[Published: Wednesday June 20 2018]
 Republicans scramble as US border crisis grows
WASHINGTON 20 Jun (ANA) - Republicans are scrambling to draft a bill to address the growing outcry over the policy of separating migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
US President Donald Trump told a group of House Republicans he would back any immigration bill they passed, a White House spokesman said.
The Republican-controlled Congress is under pressure to curb the policy after it sparked widespread condemnation.
But the president says it is necessary to stop illegal border crossings.
"We had a great meeting," Mr Trump said after meeting Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday night.
It was unclear if any progress was made, but White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement that Mr Trump told the group of lawmakers he would endorse their immigration legislation.
The president said in the meeting that separating parents and children was "certainly not an attractive thing and does look bad", Representative Tom Cole said.
Earlier on Tuesday Mr Trump said children had to be taken away if their parents were jailed for illegally crossing the US border.
"When you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally - which should happen - you have to take the children away," he said.
US immigration officials say 2,342 children were separated from 2,206 parents from 5 May to 9 June amid a "zero-tolerance" crackdown on illegal immigration brought in by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.(ANA)
FA/ANA/20 June 2018-------
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