Fund to raise $1,500 to help separated children at US border makes incredible $11m in just five days

A fundraising page that sought to raise $1,500 to help reunite families separated due to Donald Trump’s immigration rules has had a staggering $11 million worth of donations in just five days.

‘Reunite an immigrant parent with their child’ was launched on Facebook after distressing images were published showing children crying as their parents were taken away by border officials.

The policy is part of President Trump’s plans to jail illegal immigrants at the border and separate them from their children, in order to deter people from making unauthorised crossings.

Californian couple Charlotte and Dave Willner set up the page in a bid to raise $1,500 but have ended up smashing their target and reaching $11,074,128.

“We are collectively repulsed at what's happening to immigrant families on our southern border,” they wrote on the page.

“I think there's little chance of a political solution to this grave American moral failing. But there is still something we can do. Today we are raising money for RAICES - the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas.

“Bonds are set at a MINIMUM of $1500, and are usually in the range of $5-10K, even for asylum seekers without any criminal history. We are starting our goal at $1500 and will see how far we get.”

Since the page was launched five days ago, the page has received donations from hundreds of thousands of people.

Raices wrote on its Facebook page that the flood of donations represented “a profound rejection of the cruel policies of this administration”.

“We’ve been occasionally crying around the office all day when we check the fundraising totals …

"There are terrible things happening in the world. And there are many people who are deciding not to look away but to do something.”

Following intense criticism from around the world, President Trump said on Wednesday he would be signing an executive order that would end the process of separating children from families.

"We want to keep families together. It's very important," Mr Trump told reporters. "I'll be signing something in a little while that's going to do that."

The effort would mark a dramatic turnaround for an administration that has been insisting that it has no choice but to separate families apprehended at the border because of the law and a court decision.

White House officials have repeatedly claimed the only way to end the practice is for Congress to pass new legislation, though both Democrats and some Republicans have said the president could stop it himself.

The news in recent days has been dominated by searing images of children held in cages at border facilities, as well as audio recordings of young children crying for their parents.

Mr Trump pointed to those images in his meeting, saying they'd "affect everybody" but that he was torn. "We want the heart," he said, "but we also want strong borders and we want no crime."