the other thing that kirstjen nielsen pointed out, she talked about the legal loopholes. i believe she's referencing the 2008 anti-trafficking law, saying we can't return children from countries other than c and mexico directly back. that's because congress just decided there was too much danger. when you do it immediately, of them falling into the hands of smugglers, cartels, and traffickers. that was signed by president bush. there is misinformation from dhs secretary nielsen herself. >> julia, talk about the 2008 law reinterpreted or put forth again in 2016 here. that is something you hear cited from administration officials. now, as pointed out, that was a republican-led policy during the administration at the time, former president george bush. julia, there is -- when secretary nielsen and others in the administration seize on what they call misinformation, there are, at times, information put out that isn't giving the full context. give the full context when it comes to the 2008 rule that is meant to protect children. that was why the rule was put in place, to preve

it doesn't explain his comments that kirstjen neilsen should be stripped and whipped in public.se tweets targeting the pres.'s family ignored by the liberal media. press secretary sean spicer says lack of outrage shows the personal disdain for the president. >> unbelievable what the left says and does and get 0 outrage. peter fonda tweets so many more where their use disparagingly which, make threats and yet there is 0 coverage yet anything on the right by the president or his supporters is called out and after immediate apology has to be denounced. the pres. is getting results whether it is the economy or foreign policy and the media made it very personal. they never like conservatives but this is very personal to them. shannon: donald trump slamming the russia investigation is a phony wretch hunt at a rally in minnesota. the president terry into fbi lovers peter stzrok and lisa page who exchanged biased text messages, sen. lindsey graham demands answers about what they discussed. >> reporter: the text messages continue to derive the debate about bias in the fbi with the presid

i think it was a disaster, particularly kirstjen nielsen. let's remember the stakes here. we're talking about kids, including kids that are similar to the age of kids i have, being separated from their parents. i can't imagine my kid being separated from me in a foreign place. i think we get so deep into the ideology of, well, this is how we want it and he ran on this and it's going to be like this. there's so many things that aren't accurate. it's not a law. he can change it if he wants to. he can pick up the phone and say we institute aid sded a zero to policy, we're going back on that. i'm committed to ensuring we don't allow undocumented immigrants in the country, but this is not the right solution right now. i won't let it go further. the other thing, and then i will stop, the thing that i think that i think is most offensive is kirstjen nielsen saying she couldn't comment on the images of kids in cages and kids crying because she hadn't seen them and that was just what the story the media wants to tell. i don't know what that means. these are -- some of the pictures

secretary kirstjen nielsen is defending the department of homeland security. over outrage ofalmost two thousand children being separated from their parents at the border. thank you for joining us i'm ken wayne.(pam) and i'm pam moore. over the weekend, border patrol released images of children inside detention centers ... after they have been separated from their parents.(ken) democratic lawmakers toured the facilities today and are calling the practice of family criticism that d-h-etary nielson denied. (pam)omar jimenez has more from washington. ácrying audioá (translated) "daddy! daddy!" audio of children crying as many of them at the us-mexico border wonder where their parents went."we will only separate the family if we cannot determine there is a familiar relationship, if the child may be at risk with the parent or legal guardian, or if the parent or legal guardian is referred for prosecution."but after a zero-tolerance policy was introduced in april...many have been apprehended outside entry points are being referred for prosecution ...separating at leas

secretary kirstjen nielsen defended the administration zero tolerance policy. this briefing is 35 minutes. >> good afternoon. thank you for your patience. president trump has laid out an immigration reform closes loopholes and provides the necessary resources to secure the board. to fix our broken immigration system. to answer some of your questions invited opic, i've secretary of homeland secure and tary kirstjen nielsen, the border protection commissioner to the podium. s always, i'll be back to take questions on other news of the day. good afternoon, it's my pleasure to be here because i would love i can help explain giveof what's going on and you some of the facts. there butbeen put out i want to clarify some of these things. julii >> i had the privilege of peaking this morning at the national sheriff's association conference. i thank them. i want to provide you an update n the illegal immigration crisis on the southern border and the effort that the administration is taking to solve this crisis and to stop flood of illegal immigrants, drugs, contraband and

