CHEYENNE – Like a number of her Republican colleagues, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., applauded President Donald Trump’s decision Wednesday to reverse his administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents after several days of withering criticism. 

But in a statement, Cheney’s spokeswoman gave no other ground on immigration enforcement, said Congress should pay for the southern border wall and blamed Democrats for creating the crisis and refusing to work toward a solution. 

“Congresswoman Cheney supports the executive order signed today by President Trump and agrees that Congress should take action to secure the border, fund the border wall and close loopholes in the law,” Maddy Weast wrote in an email. “Democrats in the House and Senate should stop using children as political pawns and start working constructively with us.”

The statement came shortly after Trump pulled back on part of an aggressive prosecutorial policy his administration implemented this spring.

Trump had faced intense pressure from congressional and world leaders, including Pope Francis, to put a stop to the practice as images of caged children in detention centers fueled comparisons to concentration camps.

An executive order issued Wednesday stopped short of ending a “zero-tolerance” policy at the border. It will likely face legal scrutiny. A 1997 consent decree known as the Flores settlement prohibits the federal government from detaining migrant children more than 20 days. 

The order also provides no immediate plan to reunite separated children with their parents.

U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi, both R-Wyo., did not issue comments following the order beyond Barrasso’s spokesperson saying he supported the executive order. 

But in a emailed statement, Barrasso said he supported Senate legislation to keep families together, remove legal barriers to swift processing and resolve asylum cases quickly.

He also emphasized the need to secure its border with “compassion for the children who, in many cases, are brought here without their choosing.” 

Enzi echoed some of Barrasso’s language, saying he “did not like” seeing children taken from their parents. But he also said Trump was being forced to choose between “temporarily separating children, or ignoring the law and releasing illegal immigrants into the United States.”

He added that one way to avoid the situation would be to better protect borders and stop people before they enter the country. He said he was reviewing Senate proposals to address the issue. 

Wyoming Democratic Party Chairman Joe Barbuto said none of that was good enough, though.

“If the Republican Party thinks detaining children indefinitely is a solution, it’s not,” he said. “This subject should transcend politics; we’re talking about a humanitarian issue here. I hope that we can come together on a solution that recognizes we’re trying to uphold human dignity, not have an upper hand.”