Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called on Democrats to work with Republicans to solve the child-separation crisis on the southern border and "not just get into some kind of sparring back and forth if it leads to no conclusion."
"We hope to reach out to the Democrats and see if we can get a result, which means making a law," the Kentucky Republican told reporters after the party leadership's planning lunch at the Capitol.
McConnell noted that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was introducing legislation to end the practice at the U.S. border with Mexico and keep illegal immigrant families intact.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is working on similar legislation.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday hardened his stance on the practice despite widespread criticism, saying he had "only two options" for immigration enforcement, either "totally open borders or criminal prosecution for law-breaking."
The administration began separating children from their parents as Attorney General Jeff Sessions adopted a "zero tolerance" policy of criminally charging adults apprehended for unlawfully crossing the border.
"People that come in violate the law, they endanger their children in the process," Trump told the National Federation of Independent Business in Washington.
Democrats, he said, could end the policy by agreeing to immigration law changes he is seeking, including authority to quickly send back families apprehended near the border to their home countries.
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