President Donald Trump told a Minnesota rally on Wednesday that, despite signing an executive order to stop separating illegal immigrant children from their parents, "the border is going to be just as tough as it has been."
"We will keep families together," the president told about 9,000 supporters at a rally at the Amsoil Arena in Duluth, in the northern part of the state, hours after he signed the order at the White House.
"If you want to create a real humane, lawful system of immigration, then you need to retire the Democrats and elect Republicans to finally secure our borders," the president said.
Trump signed the order after days of insisting the administration had no choice but to separate families apprehended at the border because of federal law and a court decision.
But anxious Republicans pressured the president, fearing the images of children being held in cages at border facilities and audio recordings of young children crying for their parents could damage the party in the November midterm elections.
"The media never talks about the American victims of illegal immigration," Trump said. "They don't bring cameras to interview the Angel Moms, whose children were killed by criminal aliens who should have never been here in the first place.
"But as your president, I will always fight to protect American families," he declared. "I will always fight for an immigration system that defends our borders and takes care of our sovereignty as a nation.
"I will never sacrifice the safety and security of the American people — and I will never be as silent in the face of vicious smears and attacks."
Trump narrowly lost Minnesota to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 — and Duluth is located on the state's Iron Range, where the president's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could have a strong impact.
Before the rally, Trump held a roundtable with mining industry leaders and local officials.
"We are fighting to protect American iron, aluminum and steel, and to protect our very incredible and very brave miners," the president told the crowd.
He also endorsed Republican House candidate Pete Stauber, who is running in a traditionally Democratic district, calling him "a great guy."
"You have to give him a victory," Trump said.
In his brief remarks, Stauber said he was running "because, like President Trump, I love this country, I love our freedoms — and I love our Constitution."
President Trump's speech touted his administration's successes — including his meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the Republican tax cuts, record unemployment, and eliminating many restrictive Obama-era regulations on business.
"I got along with Kim Jong Un — and that is a good thing," Trump said. "Not a bad thing."
He ripped the media for saying he gave away too much at the Singapore summit earlier this month.
"You know what I gave away? A meeting.
"And the fact that we do get along means we are safe," Trump said.
"I'm not saying that things can happen. Things go wrong and mistakes are made. Relationships get broken.
"But right now, you are so safe because such a great event took place.
"You should be very proud of what took place, because we were very close to war for many years," the president added. "Many years, it was very close.
"Now, we can have something where everyone is going to live in peace for a long period of time — and there will be denuclearization."