It is a feature, not a bug, of his zero tolerance policy put in place in April
The feature/bug phrasing implies intent. Nielsen, Sessions and Trump have said consistently that temporarily separating families is not their goal.
There was no policy of temporarily separating families. I can provide you with Sessions's directive of April 6th announcing that all illegal border crossers will be prosecuted. You can't provide me a directive ordering the "temporary separation of families", because it doesn't exist.
Yes, more families would be temporarily separated under the zero tolerance policy than under Obama's catch and release policy. That doesn't mean temporary separation is the goal of the policy---in fact, I'm quite confident that it isn't. Until you can acknowledge this distinction, it will be difficult to converse with you on the topic.
One position was that it wasn't happening (obvious lie)
What are you referring to?
that this was a previous administration policy (obvious lie)
Trump didn't say that.
He referred to "bad laws that Democrats gave us", referring to TVPRA. That bill's only sponsor was Howard Berman, a Democrat from California. TVPRA prevents DHS from returning the illegal alien minors to their home countries unless the minors are originally from Mexico or Canada.
that it was the fault of Democrats
Already covered above.
and that Congress needed pass a bill that stopped this (obvious lie)
Either Sessions can't enforce the law, or Congress needs to pass new legislation. It seems you don't care about the enforcement part, or maybe you're unaware that the core of the problem lies with Congress.
then turds like Miller argue that it's a deterrent (mostly likely true).
Miller is not a turd.
Source for Miller arguing that it's a deterrent? No speculation or anonymous sources. I want a direct quotation.
Perhaps you were thinking of John Kelly.
But unnecessary cruelty needs to be stopped and defense of that cruelty needs to be criticized and put in it's hole, where it belongs. So no, his supporters, if they had a heart or a soul or whatever you like to call it, can simultaneously support being hard on immigration while avoiding unnecessary cruelty.
That's why the Republicans and Trump are pushing for legislation to amend TVPRA and the Flores Settlement Agreement. Do the Democrats have a legislative proposal, or will the next Democratic president go right back to "catch and release"? When one party proposes substantial, long-term solutions and the other just complains, I trust that you'll support the former.
Let's call it as it is. Trump stopped a self inflicted wound.
No, that's the MSM spin. Think more carefully.
Trump ran on fixing the immigration system. At the end of all this, Trump will have spearheaded major legislation to fix multiple immigration loopholes. We won't be seeing 150,000 unaccompanied minors + alleged family units illegally crossing the southern border illegally anymore because it won't mean free entry after a maximum 20-day wait period. Those with legitimate claims of asylum will apply at ports of entry and be processed properly. Families will be detained together. It's what everyone wants, except for those who just love to hate.
