a voice while i can. >> reporter: despite growing criticism, white house officials say president trp plans to be on the road frequently this summer. >> woodruff: and yamiche joins us now from duluth y. iche, were -- before i can you about some of the people you s"lked with there today, quickly "the new york tis reporting tonight, they're quoting a department of health and humanervices official as saying that there will be no efforts made immediately to reunite the 2,300 children who have been separated from their families back with their parekns. what do yo about that? >> reporter: that's a critical distinction. "the new york times" and several outlets are saying the 2,3 t00

kit are in detention centers are not going to be hagrandfathered into thisnge. the president is blaming mexico for having even signed this he's already in duluth backtracking what he signed today. buhwe know these kids who president said he was proved by are not going to be able to see their parents any time soon. >> woodruff: so yamiche, you have been in minnesota for two days now. you have been talking with folks there. what are they saying about this reversal policy change on the part of the president? >> people are really torn here. they tell me that they want the president to be compassionate, but they also feel like he's caving to unfair essure. the president really has a base here that backs him 100% in almost everything that he does. one man told me, though, that hs eally upset that families aren't going to be separated anymore, because he says theedy o be separated because he want them to have a message tohe not comee, and that american culture is really on the line.

however, another woman, a mther and a grandmother, told me she denteciated that the pre could admit he was wrong and she thought he was doing that today when he signed the executive order. >> woodruff: finally, yamiche, what have you learned about why the president changed his mind after saying there was nothing he could do, it was up to congress? >> well, for more than three years president trump has really been political tef he's been able to navigate scandal after scandal, but today he and republicans learned that their limit was kids in cages. the president was trying to get behind the spectacle that the white house could not avoid. the president's wife, firstdy melania trump, and his daughter ivanka trump, both spoke to the president and appealed to him to do something different here. the thing as you said at the beginning of this conversation, we're in the sure whether or not this executive order is actually going to help the kids that the president was proved by. sot remains to be seen whether or not the president's executive

order will be actual able to help these kids that melania and his daughter were talking to him about. >> woodruff: yamiche alcindor htvering the president ton in duluth, minnesota. thanks, yamiche. >> woodruff: lack of access to running water is an issue in many developing countries, but it turns out it's also a problem in the united states. se sprawling navajo nation reservation is te of west virginia and spreads across 13 counties in new anxico, arizona utah. special correspondent fred de sam laro traveled to theroux, new mexico and has this report on new efforts to get on the grid to get the water. it's part of his ongoing series: agents for change and th week's "leading edge" segment.

she outside patient load literally a lifeline. >> the kids are yelling, running to the water truck when i come up to their house. >> reporter: she's known as the waer lady in gion where 40% of residents have no access uc winning water. many live in sh poverty they can't even afford large ivntainers. often darlene des more than just water, working with her church and other charities, she helps this family at the onset of last winter. >> i brought them food. i brought a.rail we gave out some blankets to cover them. at that time it was snowing. >> reporter: it gets cold here. >> y gets very cold and the only heating we have here is wood.

>> reporter: back at tina bicenti's house, workers have finished the plumbing work and >> i wanted to have my children tove more open space for the run around and to have >> reporter: what they gave up ce some of life's most baen amities in america: electricity and running water. even using the toilet involves a trip to grandma's house. >> i'm planning to get a port-a- potty. i'm planning to get a port-a-potty. d as for the shower anthe bath, i can't do anything until i hav a watene. but like i said, i can't get that.

>> reporter: to get connted to the main water line could take up to 15 years and cost more than $12,000. although bicenti works full- time, she can't afford that luxury right now. >> for a long time we told those people, just wait. ture will catch up with you. well, infrastructure is not coming. >> when the backhoe is active, everyone needs the have hard hat on. >> reporter:hat includes 18,000 homes in the navajo nation. wes are not an option for the homeowners. raere is no guaee of clean water. >> a lack of clean water in the united states does exactly the same thing to families ites around the world. it impacts their health, their ability to hold down a job to, get an education, their ability to spend time with their kids

, play to, have happy life. >> reporter: dig deep's a solution i off-grid system that doesn't require a utility hookup. tina have a -- tina's is one of homes fitterred oth systems t bring drinking water directly into the home. >> it's going to be good because we don't have to hater. we'll have it here. it will allow usve to gi the girls bath in the sink because they're still smal and it will allow good drinking water. >> reporter: as more of these 1,200-gallon cisterns are involved, there is a need r a more convenient water source. ni dig deep is looking for spots drill more com wells like this one. it's a costly and time-esnsuming pr the first task when water comes out of this hole is to make sure it's preof contaminants,ranium from old mines is a common one. if it checks out as clean, this welluill bringge savings for

hundreds of families who come from milesround here. on average residents of the navajo reservation pay 13 cents for a gallon of water. that is 72a times wha typical rate payer paints in sub arizona or new mexico. >> we spend a lot of our time out here working on water projects but a lot more time in our office in los angeles, for t instance, tryiconvince everybody in america they should pay attention to this problem, care about it, and want to do someth>>g about it. eporter: last year dig deep did manage to convince some nearby rotary club, which pledged some $75,000, which will fund about 18 installations lke this one in tina's home. the company has long been involved in water projects around the world, but jim bissonnette from scottsdale, arizona, said they never imagined doing this work in their own bac ikyard. 's a shock to think people in the united states don't have

running water. we'll change the lives of this family dramaticallfro carrying water in pickle jars to actually having running water. hat's a great feeling. >> reporter: they ave a few small luxuries with the rooftop solar panel and also some basic l.e.d. lighting. >> lights. we have power. >> reporter: pthojects like e also help train and provide work that can keep local talent local. canear-old annie's skil fetch a job anywhere in america, but she's thrilled to be able to stay in the plce she call home. >> you get to know the families when you put in the system. you get to know their background. it's where i grew up, so it's a good feeling knowing that you're helping where you gr up. >> reporter: finally at the erd of a long day, the wat lady arrived for her big delivery. and annie tightened the last screwso it was time gather around the

sink for an imp celebration as tina turned on e faucet. a mundane and giant leap for this family into te mode world that many of her neighbors are still waiting to join. for p the news hour, i'm fred de sam lazaro inhevajo nation. >> woodruff: not taking water for grantedded. fred's reporting is a partnership with the under-told sries project at e university of st. thomas in minnesota. 6and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> consumer cellular believes that wireless plans should reflect the amount of talk, text and data that you use. we offer a variety of no- contract wireless plans for people who use their phone a little, a lot, or anything in

between. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> financial services firm raymond james. a with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access growgbh

♪ >> mention the name chengdu, and what comes to mind? two thousand years of history, art and culture. but wait. chengdu is also one of the fastest-growing cities. in the wor it has a thriving high-tech sector and high-speed trains that connect china to europe.er a second intnational airport is coming soon, and so is tianfu, a satellite city that is green and energy efficient. the future? no. welcome to today's chengdu, next on "yan can cook." ♪ ♪ ♪