Trump says he is not bringing back family separation policy

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was not returning to a policy of separating children from family members who had illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, one day after media reports that his administration was considering reviving it.

"We're not looking to do that ... But it brings a lot more people to the border. When you don't do it, it brings a lot more people to the border," Trump told reporters before a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, adding a raft of criticisms of U.S. immigration policy and Congress.

Outgoing Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen oversaw the "zero tolerance" prosecution policy that led to the separations, which led to legal challenges and a public outcry that eventually forced the policy's reversal.

Trump ousted Nielsen on Sunday following a disagreement between them on the best way to handle border security. The White House plans to remove more top leaders in the Department of Homeland Security, an official familiar with the matter said.

Another Trump policy carried out to discourage immigration across the southern border, sending some asylum seekers to wait out their cases in Mexico, was blocked by a judge on Monday.

Trump singled out tougher immigration policies as a main plank of his 2016 election campaign and during the more than two years he has been president.