so you have attorney general jeffessions and homeland security secretary kirstjen neilsen trying to win over republicans that may be on the fence or leaning for voting for these immigration plans. michael mccall from texas telling lawmakers the attorney general came and talked to lawmakers and said he supports both bills, the mccall goodlatte one. it's a strong station from the administration when the president came up and the attorney general came today. democrats are hammering away at the narrower issue about family separation with a civil rights icon saying he's willing to be arrested again on this issue. >> the attorney general call and talked to us and says he supports both bills, both mccall goodlatte 1 and 2. so it's a strong statement from the administration when the president came yesterday and the attorney general came today. >> so that was chairman mccall on the other side you have john lewis saying he's willing to be arrested a again until he finds this issue very emotional. >> some of these young children may never ever see their mother on or their fathers again. it's not r

you saw kirstjen a few moments ago. they are committed at homeland security. within 72 hours, those children have to be at the department of health and human services. the secretary has made clear that they are working hard to always take care of them properly. let'remember, we have a generous, lawful system that admits over 1 million people a year to permanent legal status in america. but when we ignore our laws at the border, we obviously encourage hundreds of thousands ignore our laws, and illegal is enter our country, creating an enormous burden on our law enforcement, our schools, our hospitals, and our social programs. president trump has said this lawlessness cannot continue. we do not want to separate parents from their children. you can be sure of that. if we build a wall, we pass some legislation, we close some loopholes, we won't face these terrible choices. the numbers will end. we will have a system where those who need to apply for asylum can do so, and those who want to com to this country will apply to enter lawfully. the american people are ge

kirstjen nielsen continues to say it's a policy. i ask the white house to get themselves in order, it absolutely is. this situation has prompted at least ten democrats to call specifically for kirstjen nielsen's resignation. there's now a flurry of legislation in the works. i want you to hear me on this. from both parties. to end separations at the border. and both parties when i say people who are immigration hawks say this policy just is inhumane. once again, a reminder. this is not a law that needed changing. this is a trump administration policy. in the meantime, attorney general jeff sessions, who has invoked the bible as justification for the policy, appeared to undermine the administration's claim that the separation policy is not meant to act as a deterrent. >> so yes, hopefully people will get the message and come through the border at the port of entry and not break across the border unlu unlawfully. >> when jeff sessions says that, when he invokes the bible, i think the coure rinians, when they said, one one suffers, we a

the homeland security secretary krif kirstjen nielsen started the session.he was hit with the basics, questions about the well-being of children in detention centers, questions about what's happening inside those detention centers. questions she should have been able to answer. >> have you heard the audio clip of these children wailing, that just came out today? >> i have not seen something that came out today. >> why is the government only releasing images of the boys who are being held? w where are the girls? where are the young toddlers? >> i don't know. i'm not familiar with those particular images. >> do you know where the girls are? where the toddlers are? >> we have children in dhs care, both. but as you know, most of the children after 72 hours, are transferred to hhs. so i don't know what pictures you're referencing, but i'd refer you to hhs. >> we've seen the boys, but not the girls, any of the young toddlers. and you're saying they're being well cared for, so how can you make that claim if you don't know where they are? >> it's not that i don't kn

these senior agents have written this letter to the homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen asking for their part of i.c.e. to be divorced from the rest of i.c.e. because being associated with the administration's hard-line immigration policies is making it harder for them to do their important national security work, quote, our investigative independence is unnecessarily impacted by the political nature of civil immigration enforcement. many jurisdictions continue to refuse to work with us because of a perceived linkage to the politics of civil immigration. these are not former i.c.e. agents, not low level i.c.e. agents, these are current federal employees at a senior

top administration officials are defending the actions including the homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen speaking at the white house briefing momentarily. we'll have live coverage. president trump continues to falsely blame democrats where this new policy. the first lady melania trump is among those speaking out against it and all four former first ladies have now also condemned what is happening along the border. let's go to our senior white

some say the policy doesn't exist like kirstjen nielsen.ed yesterday we do not have a policy of separating families at the border. period. then why are you locking up kids in an abandoned walmart? exclamation point, colon, with your head up it? >> wow. struggling to get their message together. >>> the florida mother arrested after leaving her 3-year-old daughter in a hot car overnight. 33-year-old casey keller charged with negligent. she took her kids with her to the liquor store in sanford, florida, saturday night. when she returned home, she forgot or decided not to take her child out the car. deputies discovered the 3-year-old overheated and in and out of consciousness and rushed her to the hospital sunday morning. the high temperature in sanford was 92 degrees. the mother was released after posting a $15,000 bond. >>> michigan governor issuing a disaster declaration in two counties after floods in the u.p. some areas were hit with 6 to 8 inches of rain. the heavy downpours creating sinkholes and washouts and leaving sewer lines exposed.

