President Trump claimed Sunday that many illegal migrants are "just using children for their own sinister purposes."
"Please understand, there are consequences when people cross our Border illegally, whether they have children or not," Trump tweeted.
He then slammed US immigration laws as the "dumbest & worst" in the world, and urged his followers to "vote 'R.'"
His administration continues to face mounting anger over a "zero tolerance" immigration policy that led to the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents. The policy called for any individual crossing the border to be arrested, leading to the separations.
A court-ordered deadline for the government to reunite the separated children came and went on Thursday, and more than 700 young migrants remained apart from their parents.
other conservatives are repeatedly calling on people to come here legally, most immigrants have few options to do so under the country's complex immigration system. Visas are hard to come by, especially for immigrants struggling with poverty and joblessness in Central America. The other main option for legal immigration — getting a family member who is an American citizen or green card holder to sponsor them — can take more than a decade.
Trump has again endorsed the legal immigration route in recent weeks amid the furor over his administration's policy of separating children from parents at the border, saying the immigrants should be sent home and they can try to come back with legal papers in hand.
"I have a solution: tell people not to come to our country illegally," Trump said recently. "Don't come to our country illegally. Come like other people do. Come legally."
The realities of legal immigration in the U.S. aren't quite that simple.
Getting a visitor's visa — known as a B-2 visa — requires proving a certain amount of wealth that most in developing countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras don't have. That's because the visa application requires them to show income, properties or other assets to prove they will likely return to their countries. Other visas require specialized skills, a corporate sponsor or an American relative who will sponsor them in a process that can take years due to a complex quota system.
Those fleeing violence or persecution can seek asylum legally at designated points along the country's southwest border or upon arriving at the airport. But tens of thousands of Central Americans are caught trying to enter the country illegally each year, which experts conceded may be their only way to come unless they have a strong asylum claim or money.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.
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