Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Return Of Family-Separation Policy Not Off The Table, As Trump Hints At Unleashing Fiercer Assault On Immigration
President Trump鈥檚 purge of the nation鈥檚 top homeland security officials is a sign that he is preparing to unleash an even fiercer assault on immigration, including a possible return of his controversial decision last summer to separate migrant children from their parents, current and former administration officials said Monday. Mr. Trump shook up the ranks of his top immigration officials after spending months demanding that they take tougher action to stop the surge in migrant families at the border and seething about what he considers their overly legalistic refusals to do what he has said was necessary. (Shear, Kanno-Youngs and Haberman, 4/8)
Mr. Trump has also told aides he wants to reinstate his family-separation policy, which provoked a political outcry when it was implemented last spring, in order to deter would-be migrants. An administration official said Mr. Trump recently told Stephen Miller, one of his most hard-line advisers: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in charge鈥 of the administration鈥檚 immigration policy. Immigration policy was a central plank of Mr. Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign, and the Republican president has indicated he plans to run on the issue again as he seeks re-election next year. (Ballhaus and Salama, 4/8)
President Trump continued to dismantle the leadership of the nation鈥檚 top domestic security agency Monday, as the White House announced the imminent removal of U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph D. 鈥淭ex鈥 Alles, the latest in a series of head-spinning departures from the Department of Homeland Security. A day after Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to step aside following a White House meeting with Trump, senior DHS officials remained in a fog about the fate of their agency鈥檚 leaders, expecting more firings as part of a widening purge. (Miroff, Olorunnipa, Dawsey and Leonnig, 4/8)
President Donald Trump鈥檚 congressional allies are alarmed by his purge at the Department of Homeland Security 鈥 urging him not to fire more top officials and warning him how hard it will be to solve twin crises at the border and the federal agencies overseeing immigration policy. (Everett, Bresnahan and Zanona, 4/8)
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reportedly considering moving migrant children to new shelters in cities including Dallas and Atlanta in response to overcrowded shelters that are currently housing migrants. The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that HHS is looking at vacant properties in several cities in Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston. The agency is also looking at Phoenix and Atlanta, the newspaper reported. (Burke, 4/8)