
As Trump reached the Capitol Hill on Tuesday to rally House Republicans behind an immigration bill he introduced just five days ago, several Democrats staged protests outside who heckled him as he made his way out.
"Mr. President, don't you have kids? Don't you have kids, Mr. President?," one of the protestors shouted. Trump, who stopped to wave at the reporters and cameras, completely ignored them.
The protestors, standing right before the press held signs that read "Families Belong Together."
Representative Mark Meadows said Trump told Republican members of the House at a meeting on Capitol Hill that they needed to get something done on immigration "right away."
In the meeting, Trump said separating families was "certainly not an attractive thing and does look bad,” added Representative Tom Cole.
Trump, who has made a tough stance on immigration a centerpiece of his presidency, has staunchly defended his administration's actions.
Trump has blamed Democrats for laws that say children can't be detained for more than 20 days, and on Tuesday he called on Democrats to work with Republicans to fix the system so that families can stay in detention together.
The president has sought to link an end to the family separations to passage of a wider bill on immigration, which would include funding for his long-sought border wall with Mexico, prompting Democrats to accuse him of using children as hostages.