secretary kirstjen nielsen defended the administration zero tolerance policy.his briefing is 35 minutes. >> good afternoon. thank you for your patience. president trump has laid out an immigration reform closes loopholes and provides the necessary resources to secure the board. to fix our broken immigration system. to answer some of your questions invited opic, i've secretary of homeland secure and tary kirstjen nielsen, the border protection commissioner to the podium. as always, i'll be back to take

this was the scene outside of the home of homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen. the backlash continuing over the tolerance of the immigration. fueling the fire a california democrat encouraging her supporters to chondroitin front white house staffers anywhere ii time: melissa: white house secretary sarah sanders and her family were kicked out of a restaurant over the weekend. sanders is holding a press briefing at the white house she just responded that question we'll bring you that response but as we go to break here is her father mr. jansz: mike huckabee a bee speaking with her father. >> it's sick. it's desperately sick and there's all these people saying to say well they deserve it. nobody deserves to be treated like this. it's easy to think that all money managers are pretty much the same. but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments

press secretary sarah sanders delaying the monday briefing for four hours so homeland secretary kirstjen nielsen could face reporters. >> once she arrived, nielsen claiming there is little the president can do about the situation at the border. she insisted only congress can stop the breakup of migrant families. >> rather than fixing the law, congress is asking those of us to enforce the law to turn our backs on the law and not enforce the law. that's not an answer. the answer is fix the laws. >> are you intending for this to play out? are you intending parents to be separated from children? >> i find that offensive. no. why would i create a policy that purposely does that? >> perhaps a deterrent? >> nielsen claims it is not a deterrent separating children from parents at the border. her ex-boss john kelly, now the chief of staff, told cnn that was precisely the plan. >> if you get some young kids coming in and sneak into the united states with their parents, our department of homeland security personnel will separate children from moms and dad. >> yes, i am considering in order to deter

take a look. >> kirstjen nielsen. you're complicit of the deportation of 10,000 children separated from the parents. how did you enjoy your mexican dinner as you are deporting the tens of thousands of people coming here to seek asylum in the united states. >> homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen is in a mexican restaurant of all places. [bleep] gall. shame on you! shame, shame, shame! >> shame! shame! shame! shame! shame! >> sean: apparently that included a d.o.j. employee. the group of insanity there. liberals save their worst for the president. pay attention to this. his 12-year-old son. really? we have to warn you. the tweet you are about to see is beyond disturbing. jane fonda brother peter the actor. "we should rip barron trump from his mother's arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if his mother will stand against the giant blank she is married to." 90 million people in the streets on the same weekend in the country. f. peter fonda tried to issue a tepid apology. melania trump had to contact

i have read mixed things about kirstjen nielsen. heard that she did not like this policy, but she is clearly standing up for it now after having tonight it existed just a -- having denied it existed just a few days ago. i think the former first ladies of both parties speaking out is an indication that all americans must be feeling this deep sense of cruelty and outrage. i took over judiciciary committe hearing last week that was about other bills when we should have been having a hearing on this. i s said, we are outraged. i have to believe there are good people on the other side. mothers and fathers who if they don't say something today, are going to have to go back to their children and explain why they did nothing as we put ls and t tore kenne them away from their mothers. it is outrageous. juan: you have alluded to the issue many of f the republblican moderates fearful how this is going to affect their reelection efforts. in youour conversations s in the halls of congress, what they might say to you privately? >> the frustrating

