WASHINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will sign an executive order in "a little while" to end the administration's roundly-criticized practice of separating families who illegally cross the U.S. border.
"I'm going to be signing an executive order in a little while before I go to Minnesota," Trump said in the cabinet room at the White House. "We're keeping families together but we have to keep our borders strong."
The Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy against illegal entry has faced with sharp criticism from both home and abroad.
Under the policy, adults caught crossing the border illegally will be detained and prosecuted, and their children will be separated from them while officials try to resolve their cases.
Announcing the decision, Trump also reiterated his hardline stance on immigration by saying that "we still have to maintain toughness or our country will be overrun by people, by crime, by all of the things that we don't stand for and that we don't want."
Earlier in the day, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the chamber will vote on immigration legislation on Thursday that would end family separations.
