First lady Melania Trump landed Thursday in Tucson, Arizona, arriving to the US Customs and Border Protection Facility, which serves as an undocumented immigrant intake and detention facility. It marks her second trip to the US border in as many weeks.
"She wants to continue to learn and educate herself," said Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.
The border family separation crisis has compelled the first lady to get a first-hand look at what families, and especially children, are faced with as they cross the border, according to Grisham.
"She's advocating for quality care for these children as they're in a difficult situation," she said.
More than 2,000 children have been removed from their parents since the Trump administration began enforcing a "zero-tolerance" immigration policy several weeks ago.
At the border protection facility, Trump held a roundtable briefing with local officials and a few local ranchers. The first lady's goal is to learn about issues at the border first hand and thank officers for the sometimes dangerous work they do, Grisham said.
Trump continues to "encourage family reunification" and urge Congress "to fix our broken immigration system."
"She recognizes it's a complex issue," Grisham said. "She definitely believes in strong border laws. She wants to make sure the kids are well taken care of."
Following the roundtable discussion, the first lady and members of the press will tour the intake facility, a place where families go through initial processing and are separated if deemed necessary by the Department of Homeland Security.
Last Thursday, Trump spent about one-hour meeting with staff and touring the Upbring New Hope Children's Shelter in McAllen, a Department of Health and Human Services-assisted facility that houses and cares for unaccompanied minors who have entered the country illegally until they can be placed with family or volunteers.
Trump visited with some of the 55 children at the shelter, about 10% of whom had been separated from their parents at a border intake facility. The first lady stopped into three classrooms where the children, ranging in age from 12 to 17, were having lessons.
The first lady's trip last Thursday was overshadowed by a sartorial decision she made to wear a $39 Zara jacket emblazoned on the back with the words "I really don't care. Do U?" for the departure from and return to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. She did not wear the jacket while in Texas.