. >> i want to remind you that kirstjen nielson hasn't seen the evidence that the russians meddled in election and it may very well be that she lives in a remarkable bubble. she doesn't hear much and have access to the internet. that may be. >> also the price of keeping your job in this cabinet is really, really high. and that's what the president demands of people who we read stories about the president excoriating her in meetings over the issues that are happening on the border. we know how he treated jeff sessions. this is what it takes, apparently, to be able to hang in this cabinet. >> thank you very much for all the analysis. >>> ahead, we'll speak with congressman bob goodlatte. where does he think this is headed? what will he do to help these children separated from their parents? >>> we also need to talk about what is affecting markets today. that is president trump's new tariff threat against china. we are waiting and watching to see all of the ripple effect of this. >> markets are way down. how can we say when you book direct at choicehotels.com you always get the lowest pr

kirstjen nielsen confronted by protesters at a restaurant. but will congress find common ground when it'san will presidet it. and so far, more than 2,000 children have already been separated from their parents. so even after today's action, the question remains. how exactly will the government go about reuniting these families. raj and janelle? >> that is a big process ahead. among the controversial shelters being used, the so-called at ter e shelters. the associated press was the first to reveal the buildings are clean and safe, the children, many of whom are too young to talk are hysterical, crying for their parents. houston's mayor opposes administration's plans to open a fourth shelter in the city. the average age of those kids is 7. from separating families to sanctuary states, there is a bay area angle to all of this. you see the bus hoods loads of supports leaving oakland. the doj is suing california or sanctuary state laws. melissa colorado was at the protests and spoke to supporters at this pivotal day. >> reporter: the sacramento co

kirstjen nielsen will be joining sarah sanders. in the meantime, we had back to the senate judiciary committee hearing underway right now on the justice department's ig report >> i'm grateful for your continued efforts to protect the integrity of the fbi, department of justice, and their important work. >> senator cruz. >> thank you, mr. chairman. gentlemen, thank you for being here today. these are difficulties in the department of justice and the federal bureau of investigation. both the bureau and the department have long, decades long in the department's long, centuries long traditions of fair and impartial administration of justice. there are thousands of good and honorable men and women who work at the bureau and the department of justice. and yet their integrity has been called into question. by misconduct and political bias at the highest levels. on may 3, 2017, then director comey testified before this committee that he "never," never were his words, then the anonymous source in the news investigation dealing with the trum

kirstjen nielsen, you're a villain! how much do you make -- in a mexican restaurant of all places. >> that's not the only confrontation in washington over the president's policy. abc news reporter janae norman has the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: president trump on capitol hill meeting with republicans but greeted by shouts from democrats. >> don't you have kids, mr. president? >> reporter: the president calling america's immigration system probably the worst in the world. >> the system has been broken for many years. the immigration system. it's been a really bad, bad system. probably the worst anywhere in the world. we're going to try to see if we can fix it. >> reporter: his administration facing mounting pressure to end its zero tolerance policy of separating migrant children from their parents. propublica with a recording it says captured their frightened cries. >> i don't want children taken away from parents. and when you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally, which should happen, you have to ta

. >>> homeland security secretary kirstjen has defended the law but she was heckled by protesters while eating dinner at a mexican restaurant in d.c. >> shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame! >> and roughly about the same time, trump was tweeting about nielsen, saying that she did a fabulous job at her press briefing on monday. even though she contradicted e theed a min stras's statement that it's meant to be a deterrent to migrants. coming up in just a few minutes the story of how one migrant mother is taking on the trump administration as she searches for her son. >>> and the united states has become the first country to voluntarily withdraw from the united nations human rights council. ambassador haley announced the move, on what she calls the council's anti-israel bias. israel's prime minister calls the move courageous. >>> asian markets rebounded overnight despite lingering concerns -- despite tariff dispute between the u.s. and china. president trump is threatening to impose new taxes on $250 billion on chinese imports. they say that the new threat is an act of self-defense aga

kirstjen nielsen / u.s.ecretary of homeland security: "surely it is the beginning of the unraveling of democracy when the body who makes the laws - rather than changing them - asks the body who enforces the laws not to enforce the laws."but no previous has interpreted the law as requiring the separation of parents from their children.in a statement - first lady melania trump - said that "we need to be a country that follows all laws - but also a country that governs with heart."rep. mark pocan / -d- wisconsin: "you don't think a child who is in this facility who has a 6 by 10 living area - by the way a supermax prison cell is 8 by 12 - a six by ten area and you get out two hours a day? that to i think a child 10 years old is a prison."but nielsen maintains the children are well taken care of.in washington, natasha chen kron four news. (catherine) c-n-n is reporting that there's a facility in brownsville texas where children under ten are brought after being separated from their parents. a democratic congress

>> homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen says she has not heard the audio.he added that children taken into custody by the government are being treated humanely. >>> many are wondering just what e dacoviitrebeiognndau ad atgon. >> reporter: this is the video the government gave us to show you. we were given 15 minutes to write down what we saw. we couldn't bring in cameras. men, women, and children are kept in large, fenced in cages. they are segregated according to how they crossed the border. >> talking about very, very high numbers -- >> reporter: manuel padilla jr. is chief of the rio grande valley border patrol sector. >> it's not just a very simple issue of separating the families. we have to look at this broader, without emotion, and objectively. and at the end of the day, we actually have to do soinme g w that has many loopholes. >> reporter: has illegal immigration gotten so bad that separating families is the best way to deter people from coming? >> that is one of the only options. >> reporter: the process is complex with many variables. generally,

and so kirstjen nielsen -- it is an embarrassing flip-flop, it is . yesterday she was basically saying on television that this is not our policy, we are oit actually d this, and today at the podium is saying that yes, it is our policy, we are doing this. laura: the president will meet with house republicans tomorrow. there are two immigration bills under consideration today. -- this week. his there a way the president is hopingis to lever ssue and get democrats to support something on immigration? jay: that is the purpose of his tweets at this point, holdin the democrats hostage and say ing that you could fix this by voting for one of these bills and giving me my wall. he is holding these children p hostage to titics of the wall, and that is really outrageous for a lot of democrats. i don't know if is going to win him any votes, because they ar policy.aged over this he is also outraging republicans, enough of his own party splitting off that i don't know if they will unify on lather of these. a: is he making republicans in the fall the rubble seats --

now nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their families in six weeks and while kirstjen nielsen said don't believe the press, that these children are being treated well, these images of children sleeping on pads on the floors, in chained gated cages are really striking and causing a lot of republicans to balk at the prospect this could continue for weeks and months to come. >> abby, thank you very much. we can hear from jeff sessions, we can hear from the president this hour. let's see what they have to say about it. joining me now, two democratic members of congress, phil monavala, he's about to tour af york, congressman jerry nadler, he toured a detention facility in new jersey this weekend. some of your colleagues down there, they have met with some resistance getting into some of the facilities. do you know what you're going to be able to see today? >> well, behind me is southwest keys, which is a contractor with the health and human services. behind us here are 1500 unaccompanied minors, 10% are the children who have been separated from their families. listen to this. >> ev

captioning sponsored by cbs >> homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen blasted by protesters overnight while trying to eat dinner at a mexican restaurant in the nation's capital. >> shame! shame! shame! >> i'm so happy i decided to do this, just jump right back into the dating pool. i like this restaurant. good pick. ah, are those people with you? they seem to be looking over here. you know, why don't we call the mariachi band over just so we can drown out the noise. fellas. ♪ you are a monster you are a monster ♪ take your tacos and go home ♪ you are a monster you are a monster ♪ take your tacos and go home get out now ♪ >> it's "the late show with stephen colbert." tonight trump's border order. tonight, stephen welcomes trevor noah liza koshy and musical guest two feet featuring jon batiste and stay human. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: wooo! hey! ( cheers and applause ) that's right! thank you, you beautiful people. sit down! thank you! please! very nice. thanks, everybody. welcome to "th

