AUBURN, N.Y. -- At a steel plant Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence insisted the White House does not want to separate immigrant children from their families, something federal authorities have authorized at the southern border.

Pence opened his remarks at Nucor Steel in Auburn with comments about the immigration crisis, which has drawn outrage from advocates and everyday citizens nationwide. More than 2,000 children, who entered the country illegally have been separated from their families and are being detained in a warehouse while their parents are arrested.

"We want to solve this problem. We don't want children taken away from their parents," Pence said. "Our weak immigration laws have had dire consequences."

President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for his administration's policy of splitting up families of immigrants who cross the U.S. border illegally. White House officials have previously said the policy is meant to deter people from crossing illegally with children. Others have said the policy does not exist.

The separations are part of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' zero tolerance policy for people crossing the border illegally.

Pence put the onus on Congress and said the administration only has two options for dealing with unlawful immigrants right now: Release all immigrant families, including minors; or prosecute adults who cross illegally and detain children. He said neither is an acceptable option, though the administration has been doing the latter.

Pence said the country's immigration system is broken, and weak immigration laws and loopholes encourage people to try coming here illegally.

"The crisis of illegal immigration at our southern border is a direct result of failed immigration policy, failure to secure our border and crippling loopholes that induce vulnerable families to make the long and dangerous journey up the peninsula to illegally enter this country, resulting in a loss of their liberty and sometimes... sometimes worse," he said.

Pence said Congress this week will consider legislation on immigration that will fund a border wall and give the government legal authority to "detain and remove families together."

He applauded U.S. Rep. John Katko for backing the effort. Earlier in the day, Pence headlined a fundraiser for Katko in Syracuse.

Katko, who attended the speech with Pence, said he is working with Republican leadership on a bill that would end the practice of separating families. He said the House of Representatives will vote on the bill Thursday.

Details of the bill are still being ironed out.

"What's going on at the border is tragic, but it's symptomatic of a larger problem," Katko said. "We have a huge, huge border security issue...but in the meantime we've got to be humane, we can't be separating parents from their kids."

Pence used the remainder of his speech to praise U.S. steel workers and tout the benefits of the GOP tax cut bill passed late last year.

"We are forging a new American future built on American steel," he said. He added that Trump's administration has rolled back federal red tape and will put American workers first.

He also said Trump is fighting for more fair trade agreements with Canada that will "put American dairy farmers first."

As Pence left the stage, a speaker piped The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want."