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Trump says he won’t bring back family separations, but he still feels it helped deter migrants

In this Dec. 9, 2018, file photo, the striped shadow of the U.S. border wall falls on a migrant family as they walk on U.S. soil near Imperial Beach, Calif., after squeezing through a small hole under the border wall aided by two local guides, seen from Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Amid bipartisan pushback, President Donald Trump says he’s not looking to revive the much-criticized practice of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border.

But he also suggested Tuesday that the policy had worked to deter migrants from coming into the U.S.

Without it, he claimed, “they’re coming like it’s a picnic, because let’s go to Disneyland.”

WATCH: Feb. 20 — Woman who climbed Statue of Liberty scales Texas building to protest family separation

Click to play video: 'Woman who climbed Statue of Liberty scales Texas building to protest family separation'
Woman who climbed Statue of Liberty scales Texas building to protest family separation

Immigration experts say his policies and practices are contributing to the surge of migrants.

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The potential reinstatement of one of the most divisive practices of Trump’s tenure was just one aspect of the upheaval at the Department of Homeland Security this week that culminated with Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s resignation.

Republicans expressed concerns about the shake-up orchestrated by the White House and cautioned that leadership changes wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem.

READ MORE: Trump pushed staff for months to reinstate large-scale family separation policy — reports

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