just ask the dhs secretary, kirstjen nielsen.he tried to have dinner at a restaurant in downtown washington, and here's what happened. >> shame! shame! shame! shame! shame! shame! shame! shame! shame! >> tucker: so one of the guards you just heard screaming is a current, as it turns out, department of justice employee named allison, she was proud to be there, she later told the reporter, anyone who sees kirstjen nielsen at dinner, anyone who sees anyone who works at d.h.s. or i.c.e. at dinner can confront them like this, that's what we hope this will inspire people to do. if we disagree with your political views, you no longer have rights, including your rights to go outside or eat in restaurants. is that really a precedent that we are comfortable with establishing? yes, explains a writer at "the guardian." she says that nielsen should never be allowed to show her face in public again. at the "washington post," there was agreement with that. "girl, bye," she tweeted. "i'm, frankly, astonished she dare show her face in public." th

we have sworn to do this job. >> reporter: kirstjen nielsen has emerged as one of the most loyal footdiers of the trump agenda. in week, trumpeting its policy of separating families at the border to a gathering of sheriffs, then unflinchingly defending it that miamid a barr reporters' questions. she repeated over and over the false line that it was a law that only congress could change. >> congress and the courts created this problem and congress alone can fix it. >> reporter: this is nielsen's second tour of duty in the government. after serving in the bush administration, first working at tsa, then overseeing the withoutwithouhite house's response to domestic disasters. she faced one of the country's darkest chapters, the catastrophic response to hurricane katrina. she was named in congressional reports along with other top officials for failing to act on dire warnings of the approaching storm. nielsen left government and beme a cyber security and risk analyst at george washington university and the world economic forum. after trump won the election, she served on the transition tea

secretary of homeland security kirstjen nielsen has defended the policy, as have attorney general sessions, white house advisor steven miller, and several other members of the administration. last night, on fox news, attorney general sessions characterized the family's separation policy as a deterrent. so when president trump tweets, quote, change the laws and that his policy is the result of a law, quote, democrats forced upon the nation, he's ignoring reality, he's contradicting his own administration. as commentator after commentator, democrat, republican, liberal, conservative, has said, president trump is simply not telling the truth, and in a cowardly way. no law, no law requires the separation of families at the border. that's just not true. now, at the republican convention, president trump sai about the problems of the nation that, quote, i alone can fix it. in the case of family separation, it's actually true -- mr. president, you alone can fix it. the president alone can fix this with a flick of the pen. mr. president, you should fix it, but if you don't want to change this crue

senator harris said kirstjen nielsen should resign over her department's policy of separating children from their families at the border and from making what the senator says are misleading statements. yesterday nielsen quoted -- was tweeted quoting, we do not have a policy of separating families at the border, period. harris says there's no law that says is administration has to rip children from their families. >> stay with abc7 news and abc7news.com for the latest on this still-developing story. you can download the abc7 news app to get the very latest sent to your phone as it happens. we'll check back on your polling coming up at 5:00. >>> all right. to bay area news, or actually one more statement here. >> that is coming from the american academy of pediatrics. their view ofn this is, quote, we know that family separation causes irreparable harm to children. this type of highly stressful experience can disrupt the building" and there is more to that. they're saying to the psyche of the children, "children's brain architecture, prolonged exposure to serious stress known as toxic st

the white house, the president defiant as he just showed us on twitter, dhs secretary kirstjen nielsen is the message heading the hill today? >> reporter: the president and many white house officials are saying publicly that they still blame democrats, but they're not owning up to the underlying problem, which is that this practice is happening, and some white house officials acknowledge that it is part of an effort to deter immigrants from coming over the border illegal illegally. listen to whether this is part of a plan put in place by the white house to get immigrants to stop crossing the border. >> are you intending to send a message? >> i find that offensive. no. because why would i ever create a policy that purposefully does that? >> as deterrence. >> no. >> is this a deterrent? >> i see that the fact that no one was being prosecuted for this as a factor in a five-fold increase in four years in this kind of illegal immigration, so, yes, hopefully people will get the message and come through the border at the port of entry. >> reporter: so today could be a pivotal day for this iss

i believe i saw you today in that briefing with kirstjen nielsen. the white house is saying we didn't do this and here's why we're doing this, sometimes in the same sentence. >> yeah and it's just not true that they didn't do this. this is a decision by the white house to implement this policy of enforcing the law of having border agents down in texas and elsewhere separating families, detaining children and what amount frankly to metal cages and this is a decision that they've been implementing for several weeks now and the president has the authority and the power as president to stop it if he chooses. >> julia, you've been reporting on this for a while. you also reported on the internal deliberations and the fact that this was something people talked about, memos were written about and they debated what a moral monstrosity this would be. >> the factors at play here under the trump administration are the same factors that were at play under the obama administration when they saw that surge in 2014 of women coming with their children. they tried to

