published Jun 21, 2018 12:56:42 PM, by Margaret Talev and Shannon Pettypiece
(Bloomberg) —

First Lady Melania Trump made an unannounced visit to Texas on Thursday to meet with immigrants detained by the U.S. government, a trip her staff said she planned herself out of concern over how her husband’s policies were affecting families apprehended crossing the border illegally.

“She wanted to see everything for herself,” Trump’s spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told reporters traveling with her. “The images struck her as a mother, as a human being.”

Trump’s itinerary included visits to two sites in McAllen, Texas — a detention center housing children separated from their parents and an intake facility for apprehended parents and children. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar accompanied the first lady on the trip. The second stop was canceled after she arrived in Texas due to local flooding.

The first lady’s demonstration of concern for the people affected by U.S. immigration enforcement draws a contrast — whether deliberate or not — with her husband, President Donald Trump. He often speaks derisively of those who enter the country illegally and regularly portrays them as threats to public safety.

On Tuesday, for example, the president said in a tweet that Democrats “don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13.” His use of the verb “infest” drew widespread criticism.

‘Bothered Her’

In allowing journalists to accompany her, Melania Trump ensured that her meetings with immigrants would be well publicized. Her staff didn’t announce the Texas trip in advance and required news organizations traveling with her to agree not to publish any information until she arrived.

“It really bothered her,” the president said of his wife’s reaction to the controversy over his policy. He announced she was visiting the border during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House, shortly before Melania Trump’s own office issued a statement about the trip.

The visit spotlights the dissenting role the first lady appears to have played, first behind the scenes and eventually more publicly, as her husband’s administration has implemented what it calls a “zero-tolerance” immigration approach. The policy, which aims to bring criminal charges against anyone caught crossing the border illegally, has led to the separation of more than 2,000 immigrant children from their parents.
The strategy has engendered enormous public outrage. Two-thirds of Americans have said in polls they oppose separating immigrant families, though a majority of Republicans say they support the president’s approach. On Wednesday, Trump made a rare retreat, signing an executive order that he said would end family separations as Congress prepared to consider legislation that would force a halt to the policy.

Grisham said the first lady two days ago told her team to make the visit happen and told President Trump of her plans. “She told him, ‘I’m headed down to Texas,’” Grisham said. “And he was supportive.”

Melania Trump, herself an immigrant from Slovenia, first weighed into the debate on Sunday with a public statement saying she hated to see children separated from their families and calling on the U.S. to govern “with heart.” Privately, she also encouraged her husband to abandon the policy, according to people familiar with the matter.

Her visit to Texas is sure to increase speculation about whether she successfully prodded her husband to abandon his harsh approach to immigrant families or if she is merely contributing to the White House’s attempt to clean up a public relations disaster.

Detention Center

Her first stop was at New Hope Children’s Shelter, a detention center run by Lutheran Social Services of the South under a grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of Azar’s department. The center was opened in McAllen in 2014 and houses about 55 children age 12 to 17.

Six of the children at the facility were taken from their parents under the president’s “zero tolerance” policy, according to an administration official who briefed officials on condition of anonymity. The official didn’t say how old the six children are and was not aware of whether any of them had communicated with their parents since the government separated them.

Melania Trump addressed staff at the center in a room where she sat in front of a construction paper “kindness tree” that read, “acts of kindness make me bloom.”

She asked an unidentified official at the center how often the children were able to speak with their parents per week. The person told her they get a 10 minute phone call.

She asked if the children were distressed when they arrived at the facility. The person said they usually arrive very distraught, but calm down after seeing arts and other kids. Children stay at the center for about 42 days on average, the official said.

Melania Trump said she was sure “they’re very happy and they love to study.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting children,” she said before a tour of the center.

She visited children in three classrooms and chatted with them using a translator. “Be kind and nice to each other, OK?” she said at one point. In one classroom she signed a hand-painted American flag that said “welcome first lady.”

–With assistance from Toluse Olorunnipa.To contact the reporters on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.net ;Shannon Pettypiece in Washington at spettypiece@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net Mike Dorning

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