Melania Trump heads to Mexican border but doesn’t repeat jacket fiasco

Melania Trump is in Tucson, Arizona, for a visit to the southern border of the United States – but this time without her controversial jacket.

The first lady boarded her plane Thursday morning wearing a black shirt and white slacks for the flight. She was expected to visit centers housing migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.

She was not wearing her green $39 Zara jacket and it’s slogan on the back: ‘I really don’t care, do u’ that overshadowed her last trip to the border.  

During her trip, the first lady will visit a Customs and Border Patrol facility, where she’ll have a roundtable discussion with Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service and a local rancher. 

First lady Melania Trump leaving for Tucson, Arizona, in a black shirt and white pants

The first lady will visit a border patrol agency

The first lady will visit a border patrol agency

Her Tucson trip was planned shortly after last week's Texas trip

Her Tucson trip was planned shortly after last week’s Texas trip

Melania Trump left Washington wearing pricy Christian Louboutin black flats and arrived in Arizona wearing $75 white Stan Smiths sneakers

Melania Trump left Washington wearing pricy Christian Louboutin black flats and arrived in Arizona wearing $75 white Stan Smiths sneakers

Melania Trump left Washington D.C. wearing expensive Christian Louboutin black flats and arrived in Arizona wearing $75 white Stan Smiths sneakers

After her briefing the first lady will visit a short-term holding facility

After her briefing the first lady will visit a short-term holding facility

Melania Trump communications director Stephanie Grisham said the purpose is to hear what they were seeing at the border. 

The first lady also will tour the Tucson Coordinating Center, a short-term holding facility. She will then go on to a closed-press tour of an intelligence center.

Grisham said the trip was planned a couple days after Melania Trump returned from Texas last week, where she was unable to visit a Department of Homeland Security Facility because of flooding. 

She said the first lady is taking the trip with the president’s encouragement.

‘She wasn’t able to visit a DHS facility, and she wants to learn from the people on the front lines at the border,’ Grisham said.

The legal situation for immigrant children has also changed, Grisham said, ‘and she’s anxious to learn how they’re implementing the new process. There was a court case that threw a wrench in the works.’

Grisham said the first lady continues to discuss the issue with the president, but did not elaborate. 

‘This is a complex issue. She recognizes that,’ she said.

Melania Trump visited a a Customs and Border Patrol facility

Melania Trump visited a a Customs and Border Patrol facility

Her office said the first lady will continue to discuss her views on immigration with the president

Her office said the first lady will continue to discuss her views on immigration with the president

The first lady 'cares about children deeply,' her spokesperson said

The first lady ‘cares about children deeply,’ her spokesperson said

‘She’s learning that these people at HHS facilities are providing some outstanding care under difficult circumstances,’ Grisham said. ‘She’s advocating for quality care for these children under difficult circumstances.’

Grisham said that the first lady has given her husband her views on controversial political issues throughout his presidency, but conceded that it’s never been as public as with the issue of immigrant children.

‘I would say this is very visible. She cares about children deeply,’ Grisham said. ‘She also believes in strong border laws and treating everybody equally.’

There are no other senior administration officials accompanying the first lady on the trip. 

Melania Trump's last trip was overshadowed by her jacket and its slogan: 'I really don't care, do u'

Melania Trump’s last trip was overshadowed by her jacket and its slogan: ‘I really don’t care, do u’

Melania Trump visits the Upbring New Hope Children Center run by the Lutheran Social Services of the South in McAllen, Texas.

Melania Trump visits the Upbring New Hope Children Center run by the Lutheran Social Services of the South in McAllen, Texas.

Melania Trump smiles after signing a welcome poster made at the Upbring New Hope Childrens Center in McAllen, Texas

Melania Trump smiles after signing a welcome poster made at the Upbring New Hope Childrens Center in McAllen, Texas

The visit comes a week after Melania Trump traveled to the border town of McAllen, Texas, to meet with officials there dealing with detained families. She also met with children at one of the facilities.

But that trip was overshadowed by a jacket the first lady wore to and from Texas that said on the back: ‘I really don’t care, do u?’ 

The first lady’s spokeswoman said it was just a jacket, with no hidden message, but interest in her baffling fashion choice was a distraction from the first lady’s trip. 

Her husband, President Donald Trump, undercut the no-message message by tweeting that his wife was saying she really doesn’t care about the ‘fake news’ media.

More than 2,300 children have been separated from their parents at the border in recent weeks and some were placed in government-contracted shelters hundreds of miles away from their parents.

The president last week signed an executive order to halt the separation of families at the border, at least for a few weeks, but the order did not address the reunification of families already separated.

President Trump acknowledged one of the reasons he signed the order is that Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump spoke to him about it. 

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that thousands of migrant children and parents be reunited within 30 days – and sooner if the youngster is under 5. The order poses logistical problems for the administration, and it was unclear how it would meet the deadline.



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