secretary kirstjen nielsen within the hour will be up on capitol hill doing the same thing with other lawmakers. there are also questions about indefinite detention. if in fact these families are held together, kids and parents, will that be an indefinite tentiowhich then creates legal problems down the road. so i think that we are waiting to see what exactly and what exactly this text talks about. bottom line, this is all about pressure. president trump got it from the hill, he got it from some of his closest allies, closest friends, people that have said to us, yeah, we talked to the president and it is not good. including family members. melania trump and ivanka trump. though we should note, melania trump is the only one on record speaking out. >> color me skeptical, i don't believe ivanka trump has done anything unless she comes out and says, "i told my father to do y, y ax, y and z." that's just me. chris, how will the families be reunited? is there a plan in make to make sure that those infants that have been taken away are reunited with the correct parents? do they have any ide

kirstjen nielsen said we will no longer have exsemptxemptions. >> you can take parents and children and release into american society with expectations that they will show up in court. >> other presidents had that choice. they decided not to rip these kids away from their patients. >> it wasn't until after 2008. it was -- >> it was the bush administration and the obama administration, neither did that. >> even "the new york times," not a friend of conservatives, in 2014 said the obama administration says the law is partly responsible for tieing its hands in dealing with the occur aren't rn current influx of children. >> children bought their parents. what's new this time -- there's a difference between smugglers bringing in these kids or parents bringing in these kids. what's new this time is that the parents are being separated from the kids. >> the choice is binary, to separate the children or instead within 20 days to let the parme parents and children go free into society with the expectation they show up for court. 80% of those coming here legally never show up and are never deport

jeff sessions, kirstjen nielsen, these people are dead set to separate families, regardless of what the law says, and the president should be reminded, they all should be reminded, that the law -- and i'll be technical here for a second -- section 208 of the immigration law says you can apply for asylum in the united states whether you're here legally, whether you're not here legally, whether you arrived legally, whether you arrived between the ports of entry. it is absolutely legal what these people are doing, and to prosecute them for a federal criminal misdemeanor, that is a violation of law. that is a violation of our international obligations as a country, the united states. >> david, there is some new data that just came out and it shows, according to the u. n., that the u.s. has the greatest percentage of asylum seekers compared to any other country in the world. does that surprise you? >> no, of course not. we are the beacon of liberty. we are the beacon of freedom. that's pretty much why our country was formed. my father came here as a refugee. many people, you know, their pare

he said sarah sanders should have her children taken away, and kirstjen nielsen should be put in a cage naked and be whipped by passersby. these peter fonda tweets are so vulgar could it permanently mar his reputation? >> i think it could. and it's ammunition for people on the right, roseanne barr's show was canceled but this guys movie just came out despite the fact he tweets these things. howie: sony pictures called the remarks abhorrent and dangerous and they are still putting the movie out. >> you can imagine could this affect box office results? it could. half the country knows looking at the political landscape and you are isolating them with these tweets. howie: 21st century fox is planning to sell ets assets to disney. the creator of modern family says he's disgusted to work for a company that's associated with fox news. if every fox star and show runner said this show was evil and protested to the murdoch family, it would make a huge difference in this national debate. >> here, as you mention with that merger, it does give potentially some of the entertainment folks that would

late today, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen denied that. >> the children are not being useds a pawn. we are trying to protect the children, which is why i'm asking congress to act. >> glor: we have extensive coverage of this issue tonight from washington and all along the border. gayle king begins our coverage in mcallen, texas. gayle? >> reporter: jeff, there is so much to discuss here. immigration, as you know, and how to fix it, is a very complicated issue, but americans su every side of it have been troubled by the images that they're seeing on their tv screens. immigrant children and their parents being held separately. it's striking that all the first ladies, as you point out-- all of the mothers-- are speaking est so strongly against the policy. we have talked to law enforcement officers here. many of them have children, too, and they tell us, listen, we don't make the immigration laws, but it is our job to enforce them. we've also been talking to people, many of them came to the united states fleeing violence and oppression in central america. we'll have more of thei

