WASHINGTON _ Amid continued outrage about his "zero tolerance" policy at the southern border, President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday he would sign an executive action to end the family separation crisis, though he did not say what exactly he would sign.
"I'll be signing something in a little while," Trump told reporters. "Something that's somewhat preemptive and ultimately will be matched by legislation, I'm sure."
The crisis has consumed his administration for days as Republicans and Democrats react to searing pictures and audio of young migrant children crying after being separated from their parents after crossing the border from Mexico, many to seek asylum from violence in their home countries.
The administration says more than 2,300 children taken from their parents, who are detained for criminal prosecution, have been held in separate detention facilities. The separations climbed rapidly after the administration began its "zero tolerance" policy in May, requiring more criminal prosecutions rather than civil deportation actions.
Meanwhile, House Republicans said earlier Wednesday that they are forging ahead with a risky gambit to vote on a broad immigration bill Thursday that would address President Donald Trump's unpopular policy of separating children from their parents as they enter the country illegally. It was unclear how any presidential action would affect those plans.
The legislation would also provide billions of dollars for Trump's dream of building a border wall and make steep cuts to legal immigration programs.
"We can enforce our immigration laws without breaking families apart. The administration says it wants Congress to act, and we are," House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said.
The president voiced support Tuesday night for two immigration bills the House is expected to vote on Thursday. Still, prospects for passage remain dim as most Democrats are expected to oppose the legislation and some conservatives will take issue with a provision to provide legal status to so-called dreamers.
Senate leaders from both parties have expressed little support for the House's sweeping approach, preferring a more narrow bill that would simply stop the president's separation policy.
Trump's separation policy, which he has falsely blamed on the requirements of current law, triggered the most intense backlash from lawmakers and the public since his first attempt in 2017 to impose a travel ban against several Muslim countries, triggering chaos at airports nationwide.
Images of separated children crying out for their mothers and fathers have led many Republican lawmakers to criticize the policy in unusually blunt ways, though some, like Ryan, have defended the administration's claim that the separation is a result of law and court actions.
Most legal experts say Trump could end the policy as quickly as he implemented it.
Ryan wouldn't say Wednesday what happens to the ongoing issue of separation if the House and Senate cannot pass a bill.
"Right now we're focused on this legislation," he said. "If other things happen, we'll cross those bridges when we get to it."
