"The Democrats forced that law upon our nation," Trump told reporters at the White House. Evan Vucci / AP 
 
 President Donald Trump said Friday morning that his administration was separating immigrant children from their parents at the border because it's "the law" and a law created by Democrats — which is not true. We gave the president Three Pinocchios in April when he tweeted that catch and release was a “liberal” and “Democrat” law. “Near-unanimous Republican agreement about the need to change law and policy in order to close those loopholes, and the Democrats are opposing them.” 
 
 It’s quite a stretch to say there’s “near-unanimous Republican agreement” on this agenda or unified opposition by Democrats. Republican leaders agreed to hold two votes next week on a compromise immigration bill that included a measure that would end the separation of migrant children and parents at the border, and on a more hard-line immigration measure. But none of these legal developments requires the Trump administration to separate children from their families. ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsMigrants told they’ll be reunited with children if they sign voluntary deportation order: report Christie: Trump 'enormously ill-served' by DOJ on 'zero tolerance' policy 'Occupy ICE' protests emerge across the country MORE, enacted a “zero tolerance” policy at the border last month, mandating that everyone apprehended illegally entering the U.S. will face criminal charges. Previously, the policy of the Homeland Security Department was that children would be removed from parents if the parents were referred for criminal prosecution. They claim it would prevent the Trump administration from separating children from their parents at the US-Mexico border — a practice the administration made widespread in early May and that has resulted in the separation of hundreds of families a week.
– Lawmakers from both parties have been criticizing the Justice Department's tough new policy that requires immigrant children to be separated from their parents at the border. On Friday, President Trump joined the critics, with a familiar caveat. "I hate it," he said. "I hate to see separation of parents and children." But he suggested the administration had no choice, asserting that "the Democrats forced that law upon our nation." A host of outlets, including BuzzFeed, CNN, and the Washington Post say Trump is incorrect about that. Under the administration's new zero-tolerance policy, every adult caught crossing the border illegally is being prosecuted, and the children are being separated while their parents await their legal cases to play out. Related coverage: Compromise in peril: House Republicans were poised to float two immigration plans, the more moderate of which would hit many of Trump's wishes (including $25 billion for border security) while ending the separation policy, reports the Hill. (See below for more on the latter.) However, Trump may have torpedoed its chances Friday when he told Fox that he wouldn't sign it, reports the AP, which now sees "eleventh-hour confusion" on the issue.