VOL. CLXVII . . . No. 58,000 © 2018 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018

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WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump caved to enormous poli-tical pressure on Wednesday andsigned an executive order meantto end the separation of families atthe border by detaining parentsand children together for an indef-inite period.

“We’re going to have strong —very strong — borders, but we aregoing to keep the families togeth-er,” Mr. Trump said as he signedthe order in the Oval Office. “I did-n’t like the sight or the feeling offamilies being separated.”

But ending the practice of sepa-rating families still faces legal andpractical obstacles. A federaljudge could refuse to give theTrump administration the author-ity it wants to hold families in cus-tody for more than 20 days, whichis the current limit because of a1997 court order.

And the president’s order doesnothing to address the plight ofthe more than 2,300 children whohave already been separated fromtheir parents under the presi-dent’s “zero tolerance” policy.Federal officials initially saidthose children would not be imme-diately reunited with their fam-ilies while the adults remain infederal custody during their im-migration proceedings.

“There will not be a grandfa-thering of existing cases,” saidKenneth Wolfe, a spokesman forthe Administration for Childrenand Families, a division of the De-partment of Health and Human

Services. Mr. Wolfe said the deci-sion about the children was madeby the White House.

But later Wednesday evening,Brian Marriott, the senior directorof communications for the agency,said that Mr. Wolfe had “mis-spoke” and insisted that “it is stillvery early and we are awaitingfurther guidance on the matter.”Mr. Marriott said that “reunifica-tion is always the goal” and thatthe agency “is working towardthat” for the children separatedfrom their families because of Mr.Trump’s policy.

His statement left open the pos-sibility, though, that the childrencould be connected with otherfamily members or “appropriate”sponsors living in the UnitedStates, not necessarily the parentthey were separated from at theborder.

The president signed the execu-tive order days after he said thatthe only way to end the division of

IN RETREAT, TRUMPHALTS SEPARATINGMIGRANT FAMILIES

Legal Path Unclear After Executive Order— 2,300 Children Await Reunions

This article is by Michael D.Shear, Abby Goodnough and Mag-gie Haberman.

Migrant families waiting for their asylum hearings on Wednesday outside the United States port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico.SANDY HUFFAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

President Trump changed hisposition on an executive order.

AL DRAGO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A10

CASTROVILLE, Tex. — In thethree years since Donald J. Trumpbegan his presidential bid by ma-ligning Mexican immigrants, Rep-resentative Will Hurd, a Texas Re-publican in a Democratic-leaningdistrict, has faced voters of allstripes who were angry about Mr.Trump’s divisive style.

But Mr. Hurd, who represents aheavily Hispanic region thatstretches across 800 miles of theMexican border, could not recall amoment when people were as ap-palled as they were over the im-ages of anguished children sepa-rated from their migrant parents.

“All the calls and emails I’vegotten in my office are from con-stituents saying: ‘Why are we do-ing this, this is against our val-ues,’” Mr. Hurd said. The presi-dent’s policy had damaged the Re-publican brand, he said, because“nobody understands why youwould take children out of theirparents’ hands.”

Yet many rank-and-file Republi-can voters in border states see itdifferently, creating another kindof pressure for lawmakers like Mr.Hurd. Whatever sympathy thesevoters feel for the children is com-plicated, they say, by their intensefrustration over the flow of mi-grants from Mexico.

In interviews across the South-west and Florida on Wednesday,many Republicans said that theyappreciated President Trump’semphasis on “zero tolerance” forillegal border crossings, andwished there were as much furorover those immigrants as there

Border SecurityBeats SympathyIn G.O.P. Ranks

By SIMON ROMEROand JONATHAN MARTIN

Continued on Page A14

WASHINGTON — Deaths nowoutnumber births among whitepeople in more than half the statesin the country, demographershave found, signaling what couldbe a faster-than-expected transi-tion to a future in which whites areno longer a majority of the Ameri-can population.

