“We don’t want kids to be separated from their parents,” Ryan said on Thursday.

Republican Senator James Lankford tweeted that he told a constituent that, “I am asking the White House to keep families together as much as we can.”

In an unusually tense series of exchanges in the White House briefing room, Sanders blamed Democrats for the policy separating children from parents and insisted the administration had made no changes increasing the tactics’ use.

“The separation of illegal alien families is the product of the same legal loopholes that Democrats refuse to close and these laws are the same that have been on the books for over a decade, and the president is simply enforcing them,” she said.

Ryan and other Republican Party lawmakers said they are trying to resolve the problem in a compromise immigration bill. A draft of that bill released on Thursday would keep children with their families while they are in Homeland Security custody.

Ryan claimed that the family-separation policy is being dictated by a court ruling that prevents children who enter the country illegally from being held in custody for long periods.

But House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi disputed that assessment, saying President Donald Trump could “stop the practice on a dime”.

She called the Trump administration’s separation policy “barbaric” and said: “It has to stop.”

The family separations are occurring as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy for illegal immigrants. Under the directive, families crossing the border are routinely prosecuted. Previously, families were sent to civil deportation proceedings, which allowed children to stay with their parents.

During the criminal proceedings, the children are usually released to other family members or foster care.

Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder said he is “heartbroken” by the separations and is working to find a solution to keep families together. His comments were in response to a letter from local officials urging him to demand that the Department of Homeland Security end the practice.

“As a father to two young girls it is unimaginable what these parents are suffering,” Yoder said.

With horror stories of babies and young children being taken from their mothers receiving heavy news coverage, the White House sought to shift the narrative by providing some media groups with a tour of a former Wal-Mart near the border in Texas that houses several hundred immigrant children.

The tour was tightly controlled and the Health and Human Services Department did not allow any photographs or video or interviews, instead releasing a government-produced video of the shelter.

Associated Press declined to participate in the tour, which came after a Democratic senator tried to enter a federal facility in Texas where immigrant children are being held. Police were called and Senator Jeff Merkley was told to leave.

He said he was able to enter another facility used for processing immigrants and run by Homeland Security. He said he saw men, women and children crowded in cages.

“It reminds me a little bit of a dog kennel, constructed of cyclone fencing,” Merkley said.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops also weighed in, saying US officials have discretion to keep families intact.

“Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the bishops group.

The cardinal’s rebuke is what drew the response from Sessions, who insists the policy of separating families is necessary to deter illegal border-crossings.

Historically, immigrants without serious criminal records have been released from custody while they pursued asylum or refugee status. The Trump administration has moved to detain more people, including asylum seekers.

If Republicans really wanted to tackle the issue of separating families, they could take a bill to the House floor on an expedited basis, Pelosi said, adding that she sees no prospect for a legislative fix in the Republican-controlled Congress in an election year.

Ryan said the House would vote next week on two competing immigration measures, but said he “won’t guarantee passage”.

He said Trump backs the Republican Party’s efforts to find a compromise.