memeorandum: Separating children from their parents at the border ‘breaks my heart’ (Laura Bush/Washington Post)

3:45 AM ET, June 18, 2018

Top Items:

Separating children from their parents at the border ‘breaks my heart’ — Laura Bush is a former first lady of the United States. — On Sunday, a day we as a nation set aside to honor fathers and the bonds of family, I was among the millions of Americans who watched images of children who have been torn from their parents.

Discussion: New Republic, CNN, Axios, France 24, RedState, WSVN-TV, The Right Scoop, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, KTLA, Washington Press, Mediaite, twitchy.com and ABC News

Nomaan Merchant / Associated Press:

Hundreds of children wait in Border Patrol facility in Texas — McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Inside an old warehouse in South Texas, hundreds of children wait away from their parents in a series of cages created by metal fencing. One cage had 20 children inside.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and The Guardian

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Leading Republicans Join Democrats in Pushing Trump to Halt Family Separations — WASHINGTON — Leading figures of both parties pressured President Trump on Sunday to halt his administration's practice of separating children from their parents when apprehended at the border …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Balloon Juice, Power Line, twitchy.com, Washington Post, Politico, Mediaite, NBC News and Talking Points Memo

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:

Associated Press Uses ‘Cages’ to Describe Chain-Link Partitions in Border Patrol Center — The Associated Press published a report Sunday evening describing chain-link partitions within a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, as “cages” — while other news organizations described them as “fences.”

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

Poll: Republicans Approve of Trump's Family Separation Policy … Nearly every day, voters have been confronted with heart wrenching stories about immigrant children being separated from their parents upon crossing the border into the United States. — The president incorrectly blames …

Discussion: Washington Press, Wall Street Journal and KTLA

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Melania Trump weighs in on her husband's cruel policy. Where are you, Ivanka? — Melania Trump, the most reticent first lady since Pat Nixon, has done an admirable thing. She has lent her voice to those who oppose the Trump administration's heinous policy of separating migrant children from their parents.

Discussion: Deadline, HuffPost, Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Daily Caller

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Trump and the Baby Snatchers — This was the lead paragraph of a New York Times report last week: — “The Trump administration said on Friday that it had separated 1,995 children from parents facing criminal prosecution for unlawfully crossing the border over a six-week period that ended last month …

Discussion: Econlib and Mediaite

New York Post:

Stop breaking up families at the border — House Speaker Paul Ryan says he wants to stop the mass separation of children from their families along the border, but his bid to fix it is pathetic. And President Trump's claim that Democrats need to change the relevant law is no better. — SEE ALSO

Albert R. Hunt / Bloomberg: Paul Ryan Has Sacrificed the Rest of His Principles

John Binder / Breitbart:
Lou Dobbs: If Paul Ryan ‘Deceives’ Trump into DACA Amnesty, GOP Will Lose House Majority

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Ilya Somin / Reason:

“Enforcing the Law” Doesn't Justify Separating Migrant Children from their Parents — The Trump administration recently adopted a “zero tolerance” policy under which undocumented immigrants apprehended by federal officials are forcibly separated from their children.

Discussion: KTLA, CNN and America's Voice

Daniella Silva / NBC News: First lady Melania Trump makes statement on family separations as protests grow

Gregg Re / Fox News:
Democrats gain entry to NJ immigration detention center after arguing with cops, ‘literally banging on the door’

Discussion: Daily Wire, Weasel Zippers, IJR and CNN

Washington Post:

Democrats intensify fight for immigrant children — and bludgeon Trump and Republicans ahead of midterms — Democrats expanded their campaign Sunday to spotlight the Trump administration's forced separation of migrant children from their families at the U.S. border, trying to compel a change …

Discussion: HuffPost and NPR

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post: ‘Zero-tolerance policy means zero humanity:’ Democrats decry Trump immigration policy after tour of detention center

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Dem lawmakers make surprise visit to ICE detention center

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News and HuffPost

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

'I Can't Go Without My Son,' a Mother Pleaded as She Was Deported to Guatemala — As a growing number of families are being separated as part of the Trump administration's attempt to control illegal immigration, some parents are being deported before recovering their children.

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

FBI agent removed from Russia probe for anti-Trump texts says he's willing to testify before Congress — The FBI agent who was removed from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election for sending anti-Trump texts intends to testify before the House Judiciary Committee …

Discussion: TheBlaze, CNN, Fox News, Politico, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Power Line, twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon, Law & Crime and Axios

Luke Rosiak / The Daily Caller:
IG: McCabe Used Strzok's Mistress To Bypass Chain Of Command To Monitor Clinton Probe

Discussion: USA Today, Daily Kos and The Gateway Pundit

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Pentagon Puts Cyberwarriors on the Offensive, Increasing the Risk of Conflict — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has quietly empowered the United States Cyber Command to take a far more aggressive approach to defending the nation against cyberattacks, a shift in strategy that could increase …

more at Techmeme »

Kabb / WOAI:

12 immigrants ejected, 5 die after car being chased by Border Patrol crashes — BIG WELLS, Texas (KABB/WOAI) - Authorities said five undocumented immigrants are dead following a chase involving Border Patrol agents. — Dimmit County Sheriff Marion Boyd said the crash happened off Highway 85 in Big Wells at about noon.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, FOX6Now.com, Weasel Zippers, Daily Wire and Breitbart

Frank Miles / Fox News:
At least 5 dead after SUV carrying illegal immigrants crashes, sheriff says

Discussion: Townhall

John Fund / National Review:

Trump the Bulldozer — The President cows his critics, but he should be careful how much loyalty he demands. — Inside the Republican party, President Trump is riding high and his critics seem to be running scared. He enjoys sky-high approval ratings from voters who identify with the GOP …

National Journal:

The GOP's Rapid Retreat in the Midwest — Republicans have abandoned Senate races in states Trump carried, and could lose several key governorships as well. Trump's boasting of crashing the blue wall is rapidly becoming ancient history. — One of the biggest red flags …

Olivia Goldhill / Quartz:

A new study ranks US states in order of psychopathy — Sometimes, it can feel like there are psychopaths everywhere. If you live in the United States, it's now possible to move to less psychopathic environs, thanks to new research ranking 48 contiguous states by psychopathy.

Cary Darling / Houston Chronicle:

Cruz edges out Kimmel in charity basketball game in Houston — It was the Thunderdome from “Mad Max” or the coliseum from “Spartacus,” if either Max or Sparty were two, middle-aged American men playing a slow-motion car-crash of half-court basketball for charity and political one upsmanship.

Discussion: Daily Wire

Beth Quimby / Press Herald:

Collins says she opposes family separations at border, but calls Democratic bill to stop them too broad — The Republican senator came out against the Trump policy Sunday morning. — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday she opposes the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children …

Discussion: Splinter and New York Magazine

Leigh Ann Caldwell / NBC News: GOP fears midterms backlash from breaking up families at the border

Axios:

Trump tweets defense of his North Korea summit — President Trump tweeted a defense of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday morning, claiming that he received “so much for peace in the world” and teasing that “more is being added in finals.”

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, AOL and ABC News