The Census Bureau has project-ed that whites could drop below 50percent of the population around2045, a relatively slow-movingchange that has been years in themaking. But a new report thisweek found that whites are dyingfaster than they are being bornnow in 26 states, up from 17 justtwo years earlier, and demogra-phers say that shift might comeeven sooner.

“It’s happening a lot faster thanwe thought,” said Rogelio Sáenz, ademographer at the University ofTexas at San Antonio and a co-au-

thor of the report. It examines theperiod from 1999 to 2016 usingdata from the National Center forHealth Statistics, the federalagency that tracks births anddeaths. He said he was so sur-prised at the finding that at first hethought it was a mistake.

The pattern first started nearlytwo decades ago in a handful ofstates with aging white popula-tions like Pennsylvania and WestVirginia. But fertility ratesdropped drastically after theGreat Recession and mortalityrates for whites who are not ofHispanic origin have been rising,driven partly by drug overdoses.That has put demographic changeon a faster track. The list of stateswhere white deaths outnumberbirths now includes North Car-olina and Ohio.

The change has broad implica-

Whites a Minority in the U.S.?The Transition Is Accelerating

By SABRINA TAVERNISE

Continued on Page A9

The American economy haspicked up speed and is now oncourse to expand this year at thefastest rate in more than a decade.That acceleration gives PresidentTrump a stronger hand as he con-templates more tariffs and takesan increasingly confrontationalapproach with China, Canada,Mexico and other trading part-ners.

Economists have raised theirgrowth estimates for the secondquarter to an annualized rate ofnearly 5 percent, more than dou-ble the pace of the previous peri-od. Some economists say the fig-ure could hit 3 percent for the fullyear, a level last reached in 2005.

As growth slows in Europe,China, Japan and elsewhere, theUnited States finds itself at the topof the global economy. The UnitedStates is also less exposed to thefallout from an escalating tradewar since it does not rely on ex-

ports as much as other countries.It all gives Mr. Trump leveragewith world leaders, potentiallyforcing them to make concessions.

But his threats could also back-fire. Economists warn that thepresident’s clout is limited andthat his attacks on the trading sys-tem could dampen the outlook notjust in other countries but also do-mestically.

“If you have the strongest econ-omy in years, then the trade shockappears manageable,” said Greg-ory Daco, head of United Stateseconomics at Oxford Economics.“However, with growth peaking,the trade shock will become moreintense. With a global backdropthat is not improving anymore, wehave to be careful about the backhalf of 2018 and 2019.”

In July, the recovery will reachthe nine-year mark, making it one

Economic Surge Gives PresidentMore Firepower in Trade Battle

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

Continued on Page A17

At least twice this year, the Syr-ian military fired Iranian-madeartillery shells filled with a chlo-rine-like substance that oozed poi-son slowly, giving victims just afew minutes to escape.

In another attack, Syrian forcesdropped a chemical bomb on thetop-floor balcony of an apartmentbuilding, killing 49 people, includ-ing 11 children. Their skin turnedblue.

These details and others blam-ing Syria for atrocities in easternGhouta, a suburb of Damascus,were uncovered by a United Na-tions commission investigatingand documenting possible warcrimes in the seven-year-old con-flict. But when the commission is-sued a report on Wednesday, thedetails were omitted.

Seven pages that had been in anearlier draft, provided to The NewYork Times, were summarized intwo paragraphs in the final docu-ment.

The commission’s report exam-ined how the government of Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad recapturedeastern Ghouta, the rebel strong-hold near the capital, in the firstfour months of 2018. Mr. Assad’sforces laid siege to the area, usingbombardments, mass starvation

and chemical weapons.The materials in the leaked

draft paint a far more frighteningpicture of chemical weapons usein eastern Ghouta than had beenpreviously reported. And they as-sert without qualification thatSyrian forces and their allies wereresponsible, rebutting repeateddenials by Mr. Assad’s govern-ment and his backers in Russia

and Iran.A member of the commission

explained the omissions, sayingthat many of the details in theearly draft needed additional cor-roboration or clarification andmight be included in another re-port, perhaps by September.There was no outside pressure towithhold the information, said themember, Hanny Megally, an

Egyptian human rights lawyer.“We thought we need to do

some more work on this, it’s an on-going investigation,” Mr. Megallysaid. “So we thought, let’s keep itshort.”