growing pressure and protests across the country, president trump's homeland security secretary, kirstjen nielsen, defended the policy, reading from a statement. >> we will not apologize for doing our job. we have sworn to do this job. this administration has a simple message. if you cross the border illegally, we will prosecute you. >> reporter: she insisted the children seen in those images are well cared for. >> we operate according to some of the highest standards in the country. we provide food, medical, education and all needs that the child requests. >> reporter: and tonight, abc news hearing from a former worker of one of those shelters, this time, in arizona, who says the system is overwhelmed. he quit his job, because he was disturbed by what he was seeing. >> these are people making minimum wage. they're undertrained. we received only a week of training. and they're dealing with an increasingly traumatized group of kids. >> and marcus moore joins us now from brownsville, texas, outside one of those shelters. and marcus, the american academy of pediatrics is also weighing in on

this, as anger really boiled over at homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, just a day after she passionately defended the administrations zero tolerance policy. >> shame. shame. shame. >> reporter: the face of the trump administration's controversial separation policy, holeland security secretary, kirstjen nielsen blasted by protesters while trying to eat dinner. >> homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen is in a mexican restaurant, of all places. [ bleep ] shame on you. >> shame. shame. >> reporter: nielsen tried to ignore the shouting before finally leaving. this, as a new report surfaced overnight, not verified by nbc news, saying the trump administration is housing hundreds of babies and toddlers in at least three facilities in south texas. the associated press reporting, lawyers and medical providers who have visited the tender age shelters, described play rooms of crying preschool-aged children in crisis. the mexican government condemning the president's zero tolerance policy, calling it cruel and inhumane. officials there pointing to one case involving a 10-year-old

you were listening to kirstjen nielsen there. did you sense the administration digging its heels in on this family separation policy? >> digging its heels in cenly pushing congress to get its job done. i mean, i continue to encourage members of both parties, go to the border, go to the detention centers. this is nothing new for me. i've been to a lot of them. it is an emotional issue. but neither party should want to separate kids from their parents, and we actually have the ability to fix that this week with a bill that is going to be on the floor. >> as you listen to her there, she described the asylum policy, her phrasing, as something of a get out of jail free card. do you think she was giving a fair representation of what the policy is at the border and how immigrant or potential immigrant families, illegal ones included, take that as a message, take it as a welcoming message that could be easily exploited? >> yeah, i've been to the borders several times, seen both asylum seekers coming across the border with a card they rea

we're told minutes ago that homeland security secretary kirstjen nielson is going to discuss the kidsr and sarah sanders did not want to do the briefing today. at least not alone. amid all of this outrage and the questions over these family separations. so secretary nielsen was flown back from new orleans where she was addressing a law enforcement convention to join her. my panel joins me now. i guess one question i have and let me start with you, nina turner, is secretary of department of homeland security kirstjen nielsen becoming the face of this policy, even though i think it was jeff sessions that started it. >> it was. it seems that way. with the remarks she made -- the sheriff's association just being saying what they are not going take and stand for. she absolutely is. and good for sarah sanders -- to say that -- or huckabee sanders that i'm not going down alone and i need somebody else to stand by myself and continue to perpetuate this lie and they know good and well that the president could change this policy of separating families and they should come out and say mistakes w

. >> homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen opened the white house reefing with a situation on the statement that the u.s. southern border and the childrenn of migrant and their parents. this briefing is 45 minutes. >> good afternoon. thank you for your patience. as you know, president trump has laid out an immigration reform proposal that closes loopholes and provides forces necessary to close the border. congress needs to fix our broken immigration system. to answer some of your questions, we've invited others to the podium. i will be back up afterwards to take questions. afternoon's. it is my pleasure to be her. i would like to see if i can help explain some of what is going on and give you the facts. there has been a lot put out there and i hope we can clarify some things today. i want to start by thanking the sheriffs of the united states. i spoke with them this morning at the national sheriffs association conference. do tok them for all they protect our communities. i want to provide you with an up date on the efforts the administration is taking to solve the crisis and s