(JTA) — A church said that Ivanka Trump donated $50,000 to its campaign to help migrant children separated from their families along the border.
Last week, Ivanka Trump reached out to the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, after hearing about its efforts to help kids separated at the border through a tweet by its pastor, Jack Graham, the church said in a statement.
Graham praised the president’s Jewish daughter and adviser in the statement.
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Ivanka Trump a number of times over the last year, and I’ve been struck by her kindness and concern for those in need, so, it wasn’t that surprising to me to know she would want to help these families,” he said.
The president drew wide criticism for his policy of separating children from their families who are attempting to cross the border, including from a broad spectrum of Jewish organizations. Trump signed an executive order last week to stop the family separations.
Previously, Trump and his Cabinet members had defended the policy as a way to enforce the law and deter illegal immigration, and the president denied he had the power to alter it. Upon signing the order, he said that retreating from the policy will not compromise border security.
His decision reportedly came after Ivanka Trump, who is Jewish, appealed to him to change the policy. She thanked her father on Twitter for the executive order ending the policy he had instituted last month.
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