WASHINGTON – The Trump administration's move to separate immigrant parents from their children on the U.S.-Mexico border has grabbed attention around the world, drawn scorn from human-rights organizations and overtaken the immigration debate in Congress.

Lawmakers to meet this week
Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, on Sunday distanced the Trump administration from responsibility for separating migrant children from their parents.

Conway rejected the idea that Trump was using the kids as leverage to force Democrats to negotiate on immigration and his long-promised border wall, even after Trump tweeted Saturday: "Democrats can fix their forced family breakup at the Border by working with Republicans on new legislation, for a change!"

Trump plans to meet with House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss pending immigration legislation.

It's also a situation that has been brewing since the week President Trump took office, when he issued his first order signaling a tougher approach to asylum-seekers. Since then, the administration has been steadily eroding protections for immigrant children and families.

In a rare statement on a policy issue, first lady Melania Trump weighed in through her spokeswoman on the immigration crisis taking place at America's borders.

"Mrs. Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform," her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, told CNN on Sunday. "She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart."

Story Date: June 18, 2018