Trump Lies (Again) Regarding Separating Children From Immigrant Parents

Donald Trump

Donald Trump lies in the tweet below in saying that Democrats need to end the "horrible law" that's separating children from parents once they cross the border from Mexico.

Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018

In truth, the “horrible law” is not a law.

It’s Trump administration policy that didn’t happen under Obama or Bush. Trump has the power to reverse it at any time and Democrats have urged him to do so.

Rating the claim "False," FactCheck.org explains:

In early May, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen directed her department to refer all unauthorized immigrants who cross the U.S. border to federal prosecutors. It’s in accordance with the Department of Justice’s new “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration at the Southwest border.

Parents would be sent to federal court under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and then placed in a detention center, according to a DHS spokesperson. Their children, minors who cannot be housed in a detention center for adults, would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services for placement in a juvenile facility or foster care if they have no other adult relative in the U.S. who can take them in.

“It is the government’s choice whether to criminally prosecute someone for illegal entry or reentry,” Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., told us.

So, yet again, Trump lies.

What he does understand, though, is that lying over and over again to his followers eventually becomes "truth" for them.

But, it's not true.

In a similar vein, Trump's lies about "millions of illegal votes" in the 2016 election has now become "truth" for his tribe.

A new HuffPost/YouGov poll shows 48% of Republicans believe as many as 5 million illegal votes were cast in 2016.

If you repeat something often enough, they believe it. Especially if they WANT to believe it.

One more example - speaking at the graduation ceremonies for the U.S. Naval Academy, Trump lied about getting our military its first pay raise in ten years, and getting "a couple hundred more ships" in the latest defense budget.

Both lies.

The Associated Press reports:

TRUMP: “Going to have new equipment and well-deserved pay raises. We just got you a big pay raise. First time in 10 years. We got you a big pay increase. First time in over 10 years. I fought for you. That was the hardest one to get, but you never had a chance of losing.”

THE FACTS: That’s not right. U.S. military members have gotten a pay raise every year for the past 10 years and several have been larger than this year’s 2.6 percent increase. Pay increases in 2008, 2009 and 2010, for example, were all 3.4 percent or more.

TRUMP: “We have now the lowest number of ships that we’ve had since World War I, and very soon you’re going to get to 355 beautiful ships. 355. That’s almost a couple of hundred more ships.”

THE FACTS: No it isn’t. The Navy now has 283 ships.