But the conclusions in the omit-ted information seemed unambig-uous.

The leaked draft stated: “In one

U.N. Report Left Out Horrific Details on Syria Chemical AttacksBy RICK GLADSTONE

and MAGGIE HABERMAN

The report examined the retaking of eastern Ghouta, a former rebel stronghold, in early 2018.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Continued on Page A6

Astronomers debate whether Earth’stilt toward the sun helps make life onour world, and others, possible. PAGE A8

NATIONAL A8-17

Solstice, and Search for LifeWomen like Sarah-Jane Adams areprominent online, proving that “old”isn’t what it once was. PAGE D1

THURSDAY STYLES D1-8

On Instagram, Forever Young

As more women enter politics, what does“dress to win” really mean? VanessaFriedman explores the issue. PAGE D1

If Nominated, No PantsuitsMichael R. Bloomberg is setting aside$80 million to support Democrats incongressional races this fall. PAGE A16

Bloomberg Aims to Flip House

President Daniel Ortega’s governmentis continuing its bloody crackdown onopponents, dimming hopes for a peacesettlement in Nicaragua. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-7

Violence in NicaraguaThe Walt Disney Company increased itsoffer to buy 21st Century Fox to $71.3billion, outbidding Comcast, which hasyet to make a counteroffer. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-8

Disney Raises Bid for Fox AssetsThe Los Angeles rock band Dawesstretches its sound and scope of lyricalinquiry on its sixth LP. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

Looking to the Future

Luis Soto is narrating Peru’s World Cupgames to hundreds of thousands in thenative language of Quechua. PAGE B10

SPORTSTHURSDAY B9-17

A Fading Language Lives OnCardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, theformer archbishop of Washington, wasaccused of sexual abuse. PAGE A18

NEW YORK A18-19, 22

Vatican Punishes Cardinal

High-speed tunnels, electric scooters,pizza-funded pavement: Meet the citiesof the future. State of the Art. PAGE B1

Cities at the Mercy of TechThe legalization of marijuana has someCanadians seeing dollar signs andothers pondering social costs. PAGE A5

Canada Sizes Up Legal Pot

Nicholas Kristof PAGE A21

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A20-21

At the Architecture Biennale in Venice,the Cruising Pavilion is a show devotedto the culture of casual sex. PAGE C1

The Art of Hooking Up

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump has railed against undoc-umented immigrants in recentdays, branding many of them“murderers and thieves” who

want to “infest ourcountry.” Not long ago,he referred to them as“animals,” although heinsisted he meant only

those who join a violent gang.The president’s unpresidential

language has become the stand-ard for some on his team. Thisweek his former campaign man-ager, Corey Lewandowski, madea mocking noise, “womp womp,”when a liberal strategist raisedthe case of a 10-year-old girl withDown syndrome separated fromher parents at the border.

Mr. Trump’s coarse discourseincreasingly seems to inspireopponents to respond with vitu-perative words of their own.Whether it be Robert De Niro’sfour-letter condemnation at theTony Awards or a congressionalintern who shouted the sameword at Mr. Trump when hevisited the Capitol this week, thepresident has generated so muchanger among his foes that someare crossing boundaries that hehimself shattered long ago.

The politics of rage that ani-mated Mr. Trump’s political risenow dominate the national con-versation, as demonstrated re-peatedly during the debate overhis “zero tolerance” immigrationpolicy that separated childrenfrom parents apprehended at theborder.

Incivility InfestsLife in the U.S.On Trump’s Cue

By PETER BAKERand KATIE ROGERS

Continued on Page A13

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Late EditionToday, some clouds, then sunshine,early-morning showers, high 84. To-night, patchy clouds, low 65. Tomor-row, partial sunshine, high 77.Weather map appears on Page B15.

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