Your Public Square Disclosing what is True, what is Real
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: June 25, 2018
Q And then just another one. Other people had several.
SANDERS: Sorry, Jill. I'm going to keep going. Annie, go ahead.
Q Sarah, you mentioned the state of resources and running out of them. Can you be specific about what the resources are right now for housing parents and children together? Is there enough housing right now? Is the Pentagon stepping in? Like, what's being done about the resources?
SANDERS: Again, we're looking at every option available. We have asked the Pentagon to help with additional space. But a lot of that will depend on our ability to stop people coming into the country illegally. And we, again, encourage people to go through ports of entry instead of crossing the border illegally.
We've requested through legislation - we're working with Congress, hopefully - to provide more resources and the ability to actually enforce the law.
Ayesha.
Q I just want to see if you can kind of narrow down exactly what the President actually intends to do when it comes to this idea of not having judges. You say that there are instances where people don't have judges. But my understanding is that if you do ask for asylum, you do have certain rights. So is there going to be a change in that policy? Or what is this administration planning to do to make it so you don't have to see a judge (inaudible)?
SANDERS: I've addressed this a couple of times. There are multiple instances in where you wouldn't: voluntary removal, certain cases of expedited removal. If somebody comes through a port of entry seeking asylum, those cases and that process will be heard. But at the same time, the President's ultimate goal is to secure the border and stop illegal immigration.
Q I understand that. But so what does that mean practically? Like, is the President planning to do anything differently, or you're just saying he doesn't like the way things work now?
SANDERS: The President has laid out what he'd like to see. We've put out the things that we want to see in an immigration package months ago. We're still waiting on Congress to give us the ability to do that.
Q So unless Congress acts, nothing is actually going to change? The administration is not changing anything right now when it comes to judges?
SANDERS: You mean, are we walking around making up laws? No. Because we're not the Obama administration. We're actually trying to enforce the laws that are on the books. We're actually asking Congress to do their part in the process and pass new legislation that will fix our immigration system.
Q So, but nothing is actually changing on the ground? So this is - the President is complaining about judges and saying that we shouldn't have all these judges, and people who come over should just be put out, but nothing is actually going to change? He's just saying - he's just complaining about the process as it stands now?
SANDERS: Things that we have the ability to do administratively we are working to do. But again, Congress is the only one that has the ability to write law, and we hope they'll do that this week.
Steve.
Q Honing in on that point, I'm trying to understand what it is the President understands about the current policy. Because as you've explained, expedited removal allows the government to remove hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants a year without seeing judges. Did the President know that when he issued the tweets?
SANDERS: Yeah, but there are still thousands that go through a very lengthy process. We'd like to see the process consolidated. We'd like to see the backlog stopped. We'd like to see our border secured.
Q Well, just to follow up - under current law -
SANDERS: Sorry, Steve, I'm going to keep moving.
Q - there are a couple of things that the President could do. He could expand that policy. You've said that he would like to see more expedited removal. Does the President intend to expand it to the full two-year limit under the current statute?
SANDERS: Again, we would like to see more expedited removal. But ultimately, we would like to see the border secured and people stop coming into the country illegally. That seems pretty simple to me. And it would stop a lot of the problems, and would eliminate the need for so many of these additional laws.
Q Thanks, Sarah. You began the briefing talking about the importance of civility. Do you consider it a civil policy to separate more than two-thirds of children from their parents?
SANDERS: We consider enforcing the law the role that the administration has to play. Certainly the President has taken an executive action to the furthest that he has the ability to do to minimize the separation of families. We're working hard to make sure families get to stay together, and we're calling on Congress to help us in that effort. And we're continuing to focus on the reunification and making sure that the families, again, stay together and that Congress will give us a permanent solution to fix that.
Q Would you say that they're working to make families stay together? It was your administration that separated them in the first place.
SANDERS: It wasn't our administration that created these laws, but it is our administration's job to enforce it, and we've done that. If someone breaks the law, it's our job to enforce it. If somebody doesn't like the law, then they need to lobby Congress and ask them to change it.
Anita.
Q I have one immigration question and wanted to clarify one thing. So, I understand that not every adult with a child is going to be prosecuted. If there are families that are being held together, detained together somewhere, and 20 days goes by, what is going to happen then? I didn't get an answer about that last week. I don't understand. The law says you can't keep them together or keep the children - even with parents - for longer than 20 days. So then what happens?
SANDERS: Hopefully, Congress will pass a law and fix the problem.
Q In the next 20 days?
SANDERS: Well, why should it be so hard? They all say that they don't want to separate families. Seems like it should be pretty simple to me.
Q I said I had a clarification.
SANDERS: Go ahead.
