Trump signs off on plan to end his family separation policy

President Donald Trump has signed off on a plan presented by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen that would stop Trump’s own policy of separating migrant parents from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The president’s action came after he tweeted Wednesday morning that he was “working on something” to “pass good immigration legislation.”

“We all very much have the same views, we want to keep families together,” Trump said later Wednesday during a meeting with Republican lawmakers. But he added that he is scared that “millions of people are coming up, overtaking the country. We have to be very strong on the border but at the same time we want to be compassionate.”

RELATED: Protests against family separations at US border

For her part, Nielsen’s sudden about-face ― related by two people familiar with Nielsen’s thinking who spoke to the AP ― comes just days after she defended the practice and said it was the law to separate the children. It is not a law.

“It’s a law passed by the United States Congress,” Nielsen falsely said in response to a reporter on Monday. “Rather than fixing the law, Congress is asking those of us who enforce the law to turn our backs on the law and not enforce the law. That’s not an answer.”

At just one Texas facility, nearly 1,500 children are being detained, locked in cages and unable to see their family members. Audio released by ProPublica captured children crying and begging for their parents.

On Tuesday evening, while Nielsen attempted to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., protestors swarmed her and chanted “Shame!” and “Sanctuary for all!”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.