Q So Jeff asked you a question about Congress and the bill. Were you, in your response, referring to just a standalone bill that deals with family separation? Or were you referring to the bigger immigration bill that the House is supposed to take up this week?
SANDERS: Our preference would be a bill that addresses all of the pillars that we've laid out that we'd like to see addressed in an immigration package. And that's what our focus is right now, is there's a bill that does that on the table. If that doesn't happen, then we'll talk about other pieces of legislation at that point.
Q So the President still wants that bill to go forward even though he said they don't want to - they shouldn't waste their time?
SANDERS: Look, Democrats in the Senate have made clear they're not going to support this. And because we need at least some Democrats to get on board, they've made it very clear that they don't want to work with the President, that they don't want to fix our immigration system; that they'd rather have open borders and rampant crime than work with the President to create solutions.
Until they change their mind, we're going to continue looking at the best ways that we can fix these problems, but we need Congress to help us.
John.
Q Thank you, Sarah. This President is the first in the television age who has yet to address the American public on nationwide television from the Oval Office. Many Republican consultants have said he might have a stronger hand in influencing Congress if he made a nationally televised address on immigration and what changes he'd like to see, to explain it. Is that something that's on the table within the administration?
SANDERS: Certainly don't want to take anything off the table or any tool away from the President. He does address the American people in a number of different venues and formats. And I'll certainly pass along that suggestion to him.
Nadia.
Q Just a follow-up on the Middle East. In the recent (inaudible), Mr. Kushner said that if President Abbas is not willing to negotiate, he's going to proceed with the deal. Can you explain how the White House is hoping to achieve any progress in the Middle East peace talks if the principal party is not taking part in it?
SANDERS: We're going to continue meeting with the other partners in the region. And again, we're going to continue pushing forward in the peace process. We had productive meetings over the last week, and we're going to continue those conversations.
I'll take one last question. Saagar.
Q Thanks, Sarah. To follow up on the judges - on the issue of immigration judges, why is the President so opposed to an increase in the number of immigration judges when it would expedite the asylum processing - the asylum process and expedite deportation?
SANDERS: We're not opposed to the speeding up the process. What the President would like to see, once again, is that we stop the problem at the very beginning. He'd like to see us secure the border and people work through the system, through the ports of entry, so that we're not dealing with things on the back end. We'd like to stop the problem before it starts, and that's what the President's focus has been all along, is on securing the border. And that's what we're going to continue to do.
Thanks so much guys. Have a great day.
Go Back
SANDERS: Sorry, Jill. I'm going to keep going. Annie, go ahead.
Q Sarah, you mentioned the state of resources and running out of them. Can you be specific about what the resources are right now for housing parents and children together? Is there enough housing right now? Is the Pentagon stepping in? Like, what's being done about the resources?
SANDERS: Again, we're looking at every option available. We have asked the Pentagon to help with additional space. But a lot of that will depend on our ability to stop people coming into the country illegally. And we, again, encourage people to go through ports of entry instead of crossing the border illegally.
We've requested through legislation - we're working with Congress, hopefully - to provide more resources and the ability to actually enforce the law.
Ayesha.
Q I just want to see if you can kind of narrow down exactly what the President actually intends to do when it comes to this idea of not having judges. You say that there are instances where people don't have judges. But my understanding is that if you do ask for asylum, you do have certain rights. So is there going to be a change in that policy? Or what is this administration planning to do to make it so you don't have to see a judge (inaudible)?
SANDERS: I've addressed this a couple of times. There are multiple instances in where you wouldn't: voluntary removal, certain cases of expedited removal. If somebody comes through a port of entry seeking asylum, those cases and that process will be heard. But at the same time, the President's ultimate goal is to secure the border and stop illegal immigration.
Q I understand that. But so what does that mean practically? Like, is the President planning to do anything differently, or you're just saying he doesn't like the way things work now?
SANDERS: The President has laid out what he'd like to see. We've put out the things that we want to see in an immigration package months ago. We're still waiting on Congress to give us the ability to do that.
Q So unless Congress acts, nothing is actually going to change? The administration is not changing anything right now when it comes to judges?
SANDERS: You mean, are we walking around making up laws? No. Because we're not the Obama administration. We're actually trying to enforce the laws that are on the books. We're actually asking Congress to do their part in the process and pass new legislation that will fix our immigration system.
Q So, but nothing is actually changing on the ground? So this is - the President is complaining about judges and saying that we shouldn't have all these judges, and people who come over should just be put out, but nothing is actually going to change? He's just saying - he's just complaining about the process as it stands now?
SANDERS: Things that we have the ability to do administratively we are working to do. But again, Congress is the only one that has the ability to write law, and we hope they'll do that this week.
Steve.
Q Honing in on that point, I'm trying to understand what it is the President understands about the current policy. Because as you've explained, expedited removal allows the government to remove hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants a year without seeing judges. Did the President know that when he issued the tweets?
SANDERS: Yeah, but there are still thousands that go through a very lengthy process. We'd like to see the process consolidated. We'd like to see the backlog stopped. We'd like to see our border secured.
Q Well, just to follow up - under current law -
SANDERS: Sorry, Steve, I'm going to keep moving.
Q - there are a couple of things that the President could do. He could expand that policy. You've said that he would like to see more expedited removal. Does the President intend to expand it to the full two-year limit under the current statute?
SANDERS: Again, we would like to see more expedited removal. But ultimately, we would like to see the border secured and people stop coming into the country illegally. That seems pretty simple to me. And it would stop a lot of the problems, and would eliminate the need for so many of these additional laws.
Q Thanks, Sarah. You began the briefing talking about the importance of civility. Do you consider it a civil policy to separate more than two-thirds of children from their parents?
SANDERS: We consider enforcing the law the role that the administration has to play. Certainly the President has taken an executive action to the furthest that he has the ability to do to minimize the separation of families. We're working hard to make sure families get to stay together, and we're calling on Congress to help us in that effort. And we're continuing to focus on the reunification and making sure that the families, again, stay together and that Congress will give us a permanent solution to fix that.
Q Would you say that they're working to make families stay together? It was your administration that separated them in the first place.
SANDERS: It wasn't our administration that created these laws, but it is our administration's job to enforce it, and we've done that. If someone breaks the law, it's our job to enforce it. If somebody doesn't like the law, then they need to lobby Congress and ask them to change it.
Anita.
Q I have one immigration question and wanted to clarify one thing. So, I understand that not every adult with a child is going to be prosecuted. If there are families that are being held together, detained together somewhere, and 20 days goes by, what is going to happen then? I didn't get an answer about that last week. I don't understand. The law says you can't keep them together or keep the children - even with parents - for longer than 20 days. So then what happens?
SANDERS: Hopefully, Congress will pass a law and fix the problem.
Q In the next 20 days?
SANDERS: Well, why should it be so hard? They all say that they don't want to separate families. Seems like it should be pretty simple to me.
Q I said I had a clarification.
SANDERS: Go ahead.
Q So Jeff asked you a question about Congress and the bill. Were you, in your response, referring to just a standalone bill that deals with family separation? Or were you referring to the bigger immigration bill that the House is supposed to take up this week?
SANDERS: Our preference would be a bill that addresses all of the pillars that we've laid out that we'd like to see addressed in an immigration package. And that's what our focus is right now, is there's a bill that does that on the table. If that doesn't happen, then we'll talk about other pieces of legislation at that point.
Q So the President still wants that bill to go forward even though he said they don't want to - they shouldn't waste their time?
SANDERS: Look, Democrats in the Senate have made clear they're not going to support this. And because we need at least some Democrats to get on board, they've made it very clear that they don't want to work with the President, that they don't want to fix our immigration system; that they'd rather have open borders and rampant crime than work with the President to create solutions.
Until they change their mind, we're going to continue looking at the best ways that we can fix these problems, but we need Congress to help us.
John.
Q Thank you, Sarah. This President is the first in the television age who has yet to address the American public on nationwide television from the Oval Office. Many Republican consultants have said he might have a stronger hand in influencing Congress if he made a nationally televised address on immigration and what changes he'd like to see, to explain it. Is that something that's on the table within the administration?
SANDERS: Certainly don't want to take anything off the table or any tool away from the President. He does address the American people in a number of different venues and formats. And I'll certainly pass along that suggestion to him.
Nadia.
Q Just a follow-up on the Middle East. In the recent (inaudible), Mr. Kushner said that if President Abbas is not willing to negotiate, he's going to proceed with the deal. Can you explain how the White House is hoping to achieve any progress in the Middle East peace talks if the principal party is not taking part in it?
SANDERS: We're going to continue meeting with the other partners in the region. And again, we're going to continue pushing forward in the peace process. We had productive meetings over the last week, and we're going to continue those conversations.
I'll take one last question. Saagar.
Q Thanks, Sarah. To follow up on the judges - on the issue of immigration judges, why is the President so opposed to an increase in the number of immigration judges when it would expedite the asylum processing - the asylum process and expedite deportation?
SANDERS: We're not opposed to the speeding up the process. What the President would like to see, once again, is that we stop the problem at the very beginning. He'd like to see us secure the border and people work through the system, through the ports of entry, so that we're not dealing with things on the back end. We'd like to stop the problem before it starts, and that's what the President's focus has been all along, is on securing the border. And that's what we're going to continue to do.
Thanks so much guys. Have a great day.
- Contact: White House
- Press Office
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